This blog post was updated on October 21, 2021.

On September 22^nd, ERC recognized and honored Northeast Ohio's 99 best places to work for top talent at our NorthCoast 99 Awards Ceremony and Event. 

Being known as a “Great Place to Work for Top Talent” should certainly mean something to leadership today. In the current market, finding and keeping anyone, let alone a top performer, is top of mind for almost every leader I talk to. The statement “I just can’t find anyone to work” is heard regularly. The question, “how do I keep my best people?” is asked of our ERC team daily. 

Leaders who make their people a priority and who are actively telling their stories are the ones winning the war for talent. These leaders have invested in policies and programs that are appreciated and valued by their teams and ultimately, prove profitable for their businesses. Through our NorthCoast 99 research, we've learned that successful organizations have been able to attract, develop, and retain talent with such policies. Here are a few facts about the 2021 NorthCoast 99 winners: 

• 79% have a documented succession plan in place, which means their top performers know they have a path to advance
• Two-thirds have a formal mentorship program for new employees
• 62% have a sustainability or environmental responsibility policy in place
• 98% have formal development and career advancement discussions with top performers
• 93% have a compensation policy

Becoming an employer of choice doesn’t happen overnight but it can happen. As businesses continue to be challenged by the current labor shortage, I encourage you to have these discussions with your leadership team and share your aspirations with your employees.      

Don’t wait until you’ve lost your best people —be proactive and committed. You will find it will be worth the effort. ERC's people data proves that.

Need help getting started? ERC Membership is a great place to start.

- Kelly Keefe, President 

Now, more than ever, it is important for organizations to understand that the face of today’s active job seeker has changed. Most notably, as unemployment continues to decline, reaching an all-time low at 4.4% in Ohio, the number of active job seekers has also decreased. This requires companies to take a more proactive and creative look at how to attract top talent.

You’re filling out a job application and just as you’re about to hit “submit”, you see the dreaded “Please provide the salary for your current position” question. Plus, it has a little red asterisk next to it, so you know you are going to have to answer it to even be considered. Well in recent years a combination of case law and statewide and local statutes are beginning to change that practice, or at least removing that pesky red asterisk.

Recruiting and retaining people in stigmatized occupations can be difficult for many organizations. Stigmatized occupations are jobs that may be seen by society as being physically or socially tainted.¹

Recruiting and hiring the right people for the right position is an essential piece of an organization's success. Employee selection is much more complex than an impressive resume and a feeling that they're a cultural fit. When your employee selection is approached incorrectly, it may result in high turnover, low morale, increased stress, and decreased productivity.

The concept of Inbound Recruiting is driven by the fact that 73% of candidates begin their job search with a Google search. Organizations looking to attract and retain top talent are reacting to this digital landscape transformation in the same way as Marketers. Human resources and recruiting functions have increasingly become the “marketers” of their organization as a workplace, and Inbound Recruiting is a reflection of that.

Often HR processes become stagnant and untouched due to the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mindset. Sometimes that works out perfectly fine, and well, sometimes it doesn’t. Dust off the old untouched processes and implement something new and refreshing. Your new hires and current employees will appreciate it.

As an employer, it is your job to choose the top candidates for open positions within your organization. Part of this process is attracting the best possible applicant pool for the position. Although a favorable applicant pool could take some time to curate, you may find a way to expedite the process for the future in an unlikely place—your rejected candidates. Giving rejected candidates feedback (when they request it) after their interview process may be advantageous to your organization (and other organizations in their path) for multiple reasons.

Two-thirds of organizations participating in this year’s ERC/NOCHE Intern & Recent Graduate Pay Rates & Practices Survey have a structured/formal internship program in place. Internships can come in all shapes and sizes depending on the specific industry, the needs of the employer, and the skill set of the students applying for the program.

The 2015 ERC Hiring Trends & Practices Survey, which assesses the responses of 102 Northeast Ohio organizations, shows that well over a half (66%) of local employers are currently not using a formal applicant tracking system in their recruitment and hiring efforts. The most common reason, as cited by 45% of employers, is that their existing internal process is sufficient. In addition, nearly one-fourth of participating organizations also acknowledge a lack of resources as a reason for not implementing a formal applicant tracking system.