Retention

Keeping great talent in Umeå

Within talent attraction circles, it has been said that retention is the new attraction.

That's because companies have come to grasp the enormous consequences of losing top talent in a competative market. Hiring new personnel instead of meeting the needs of current personnel can be an extremely costly affair. And there is nothing to guarantee that the employer will be able to replace lost staff with staff of equal skills or cultural fit to the company.

Retention is an especially important topic in Umeå. As a university city Umeå has relied on a steady flow of highly educated alumni to satisfy its labor market needs. Additionally, Umeå has traditionally attracted a lot of internal migration from other parts of the Northern Sweden. Then it might come as a shock to some that Umeå has a lower average percentage retention rate of alumni than the national average. Umeå retains only ~8 % of alumni students whilst the national average is ~10 %. And with competition for talent tightening in Northern Sweden, Umeå employers must sharpen their competativeness to reliable attract talent through the upcoming years.

Retention is a complex topic with numerous facets. We must ask ourselves "What are the needs of this employee? What are the needs of their family? Can I as an employer improve their situation in any way?". We must also ask ourselves what makes Umeå unique, and whether or not the city can satisfy the employee's needs. This all needs to be presented to employees in a coherent, attractive manner. Part of this work is Gateway Umeå's, and part of it is yours as an employer.

Creating a successful strategy

If you do not have it already, develop a retention strategy which is realistic for you as an employer. Also, remember that each employee is different, and you will be more successful with your retention if diverse perspectives have been taken into account while designing the strategy and related activities. See below for a few tips on how to strengthen retention rates.

• Start with a well-thought-out Onboarding process

• Provide paid time off work for exercise and mental wellness training

• Provide social activities at work on a regular basis such as lunches, after work activities, playing games, etc

• Mentorship; pairing new employees with a mentor who is an experienced employee

• Provide a plan for training/development

• Transparency and ‘open doors’ – encouraging employees to communicate and ask for feedback and ideas

• Encourage your new employee to ask for help

• Encourage teamwork