Irish Times masthead

Sign up for alerts from The Irish Times

Notification wireframe

Just click on “Allow Notifications” on the message appearing on your browser to activate them.

bell-slash

We will send you a quick reminder in the future, in case you change your mind.

  • Search
  • Newsletters
  • Crossword
  • Notices
  • Help Centre
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
The Irish Times
Fri, May 20, 2022

  • The Irish Times
  • News
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Life & Style
  • Culture
  • More
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Executive Jobs
  • Search
  • Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Sign In
  • Microsoft
Sponsored content is premium paid-for content produced by The Irish Times Content Studio on behalf of commercial clients. The Irish Times newsroom or other editorial departments are not involved in the production of Sponsored content.

From hiring to retiring: retaining talent starts with how you welcome staff onboard

Organisations need new HR tools to meet the challenge of retaining staff and shaping employee relationships

Fri, Jun 15, 2018, 06:00 Updated: Fri, Jun 15, 2018, 10:14
Sponsored by Microsoft
Microsoft

Employees want to feel that they are impactful in their workplace. Photograph: iStock

   
 
 

Up to 60 per cent of job seekers report a poor candidate experience when applying for roles. In fact, recent research from Microsoft revealed that up to 20 per cent of employees will leave their new job within 90 days because of a poor “onboarding experience” – the process of integrating a new employee into an organisation. 

Human Resource professionals are under ever increasing pressure to maximise talent and ensure they are prospecting, recruiting and retaining the best people. Last year, Microsoft’s Irish research showed that there is a war for talented digitally savvy staff to help organisations digitally transform. The pressure to find, attract and retain the right people with the right skills has never been greater.

“These statistics are among the reasons we set about creating new HR management tools for our customers and ourselves,” says Microsoft Dynamics business group lead, David Riordan. “On the one hand, organisations had very sophisticated tools to manage their customer relationships but there really wasn’t anything to assist them with key aspects of their employee relationships.”

[Download this free eBook to find out more about talent solutions]

Organisations now expect a lot more from HR departments, according to Riordan. “They want them to align with the overall strategy and play a bigger role in the digital transformation journey. Employees are also expecting a lot more. They want a better work life balance and expect continuing professional development. They want to feel that they are impactful in their workplace.”

Advertisement

“The reasons for jobseekers having a poor candidate experience vary but they usually boil down to poor communications with the hiring organisation and difficulties with the interview process,” says Riordan. “With new talent management tools, candidates can set up interviews, manage the job offer if they receive one, and have access to a portal where they can check to see how their application is progressing. Once they have been hired they can also learn about their new colleagues before they start.”

Employees who leave within three months of starting a job usually do so for quite simple reasons, Riordan continues. “It can come down to something like not having a laptop ready for them when they start, not having passwords for networks and so on, or not having mentors within the organisation to guide them. There are new solutions that ensure these things are done and nothing is left to chance.”

“But technology has moved much further than simply providing checklists for interviewing and onboarding candidates. Now you have complete hire to retire solutions,” Riordan explains. 

David Riordan, business group lead, Microsoft Dynamics
David Riordan, business group lead, Microsoft Dynamics

“For example, Chemonics is an international development company that we have worked with. They have the challenge of attracting and onboarding people across 80 field offices around the globe. Once recruited, it is essential that they can match the skills and expertise of their global talent with the right projects worldwide. Moving to a cloud-based HR tool has provided them with a standardised means of identifying candidates, managing hiring processes, efficiently bringing candidates into the organisation, and effectively deploying that talent. Having an integrated solution means their human capital management processes aren’t isolated from the rest of their business.”

Organisations can now identify the right candidates from the very beginning of the process. “In addition, LinkedIn integration helps the hiring manager understand more about the candidates. The integration with Office365 helps with scheduling interviews, while applications like Skype allow for interviews to be conducted online. The whole interview experience is greatly enhanced, both for the candidate and the organisation.”

Learning and development is key to employee retention. “Our research shows that one-in-two employees surveyed are actively on the lookout for a new role or would be open to one if it were offered. This can be tackled by giving employees a continuous learning experience and ensuring they can avail of opportunities within the organisation as and when they arise. Additionally, personalised learning management plans that match with employee needs are simple to deploy - if people know they are learning and moving forward all the time they are much more likely to stay.”

“The hiring and talent needs of organisations can vary significantly,” Riordan notes. “Take the medical sector, for example. It can take 10 or 15 years before a surgeon is fully trained and hospitals have to take a very long-term view of recruitment and retention. The hospitality sector, on the other hand, works to much shorter timeframes yet they both share a need to attract skills when they need them and to retain key people. The right tools can help both these types of organisations, as well as those on all points of the spectrum in between, to address their key talent needs.”


Download this free eBook to find out more about talent solutions. 

Read More

  • Music industry royalty payments transformed by digital innovation
  • How GDPR can unlock new opportunities for business growth
  • “We can solve the greatest challenges of our time using technology and people”
  • HR and people managers’ role in winning the digital future
  • How digital culture helps Irish organisations win the war for talent

More in Sponsored

A PwC study of risk functions in the global banking industry found that climate change was seen as the top threat to banks, but climate change specialists only accounted for about half of 1 per cent of risk team members Moving the dial on risk
Tommy Shannon: ‘No matter what salary level people are on it takes a number of years to grow a defined contribution fund, so we always encourage people to start as early as possible’ ‘We encourage people to start as early as possible’
David O’Brien: ‘The financial technology industry has developed enormously over the last 40 years with Ireland at the forefront of this development’ Uncovering FinTech’s kingdom
‘The flexibility of hybrid working is an attraction...and I don’t think that’s going to go away in the short term’ How legal firms are adjusting to a hybrid world
  • Subscribe

    • Why Subscribe?
    • Subscription Bundles
    • Subscription Help Centre
    • Gift Subscriptions
  • Support

    • My Account
    • Help Centre
    • Contact Us
  • Irish Times products & services

    • Home Delivery
    • Page Sales
    • Photo Sales
    • Newsletters
    • Discount Codes
    • ePaper
    • Crosswords
    • Newspaper Archive
    • Article Archive
    • eBooks
  • About us

    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • The Irish Times Trust
    • Careers
  • Our partners

    • Rewarding Times
    • MyHome.ie
    • Top 1000
    • The Gloss
    • Recruit Ireland
    • Irish Times Training
Subscribe
  • Why Subscribe?
  • Subscription Bundles
  • Subscription Help Centre
  • Gift Subscriptions
Support
  • My Account
  • Help Centre
  • Contact Us
About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • The Irish Times Trust
  • Careers
Irish Times Products & Services
  • ePaper
  • Crosswords
  • Newspaper Archive
  • Article Archive
  • eBooks
  • Home Delivery
  • Page Sales
  • Photo Sales
  • Newsletters
  • Discount Codes
Follow us
Download the app
Download on the App Store Download on Google Play
  • Our Partners
  • Rewarding Times
  • MyHome.ie
  • Top 1000
  • The Gloss
  • Recruit Ireland
  • Irish Times Training
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Information
  • Cookie Settings
  • Community Standards
  • Copyright
© 2018 THE IRISH TIMES

Sign In

Forgot Password?
Don't have an account?
Subscribe
Need some help ?

  • Digital Subscriptions FAQs
  • Subscriber Only Articles
  • The ePaper
  • Subscriber Rewards
  • Subscriber Tour
  • Breaking news app
  • My Account
  • eBooks
  • Email Newsletters
  • Crossword Club
  • Newspaper Archive
  • Sign Out
SUBSCRIBE

Fri 20/5/2022
  • News
    • War in Ukraine
    • Climate Crisis
    • Ireland
    • World
    • Politics
    • Subscriber Only
    • ePaper
    • Education
    • Health
    • Coronavirus
    • Brexit
  • Sport
    • Gaelic Games
    • Soccer
    • Rugby
    • Golf
    • Racing
    • Other Sports
    • Women in Sport
    • Comment
  • Business
    • The Economy
    • Your Money
    • Companies
    • Technology
    • Work
    • Commercial Property
    • Comment
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters
    • Columnists
    • An Irishman's Diary
    • Opinion & Analysis
    • Martyn Turner
  • Life & Style
    • Food & Drink
    • Homes & Property
    • Health & Family
    • People
    • Travel
    • Motors
    • Fashion
    • Abroad
  • Culture
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Stage
    • Art & Design
    • TV, Radio, Web
    • Tuarascáil
    • Heritage
  • More
    • You are what you read
    • eBooks
    • Offers
    • Jobs
    • Family Notices
    • Competitions
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • Confronting Coronavirus
    • Inside Politics
    • The Women's Podcast
    • Inside Business
    • Added Time
    • World View
    • Back to Yours
    • The Irish Times Book Club
  • Executive Jobs
  • Crosswords
  • Notices
  • Help Centre
  • Newsletters
Forgot Password?

Invalid email or password.

Not an Irish Times subscriber? Subscribe
  • Digital Subscriptions FAQs Frequently asked questions about your digital subscription
  • Subscriber Only Articles Specially selected and available only to our subscribers
  • Subscriber Rewards Exclusive offers, discounts and invitations
  • Subscriber Tour Explore the features of your subscription
  • Crossword Club Digital Simplex and Crosaire crosswords
  • Newspaper Archive 150 years of Irish Times journalism
  • My Account Manage your account
  • eBooks Carefully curated selections of Irish Times writing
  • Email Newsletters Sign up to get the stories you want delivered to your inbox
  • The ePaper An exact digital replica of the printed paper
  • Breaking news app Our Apple and Android apps to read on the go
  • Sign Out

Update Payment Details


Unfortunately USERNAME we were unable to process your last payment. Please update your payment details to keep enjoying your Irish Times subscription.