How to Engage, Empower & Retain your Entry-Talent

5 Quicks wins to give Entry-Talent “All the Feels” for your Organisation.

A considerable amount of focus is directed towards attracting entry talent. Like dating, organisations say all the right things (well, most of the time), show potential employees the shiniest parts of the organisation and woo them with exciting experience days.

Then the hot air gradually begins to evaporate; the shiny prince has reverted to a toad, and your entry talent has completely lost “all the feels” for the organisation. As in an attempt to attract the creme del a creme organisations “over-promise and under-deliver. Shocking, I know, but true.

The consequence is a gaping disconnect between your entry talent and the organisation. Leading to disengagement, resulting in the increased likelihood of sub-standard performance and ultimately spikes in attrition.

So, how best can you avoid losing “All the feels” from your Entry Talent – from the get-go?

Prince or Toad – show them Who you are, warts and all!

Be upfront; if your organisation is not the most diverse, be upfront and state it. Hopefully, if the wheels are in motion to change this, you can convey that the organisation is on a journey to address diversity. Prospective entry-talent can decide whether they want to be part of the journey or not.

Engage with ALL your entry talent.

Entry-talent may roughly be at the same place in their trajectory, i.e. starting blocks, but it doesn’t mean they want the same career path or are encountering the same challenges. So how do you conduct equal and equitable engagement? Get to know the make-up of your talent, ask questions, tell them that they are just as significant as your senior employees. As a reminder, these are your organisation’s possible future; they are worth the investment.

Empower Entry-level talent

No, I am not talking about handing over the decision-making reins to entry-level staff and then have a few rounds of “The Apprentice” style boardroom Hire or Fire moments.

Your entry-level staff do, however, need to feel that they can make “growth contributions” to the team, to the organisation, which expand further than preparing countless presentations and being the constant scribe in meetings. They want and need the stretch opportunities to support their growth, including learning from failures in a supportive environment.

Equip Entry-Level talent

Your Graduate/Apprenticeship programmes could be the first corporate role for several entry-level talents, so whilst they have had “work exposure” via interns/day programs, they have not had extensive work experience.
Ask yourselves, do you have sufficient support in place to equip them for success? Bearing in mind, as you build enhanced diversity into your talent pipeline, it is vital to recognise the different elements of support required to ensure both retention and equitable progression are achieved.

“All The feels” temperature Checks

Regular entry-talent check-ins – ask them what’s working and what is not.
Buddy systems – ensuring that existing employees who act as buddies are volunteers instead of being the ones who drew the short straw in the team meeting.
Mentoring/Reverse Mentoring programmes – both of which require an organisation aligned strategy and structure.
Create safe spaces for entry talent to talk and walk through their wins, challenges, time and space for self-reflection, self-directed learning and taking crucial steps towards self-leadership.

Ultimately, by providing your entry-talent with “All the feels” from the first point of engagement to onboarding and then through to their progression, you create a culture where they feel they can grow, are valued, and feel a true sense of belonging.
What happens when you feel a sense of belonging?
You Stay!

At Soluman Consultancy, our Engage, Empower & Retain offerings support organisations to reduce the attrition rates of entry talent and, even more so, help organisations build an environment where entry talent is stretched and supported in equal measure—leading to ALL talent contributing to the building of an organic and diverse talent pipeline.

Contact our lead consultant, Lọ́lá Béjidé, to discuss how we can support your organisation engage, empower & retain a diverse talent pipeline.