Enhancing Talent Retention at a Mid-Sized Engineering Firm

Read how Thrivence helped a client increase a total number of applicants by 67% and increase hires by 19%.

Industry: Architecture, Engineering, and Construction

Overview

The client embarked on a comprehensive year-long project to double the firm’s headcount and reduce employee turnover. This strategic initiative aimed to redefine recruiting and retention practices to achieve an industry-leading retention rate and support the company’s growth ambitions.

The Ask

The client maintained an employee turnover rate comparable to the industry benchmark, but they aimed to achieve an industry-leading retention rate that reflects their great work culture. The firm’s leadership recognized that achieving a reduction to 5.5% turnover while doubling the headcount required a fundamental shift in how they approached recruiting and retention. Traditional methods were insufficient to meet these ambitious goals.

Solutions

The project was divided into two major phases: discovery and design. The discovery phase, lasting about three months, involved:

• Data Analysis: Reviewing internal data and existing programs.
• Focus Groups and Surveys: Engaging with employees to gather insights.
• External Benchmarking: Identifying best practices from top competitors.

From this research, a series of recommendations were developed in collaboration with HR. The design phase focused on implementing seven key initiatives aimed at improving both recruiting and retention strategies:

• New Organization: Five dedicated full-cycle recruiters organized by skill sets.
• New Process: Outlining responsibilities and partnerships with HRBPs, compensation teams, and hiring managers.
• New Tools: Indeed Resume Database, additional LinkedIn seats and Talent Insights.
• New Capabilities: Utilized AI to enhance job postings, added “Apply with LinkedIn” and completed talent landscape reports.
• New Governance: Ensured regular training sessions and 1:1s and added hiring manager intake meetings.
• New Relationships: Established direct relationships with Indeed and LinkedIn.
• New Reputation Management: Reconstructed AI enhanced career pages.

The team also implemented some quick wins, including restructuring the talent acquisition team, launching an employee referral campaign, and revamping the career page. There were also training initiatives for the recruiting team, including the hiring managers and HR staff to enhance recruitment efforts. Additional support for the HR department included re-writing job descriptions, updating their HR dashboard, and introducing new metrics that track progress on recruiting initiatives, turnover reduction, and diversity recruiting efforts.

Thrivence also created a toolkit to update and standardize the firm’s approach to collaborating with contractors and strategic partners.

Results

• Increased Applicant Flow: The total number of applicants increased by 67%.
• Lower Regrettable Turnover: The client is on track for 5.5% goal.
• Increased Hires: The number of hires increased by 19%.
• Short-Term Goal Achieved: Successfully met the short-term headcount goal by the end of the year.

Key Takeaways

• Industry-Leading Turnover Rates: On track for industry leading turnover.
• Innovative Recruitment: Implementation of new strategies to attract and engage top talent.
• Sustainable Growth: Achieved short-term headcount goals and laid the foundation for future growth.
• Comprehensive Approach: A two-phase project structure (discovery and design) ensured thorough analysis and effective implementation.