Leverage the Power of Deltek Talent Management to Attract and Retain Great Employees

A Human capital management solution helps you reduce acquisition costs, accelerate hiring, and improve retention by engaging with employees in meaningful ways.

If you’re using an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to manage projects, you are already on your way to improving workflow. However, due to  fallout from the Great Resignation, you might want to consider adding a human capital management (HCM) component to your ERP solution. Employee turnover is wreaking havoc on businesses of all kinds, but it's especially challenging for project-based businesses considering how nimble they need to be. Firms need to be able to staff up quickly for incoming work and if they don't have enough staff or the right people for the work it can be impossible to deliver projects successfully.

According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 4.2 million people quit their jobs in June 2022, and according to Microsoft's Work Trend Index, 41% of the global workforce is planning on making a job change in the next year.

Deltek’s 43rd Clarity Architecture & Engineering Study reported a nearly 14% employee churn rate, which is up almost two percentage points from the previous year. Nearly 85% of those polled in the study reported acquisition as one of the most expensive business processes for architecture and engineering (A&E) firms to support, with nearly half of all the firms in the study ranking this as their number one concern. According to a recent Gallup poll, firms report a 59% reduction in attrition at high-turnover companies when employees are engaged. Now more than ever, firms need to ensure they are creating a better employee experience and a culture where staff feel valued and understand their connection to the business in order to mitigate acquisition costs and prevent attrition.

To attract and retain employees, 51% of Clarity survey respondents report investing in employee engagement programs as a top HR initiative. Engagement programs don’t have to be complicated or difficult if you invest in the right technology. Adding an HCM component to your ERP can help you stay engaged with your most precious resource, your employees.

Three Ways HCM Solutions Increase Employee Engagement

Hire and Onboard Faster

Engagement relates to the level of an employee's commitment and connection to the organization, which can start even before they are hired. Employers need to understand that all touchpoints with employees, or lack thereof, can have a significant impact on their overall acquisition and retention efforts. With the right tools, firms can enable engagement by establishing a relationship with candidates that carries on throughout the application, hiring and onboarding process.

During the onboarding process, it is crucial that firms do more to engage the employee than simply supplying links to reading materials and welcome videos. An organized schedule of onboarding tasks with assignees and due dates helps ensure the onboarding process goes smoothly. With automated reminders to guide employees to finish all onboarding tasks, you can make sure that they're getting through all the appropriate materials and can start working on projects sooner.

Smart firms also develop relationships with candidates who show promise but were not chosen for the current position. With the right applicant tracking system, these candidates can be put into a talent pool where a hiring manager can continue to foster the relationship and accelerate the hiring process by inviting them to apply to new openings where they might be a good fit. Deltek Talent Management contains a talent relationship management (TRM) feature for this process that is included for no additional cost as part of the acquisition module.

Once candidates are added to a talent pool, you can start including them in specific TRM campaigns that automate drip communications to keep potential applicants engaged. For example, they can be sent reminders to continue looking at your job board for potential new openings or to attend an upcoming job fair event.

Support Development and Mobility

Development and mobility are key pillars in establishing an engaged and committed employee culture.   In exchange for their loyalty to your organization, today’s employees want to understand their career path within your organization and the steps they need to take for their desired role.

As a manager, you may be supporting one employee or 10, but either way, development is personal for each individual. With the Deltek Talent Management suite of modules, you can easily manage your team’s mobility by tracking employee performance appraisals, development plans, and learning achievements. With a detailed plan showing employees how they can improve their skills to achieve their dream career path, you can more easily understand how to best support your team.

Provide Continuous Feedback and Recognition

One of the easiest ways to improve employee engagement is to facilitate open channels of communication and ensure your employees know they are valued for their hard work. With more people working from home, it is especially important to keep them connected to each other and aware of how their efforts support company goals.

Providing feedback and asking for opinions are ways to keep your employee engagement high. Whether discussions are originated by the manager or the employee, continuous feedback facilitates open dialogue around projects, goals, career development and more. This motivates people to progress on their learning and development journey towards their desired career path.

It’s also critical to recognize employees for their achievements. One way to do this is with a recognition board, where all employees can see and provide appreciation for the great work being done around the organization.

In addition to an annual employee appraisal, asking for staff opinions throughout the year on various topics (not just during an annual survey) demonstrates the company’s interest in hearing an employee’s perspective. Smaller “pulse” surveys can be sent to new talent confirming their onboarding experience was positive, and at other times during the year to make sure employees stay connected. This can be an automated and easy process using the Deltek Talent Management survey tool.

No organizations are perfect all the time, and work operations are always evolving, so it’s important to make the right decisions for your firm by listening to what your employees have to say.

Cultivate the leaders and innovators your company needs to deliver consistently successful projects by equipping project managers and employees with timely, relevant feedback and development opportunities they need.