Each day of August, the Institute will feature one initiative from the TalentNZ Menu of Initiatives. The Menu showcases four integrated work-streams – grow, attract, retain and connect.

Today we are showcasing ‘Retain 4. Focus on creating a good entry and exit’. For examples of this initiative, please see the Menu of Initiatives webpage. If you know of an organisation or initiative that should be included as an example on the website, please email us at talentnz@mcguinnessinstitute.org.

Retain 4. Focus on creating a good entry and exit

This is about:retain

  • Appreciating that a square peg does not fit into a round hole. It enables both the employee and employer to remove themselves from a potential contract without doing harm.
  • Try-outs. These are becoming increasingly popular as the next step in the process. Potential employees can spend a few weeks in an organisation before discussing whether or not a relationship should be progressed.
  • On-boarding and off-boarding talent. These techniques effectively keep everyone’s reputation intact. Existing staff need to feel their work will also be considered of value after they leave. Ex-staff may have influence over your ability to attract talent in the future, especially in small expert markets. They can become your good or bad ambassadors.

About TalentNZ
The Menu of Initiatives is part of our Project TalentNZ and focuses on how best to identify and distribute tools for councils, businesses and communities to design their own unique strategy for creating a talent-based economy. TalentNZ builds on Sir Paul Callaghan’s vision of making New Zealand ‘a place where talent wants to live’. Sir Paul outlined the reasons why his vision is important in a 20-minute video at the Institute’s StrategyNZ workshop in 2011. The focus of the Menu is on the ‘how’ – we are testing Sir Paul’s assumptions and exploring ways New Zealanders might turn this vision into a reality.