As the old adage goes, "you can't manage what you can't measure." This is especially true when it comes to hiring and retaining the best talent for your organization.

At TalentSum, we understand that developing a clear understanding of what makes your organization an attractive employer is critical for hiring the right people and keeping them committed over the long term.

One way we help our clients achieve this is by conducting a perceptions survey. This survey allows us to collect valuable feedback from both current employees and prospective candidates, helping us develop actionable insights to improve recruitment and retention efforts.

Before launching a perceptions survey, it's important to define your objectives. What do you hope to achieve by conducting the survey? What questions do you need answered? For example, you might want to know how candidates perceive your organization compared to others in your industry or what specific attributes, values, and skills are required to become a high-performing employee.

Once your objectives are defined, it's time to develop a plan for conducting the survey. This can include structured data collection through document-based surveys, phone or in-person interviews, and focus groups, as well as unstructured data collection through employee-initiated feedback, employee reviews on third-party websites, and unsolicited comments across social media. By collecting both structured and unstructured data from multiple sources, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of what makes your organization an attractive employer.

One-on-one interviews and focus groups can also be valuable for collecting in-depth feedback from stakeholders. For example, you might want to ask leadership about the organization's vision and purpose, while managers can provide insights on what personality and behavioral characteristics are essential for success at the organization. Top employees can offer valuable feedback on what originally attracted them to the company and what keeps them committed over the long term.

Once data is collected, it's important to analyze and distill it into actionable insights. This might include developing a best practices roadmap for internal leadership, detailing how to implement survey findings to improve recruitment and retention efforts. An external-facing playbook for recruiters and hiring managers can also be valuable, providing a clear framework for how to attract and retain top talent.

In conclusion, a perceptions survey can be a valuable tool for understanding what makes your organization an attractive employer. By collecting both structured and unstructured data from multiple sources and analyzing it for actionable insights, you can improve recruitment and retention efforts and set your organization up for long-term success.

Take your talent acquisition and recruitment efforts from routine to remarkable with TalentSum 360. For more information on how TalentSum 360 can unlock the full potential of your talent function, get in touch with our team today.