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How to retain staff during the Christmas Holidays

Retaining Staff after Christmas - A Guide

It is well known in recruitment circles that one of the best times to pick up new quality candidates is between Christmas and the New Year. There are a number of reasons for this but the main ones we seem to come across time and again are below. Most of these are avoidable as you will see:
  1. Inappropriate comments or behaviour at the staff Christmas party.
  2. No staff Christmas party arranged.
  3. No Christmas bonus paid.
  4. No Christmas cards, presents or bonus paid.
  5. No bonus paid despite one being promised (and/or pay rise).
  6. Lawyers having too much time to think about their workplace and colleagues when not at work.
  7. No chance of any progression and no real plans for the future indicated by the firm.
  8. Being called into work between Christmas and the New Year when other senior staff in the firm are still off work (good time for job hunting).
  9. No spirit of Christmas shown on the last day before the Christmas break (it is so easy to break up an additional hour early on Friday 20th!).
  10. A realisation over the Christmas that the candidate really hates the firm and it is time for a change.
8 out of 10 of these can be easily avoided. Replacing and recruiting staff is a very expensive business. Much cheaper to keep your existing employees!

Jonathan Fagan is a solicitor, qualified recruitment consultant and Managing Director of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment. His LinkedIn profile can be viewed here - www.linkedin.com/in/jbfagan

 Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - Online Legal Recruitment for Solicitors, Legal Executives, Fee Earners, Support Staff, Managers and Paralegals. Visit our Website to search or download our Vacancy Database or view our Candidate Database online.
Our Legal Careers Shop has eBooks on CV Writing for Lawyers, Legal Job Interview Guide, Interview Answers for Lawyers, NQ Career Guide, Guide to Finding Work Experience or a Training Contract and the Entrants Guide to the Legal Profession. To visit our Sale/Clearance section please click here.
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