Retention: It starts with who you hire. Here are some tips on hiring the candidates most likely to stick around – and how to look out for some common warning signs.

These things should raise some red flags:

• People who are leaving their current job solely for more money. Money always plays a role, but if you get the sense during the interview that’s the only motivator for finding a new job, chances are they’ll quickly leave your company for the same reason.
• Bad attitudes about previous jobs. If people badmouth former bosses and co-workers, they may be a retention problem waiting to happen (especially if they seem to have similar things to say about all their former employers).

And some good ways to find employees who’ll stay:

• Get referrals – A new hire is easier to hang onto when he or she already knows a co-worker
• Keep track of who you hired from each source and see if there’s any pattern in length of employment. That can help you decide which sources to focus on.
• Maintain some kind of relationship with new hires at first – after all, the recruiter was their introduction to the company, and a periodic “How is everything going?” can go a long way.

For more about nipping retention problems in the bud, go here.

Tags: red flags, Retention, turnover