Job Shadowing and Employee Retention

Job shadowing has become so valuable to both hiring and retaining talent that in 2019, it was named the "gold standard solution" in small business hiring trends by Monster.com.

We’ve heard the song and dance of employers hiring a candidate only for them to turn around and leave days, sometimes even hours, later. While there are many factors that contribute to this cycle, there is one specific aspect employers can and should control as they work towards greater employee retention, and that is expectations.

Many times, employees think they want to work in a particular job, but once they get the position, they realize it's more than they bargained for. One way to mitigate this problem is by setting clear expectations through the implementation of job shadowing in the hiring process.

A typical job-shadowing interview consists of a candidate following an employee around as the employee carries out his everyday job responsibilities. It usually happens as the last stage in the interview process, and you can either use it in conjunction with a sit-down interview or in place of one.

The beauty of job shadowing is that it’s a mutually beneficial process for both the applicant and employer. Not only does the candidate get to feel the team dynamic firsthand and ask questions, but the team also gets a sense of the candidate's understanding of the work culture, if the candidate is excited by the environment, and if it seems like a good fit for both parties.