Building a Process for Removing Employee Pain Points: From Interview to Onboarding and Retention

In both sales and HR, removing obstacles is essential to securing a "buy" decision, whether that means closing a sale or getting a candidate to accept a job offer. Just like in sales, where we identify the customer’s pain points and resolve them before asking for the sale, in HR, we use proven sales techniques to follow a similar approach to make the candidate’s journey smooth and appealing.

Here's how to implement this process effectively:

1. Identify the Pain Points During the Phone Interview

The first step in this process happens during the initial phone interview. This is where HR professionals or recruiters need to dig deeper to uncover the current frustrations or pain points the candidate is experiencing in their current role. These can include:

• Pay or compensation issues: Are they feeling underpaid for their contributions?
• Lack of flexibility: Do they desire remote work options or more flexible hours?
• Benefits dissatisfaction: Are they unhappy with their health insurance, retirement plans, or other benefits?
• Work-life balance: Are they struggling with long hours, burnout, or inadequate personal time?

As the recruiter, it's essential to ask open-ended questions to allow candidates to express these frustrations freely. A few helpful questions might be:

• "What would you improve about your current role if you could?"
• "What is something you wish your company offered that they currently don’t?"
• "What would make you feel more fulfilled in your next role?"

2. Educate the Hiring Team on These Pain Points

Once you’ve gathered information on the candidate’s pain points, it’s crucial to share these insights with the hiring team. Whether it’s the hiring manager or other interviewers, they need to understand the obstacles this candidate faces in their current role so they can address them directly throughout the interview process.

The proven sales technique is called sales enablement, where the sales team is informed about a customer's specific needs or objections before pitching a product. When the hiring team understands the candidate’s frustrations, they can position your company as the solution to these challenges.

For example:

• If a candidate’s pain is low pay, the hiring manager can emphasize competitive compensation packages and bonuses.
• If the candidate is frustrated with a lack of flexibility, highlight your company’s flexible work policies or remote work options.

This proactive approach not only builds trust but also removes any mental barriers the candidate may have about changing jobs.

3. Address Pain Points Throughout the Interview Process

-Once the candidate is aware that your company addresses their concerns, it’s important to reiterate these solutions at different stages of the interview process. Whether it's in a technical interview, cultural fit assessment, or final interview with senior leadership, each stage should subtly reinforce how your company can remove the pains they’ve expressed.

Here’s how to do this:

• Compensation pain point: Reinforce how your pay structure addresses their salary concerns and offers room for growth.
• Flexibility pain point: Show examples of how your team utilizes flexible schedules or highlight current employees benefiting from remote work.

The proven sales technique is called removing obstacles in sales—the more obstacles you remove, the fewer reasons the candidate has to say no when it comes time for the offer.

4. Use the Pain Points in the Offer Letter and Negotiation Stage

When presenting the offer letter, make sure to reflect the solutions to the candidate's pain points. If they’ve mentioned dissatisfaction with their current benefits package, emphasize the superior benefits your company offers in the offer letter. If they expressed concern about salary, make sure the salary offered is aligned with their expectations, or explain the potential for rapid growth through raises and promotions.

During negotiations, continue to reference the pain points. For instance:

• "We understand you mentioned flexibility is important to you, and we’re happy to confirm that you’ll be able to work remotely two days a week."

This approach mirrors how sales professionals reiterate the value of a product during final price negotiations.

5. Reinforce the Solutions During Onboarding

After the candidate accepts the job, your responsibility doesn’t end there. During onboarding, it’s important to use the proven sales technique to reaffirm the solutions for the pain points that were identified earlier. This creates a seamless transition from candidate to employee and reinforces the idea that they’ve made the right decision by joining your company.

For example:

• If flexibility was their primary concern, make sure their onboarding includes information on flexible working hours or remote work technology.
• If salary was a concern, provide clarity on performance reviews and salary progression plans so they know what to expect in the future.
  
  

Managers Fulfill the Commitment to Remove Pain

Once the new employee is settled in, their direct manager needs to continue fulfilling the promises made during the interview and onboarding stages. This is where the manager takes over to ensure that the pain points are truly removed. For instance:

• Regular one-on-ones: During one-on-one sessions, the manager should actively check in on how the employee is feeling about their compensation, workload, flexibility, and other factors. If any new pain points arise, they can be addressed early to prevent dissatisfaction from building.

This is a key retention strategy, just like in sales where post-purchase customer service ensures ongoing satisfaction and loyalty. Addressing and removing new pain points as they come up helps keep employees engaged and loyal.

Conclusion: Removing Pain to Win Talent and Retain Employees

Much like in sales, where we remove obstacles to get the customer to buy, in HR, we remove pain points to ensure the candidate is ready to say yes to the job offer. By systematically identifying and addressing these pain points throughout the interview process, in the offer letter, and during onboarding, you build trust and confidence. From there, managers carry on the responsibility of making sure those pains don’t return, ensuring long-term retention and engagement.

This approach is essential for high-functioning teams and rapidly growing companies, as it creates a culture of proven sales techniques applied to HR, helping you secure and retain top talent who feel valued and supported.