Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Don’t Neglect the Importance of Attracting Top Talent—Here’s How to Do It

Hiring an unqualified or lazy employee can have costly consequences for your business’s bottom line. To avoid wasted time, money, and frustration, you need to take the recruiting and hiring process seriously. When it comes to attracting top talent, it helps to think like a recruiter.

What exactly does thinking like a recruiter mean? You don’t hire the first person you see. You come up with recruiting strategies that let you find qualified candidates. And, it means you make top talent want to work for you.

The first time I hired someone, I didn’t even interview her. Instead, I called the local trade school and asked them to send a senior to do clerical work. The outcome was nothing short of a bad experience. Over time, I have learned that to attract talent, you have to expect talent. You need to recruit, screen, and interview candidates.

How to attract talent

Attracting talent is an essential part of hiring. It’s what gets the ball rolling so that you can choose someone who’s qualified for the job.

Most business owners have a strategy or two for driving candidates to apply at their businesses—but is it the right strategy? Will it attract the candidate who will become a star employee?

I’ve been hiring for over 30 years at my businesses. Without the know-how to attract top talent, my companies would not be operating at the levels they are today.

Here’s how to attract top talent.

1. Create an attractive and detailed job description

Once you decide you need to hire, your first course of action is to map out the qualifications, skills, and experience you need to get the job done. You will need to include all of this in a clear, concise job description.

Learning how to write a job description is critical to effective hiring. Your job description is the advertisement that draws in candidates. If it’s written poorly or vaguely, you won’t get the kind of applicants you need.

Include all the information you need to paint a picture of the job. Talk about the job title, the purpose of the job, and give details on the job responsibilities. Explain how the position would make a difference in your overall business processes. Provide a salary range and highlight the small business employee benefits you plan to offer. Be clear about which qualifications applicants must have and which would be preferable.

A clear, accurate job description without spelling mistakes or other errors will be taken more seriously by job seekers.

Think of your job description like a business plan. To get investors to invest in your company, you should have a clear, well-written business plan. Likewise, to get top talent to invest in your company (i.e., apply), you need a well-written job description.

2. Build your brand

Your brand is how people recognize your business. It is represented in your logo, name, products, social media platforms, and other communication channels. A strong brand is what encourages customers to buy from you. And, it’s what entices employees to work for you.

An employer brand represents how you treat employees. When you treat your employees well, promote their well-being, and encourage personal growth, your employer brand is desirable.

Why is brand important? According to a survey, 86% of women and 67% of men said they would not join a business with a bad reputation if they were unemployed. Your business’s reputation is directly related to your brand.

There are many ways you can build your brand. You can handle questions and concerns from both customers and employees efficiently to show you value others’ time. And, you can consistently uphold your mission statement and core values. Consistently working on a strong brand will help attract talent.

3. Emphasize development potential

When applying for jobs, many applicants look for growth opportunities. They might not want to sign up for a dead-end job. At a small business, employees can learn more skills, take on more challenges, and move up through the company.

Because you don’t have as many employees as a big corporation, employees might need to do a little bit of each job. This can help them develop their skills, a benefit that 87% of millennials and 69% of non-millennials want.

When attracting top talent, emphasize development opportunities in the job description. Even something as simple as room for growth can make an applicant start thinking about the day they’ll be a manager.

4. Offer something big corps can’t

Big corporations are often recognizable nationwide. You might think you don’t have the same offerings as big corporations when it comes to attracting top talent.

You’d be right.

You have something that big corporations don’t have. As a small business owner, you can give more attention to each of your employees. You could delegate more tasks to employees, giving them more responsibility and room for growth.

If possible, you can even offer benefits like flexible scheduling and the ability to work remotely. According to one survey, 88% of respondents would consider flexible scheduling over a high-paying job.

Don’t sell your business short by extending a job offer to the first willing applicant. Just remember that your business can offer things big corporations can’t. Not all talent wants to work at a big corporation.

Attracting and retaining top talent

Once you attract, screen, and hire talent, your next step is retention. Employee turnover is expensive, time consuming, and can result in the loss of an all-star employee.

To prevent turnover, you need to know how to retain employees. Keep communication lines flowing. Find out any issues your employees might have and see what you can do to work it out. Show employees you value them and highlight how they impact your business.

The post Don’t Neglect the Importance of Attracting Top Talent—Here’s How to Do It appeared first on AllBusiness.com

The post Don’t Neglect the Importance of Attracting Top Talent—Here’s How to Do It appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Mike Kappel.



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