You don’t need me to tell you that hardworking, dedicated, qualified team members are worth their weight in gold. But, are you prioritizing recruitment in a way that reflects this belief? Many owners end up being a Johnny-come-lately to the party of finding and hiring talent. They know they need to be there, but it’s just not something they’re proactive or intentional about.
Of course, the problems with this are many. The wrong hires will cost you time, money and boatloads of frustration. And, going too long without a team member in a critical role at all can nearly sink you operationally (not to mention overly burden your other employees). To prevent this, here are four ways you can better market your brand and take the reins on attracting top talent.
Recognize the new “it” factors.
All too often, job descriptions read like a self-absorbed single person’s dating profile: “I want someone who gives me this, that and the other thing.” It’s 90% about what the candidate must give to the organization and 10% (or less) about what the candidate stands to get in return. We need to flip this equation.
Demonstrate in your job postings all the incredible benefits prospective team members can enjoy when they come on board. But also, remember that these benefits aren’t what they may have been 10 years ago. Times have changed dramatically, and younger folks especially are valuing their personal growth, home lives, financial health and freedom more than ever before.
If you offer generous vacation days and childcare options, make it known. If you give employees the option to work from home or have flexible hours, shout it from the rooftops. If you help team members pay off their student loans or further their education and skillsets, broadcast this. You get the idea. You’ve got to make sure candidates are aware that you understand what matters to them, and are there to deliver it.
Define what you stand for.
Additionally, many of the younger generations are more invested in – and vocal about – social causes they consider to be important. Just as millennials have been found to more readily buy from brands that give back, top talent cares about your company’s purpose, not just profit.
If you partner with a charitable organization, dedicate a page on your website to the work you’re doing – and share it on your social media. If you’re not active in this way, do you have core values or an others-focused mission? Make that stand out on your website. The more dimensions of your brand you can show, the more likely the best employees will come your way.
Treat candidates like customers.
We all know customer experience is the holy grail in business today, and are also aware of the importance of employee experience. But what about the pre-employee experience? How are we catering to prospective team members as they get to know us and consider joining our companies? This experience is usually a bit of an afterthought, if not overlooked completely.
You can change this. Revamp the career page on your website, make it branded and thoughtfully designed. Optimize it for mobile and search, and use imagery and videos. It’s also a good idea to think of your candidates like you would buyers, and create personas. Put together a landing page for each role you need to fill, and make the content and photos totally centered on that one position. This is simply using the targeting we use in marketing and translating it to potential employees – and it works.
Make your employees into evangelists.
People can read all they want about your community involvement, your principles and your perks, and it all makes a difference in how they view you. But nothing is more trusted than the insights of the people who already work there.
How are your current employees speaking about your culture, and the daily environment within your walls? How have they rated you on sites like Glassdoor? What sort of glimpses into your organization are they sharing on social media? Perform an audit of this, and look for areas of opportunity.
If the picture your employees are painting about your company is a bleak one, get their feedback. Find out what you can do better. Meeting the needs of your current team will go a long way in improving your culture, creating evangelists and attracting new top talent.
So, how are you going to rethink your approach to getting the best employees? Try these ideas to market your brand and position yourself, and you’ll start to see better candidates walk through your doors – and stay.
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