Talent Lock Down – 10 Tips to Attract and Retain Your Industry’s Top Talent
Good hires come once every blue moon if you’re lucky. You know the type: smart, hardworking, trustworthy – the kind of employees you can depend on whether you’re there or not.
Those are the people you want to populate your company with, and these are the people that will help you grow through the long term, bringing your business into its best possible future.
The first step is to attract top quality employees. With so many opportunities out there, it can be hard to set your business apart from the crowd. And though higher wages can help you to attract talent, there are many other options that will draw the cream of the crop to you and to your business.
5 Tips to Attract Top Talent
If you’re looking for the best, your potential hire will have a lot of great options from which to choose. You need to make sure you stick out as their best option.
Quality Leadership and Clear Company Vision – A shared goal can mean more than a couple extra dollars on a pay cheque. If you can clearly communicate your company’s vision and show potential employees their crucial role within your vision, you may find them attracted to your narrative.
Offer Competitive Compensation Packages – It’s not always about the money, but the compensation package is one of the most important aspects prospective employees look for. Yes, that includes salary, but it can also include things like competitive employee benefits packages, company investment opportunities, and tailored seminars that will build into your employee’s future.
Opportunistic Career Growth and Professional Development – Growth potential is exhilarating because it offers your hires a better future they can earn. So, ensure you provide your best employees movement within your company. Few people want to start a job only to find themselves in the same place after five years.
Creative Thinking, Innovation, and Active Problem Solving – Great workers are attracted to companies that are as ambitious as they are. Show them that you are knowledgeable, innovative, and that you play an important role in your industry's future.
Maximize Deliverables and Allow for Flexibility – Work no longer has to be 9-5. Whether your employees are e-commuting, or working flexible hours, many jobs can flex to fit the employee without hurting the bottom line. In fact, by allowing room for flexibility, you can actually maximize your employee’s deliverables by creating a more comfortable work atmosphere.
BONUS TIP
Give Back – Giving back to the community you live in is a great way to show to your employee that you care about more than just your bottom line. This is a great way to show and encourage empathy, and help to ingrain strong values within your team.
5 Tips to Keep Top Talent
It’s a tough pill to swallow when you invest time, energy, and resources into an employee just to have them up and leave you for someone else.
You’ve attracted those great employees, so here are five tips to retain them.
Maximize Personal Growth – Life is about growth. If you can help your best workers become better at their job, thereby opening doors in the company, they will be more likely to stay and work their way up, instead of jumping ship. This can include training, room for collaboration, and clear lines of succession.
Recognition, Reward, and Strong Team Building Atmosphere – Make sure you recognize your current employees and reward them for their efforts, whether that’s employee of the month, or some other laurel. Encourage a strong, close-knit team building atmosphere. You can even have get-togethers outside of work to encourage this.
Shorter Work Days – Studies have shown that encouraging your employees to work harder for a shorter period of time is actually more productive and beneficial than the traditional 8 hour work-day. This may not be doable depending on your industry, but it’s worth looking at.
Encourage Open Communication – By regularly meeting with and discussing ways to improve their lives, or even just showing interest in who they are, you can make employees feel like humans, not cogs. And that is priceless. And, you can use the knowledge gained to better your company.
Be Cool – Don’t get stuck in the past. The world is changing, and those who can’t keep up get left behind. Trends have a greater perceived value in our culture, and by keeping up with the trends, you can become more than just a place to get a paycheque – you can become a feather in someone’s cap. Wouldn’t it be great to hear through the grapevine that your company is a cool place to work?
By offering your employees great options that make them feel human and valued you can encourage loyalty in your best employees, and loyalty means they’re going to stay with you.
Attracting Top Talent Employees and Keeping them on Your Team
Life isn’t just about making the most money, and your employees understand that. Just like you, they want fulfilling work, and a work/life balance that will allow them to maintain their precious relationships and enjoy their free time.
By creating an attractive space for your employees to take root, and by supporting and seeding into their personal lives, you create a happier workforce, and one that is more likely to stand with you for the long haul. And that truly is a win/win.
Call Bayview today to help create an employee benefits package that will both attract and retain your ideal workforce, and build into and strengthen your company’s legacy.