Best Practices for Hiring the Top Talent Your Business Needs
Finding the right fit for any industry can be a challenge. You may need employees who have specialized certifications or degrees; you may need someone who is well-versed in dealing with unexpected crises. These challenges were difficult before the world went through a pandemic; now, there seem to be many added layers of difficulty in finding the right talent to suit your company’s needs. Every industry has its own obstacles to overcome, but we think there are some general changes every business owner can make to attract the best of the best employees to their team. Read on to learn about some best practices you can implement to create the workforce you need.
Know Your Needs
Before you can attract new employees, you must first know what it is you are asking them to agree to. For instance, if your business is run from an office building, are you allowing employees to work from home? If so, how many days? What kind of equipment would they need? Consider concerns that run across the boards for every industry, like salary and benefits. Are you able to make an offer to a quality employee that will allow them to say yes?
Another item to get straightened out is the job description you plan to use. Many times, job descriptions are vague or don’t tell the whole story. The details you include may be clear to you, but keep in mind that applicants seeking a job have likely been reading several job descriptions in addition to yours. Think of the 15-second resume rule – if a potential applicant is not sure what the job entails or what kind of skills they need to have after a quick read, your description might be too wordy or confusing.
Prove Your Commitment to Culture
A familiar line from many companies looking to hire is to talk about their great “company culture.” While every employee is seeking a job environment that is a great fit in both the role and the culture, this description has often been watered down to a phrase that many businesses use but have a difficult time implementing. This means you need to know what your company is all about and how that is shown in the workplace.
One way to determine how you can show your company culture to potential hires is to ask current employees what attracted them to your business. Find out if they enjoy the monthly meetings that celebrate employee accomplishments or the occasional surprise Friday lunches you provide. While you’re at it, ask them if they can define the company culture and how they think you could develop it further. This will help you understand what works best from an employee standpoint and make any changes you need to show new hires why your business is a great fit for them.
Develop and Implement a Quality Training Program
Onboarding a new employee can be difficult – you need help, which is why you were looking to hire someone, but your new hire doesn’t know all the ins and outs of their role yet, so you are still struggling to meet the needs of your business. It can be tempting to rush the onboarding and training process, but that may lead to employees feeling confused and frustrated. Instead, create an onboarding and training program that addresses your business as a whole as well as your new hire’s individual role.
Approach this program as if you were a new hire yourself – information that you take for granted, like the fastest way to get to the break room or where the IT team sits, will be brand new for your new team member. This is an opportunity for you to familiarize them with your building, other employees, and then to sit down with them and work through the expectations of their job. Depending on the role and your industry, this could take several days. Just consider it an investment in a high-quality, well-informed team member who is more likely to stay with your company if they feel comfortable with their environment and tasks.
Offer Autonomy Wherever You Can
Some industries do not have the luxury of flexibility in all areas of their work – healthcare business leaders, for example, will attest to the fact that in many situations they are bound by state or federal guidelines when it comes to certain processes. This also does not factor in additional rules that most businesses have to follow, like when to offer breaks and when an employee goes on overtime. But even if you can’t be flexible, you can still offer your employees some autonomy in their role.
Even small things, like providing a standing desk for an office worker, may be just the right touch for a new hire to do their job to the best of their ability. When it comes to processes and task management, ask yourself if you are trying to follow a rule that’s required or if this is just your preference. If you find that a different process works better for a new hire and you are able to allow them to do it their way, you will likely find much less frustration and much more productivity.
Create Room For Employee Growth
Many new employees, especially those fresh into their careers, want an opportunity to grow in their industry. This means that you have the chance to give them this opportunity by creating ways for your team members to grow in their current role and beyond. In other words, don’t just look at your current needs when hiring an applicant – look at what their role could five years from now, too.
It’s important to develop the future of a role before offering it to potential hires, because they are likely to ask about this very topic. Take some time and map out where the potential for this role is – is it in becoming a manager over a larger team? Is it in the opportunity to develop new products or introduce new ideas to their superiors? Is it in the revenue that this role will bring in for you, allowing you to provide this new hire with a promotion in the future? Having a guide to how you see this role evolving and changing with the right hire is key to demonstrating how you value their potential.
It’s not easy to find the right team member, especially over the last few years. But it can be done – you just need to put some important steps into place. Above all, know what your goal is, both for your company and the role you are hiring for. Once you have that information, you can seek out a hire that will be a perfect fit and a longtime employee.
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