In today’s tight employment market, attracting and keeping staff is critical to business success.
If you’re a small business you might have limited resources and you want your best staff to work for you, not the competition. Veteran employees are highly valuable in knowledge and skills – and the wrong people can cost you time and money.
There are three components to successfully attracting staff:
The process
The first thing you need to do is talk to your employees when a vacancy becomes available. They can help you define what skills and attributes you should be looking for in your next team member – and where you could potentially compromise.
You then need to clearly outline and define the role’s job description, who you think it will appeal to, why it’s a great opportunity – and what type of career progression you can offer. If you’re not clear on what your business needs from the role, then potential candidates won’t know either.
Another tip is to consider where your target job seekers will be looking. Will they be working with an agency, active on LinkedIn or searching Seek? Different roles require different attraction strategies – and for good reason. For example, if you’re in the market for a social media superstar or marketing guru, think about advertising the role on Instagram.
Your story and message
There’s a lot of competition for top candidates, so it’s imperative to articulate your brand story in your advertising, on the phone, in the interview, and through the negotiation process.
If a candidate needs to choose between similar roles, the difference always comes down to what makes one company and job more appealing – so sell the role and your business every opportunity you get!
This doesn’t mean you need to have a well-known brand to stand out. In fact, people enjoy working for smaller companies because they feel they can make a difference. In saying that, you do need to make candidates aware of how big your business is, what the role involves and who they’ll be working with.
Again, when choosing between two roles, a candidate will look at your company culture, and whether your current staff enjoy working there.
Lastly, get others to tell your story for you. Often, hearing validation from someone other than the business owner goes a long way. Your staff or recruitment agency (Eclipse of course!) can genuinely promote your business and give potential candidates the opportunity to ask any burning questions.
Ongoing activity – what you do when not recruiting
Don’t wait for someone to resign before attempting to attract new team members – focus on building a business that is so well-loved by your staff and customers that candidates are kicking down your door to work for you.
- Build a great team culture – do things that create small yet significant stories and treat your employment brand with as much respect as you would your external brand.
- Small, consistent steps – it’s the little things you do all year that count. Give your staff a reason to talk about you to their families, friends and acquaintances. When it comes time to advertise for a new role, the word will already be spread.
- Authenticity is key – candidates can spot overselling a mile away. Treat your staff and customers well, and they’ll share genuine stores voluntarily.
Develop your story – then tell it to the world
The process, your story and ongoing activity are just a few of the tips and insights we have up our sleeves when it comes to attracting and keeping great staff. There’s a lot more that can be done, depending on the specifics of the role and your business.
Stories are made to be told. Eclipse can work with you from the beginning to develop yours – and get the recruitment process right.