But we also know that not everyone has access to people like us, especially if you’re just starting out and are in the very early stages of building your company. We come across small business owners every day struggling to find the talent that will allow them to grow into giants, and since we’re such a fan of the underdog, we want to help. We’ve compiled a few top tips to follow when looking for talent, and the things you can do to get them in the door:
Make it effective, yet easy.
By this, we mean don’t create the long, lengthy application process you might see in big corporate organizations. We know your business is the most precious thing to you, and you want people to really fight for it, but making people go through a seven-round interview process with three different presentations on their ideas for business growth is actually just cumbersome, and can be annoying, for both parties. The harder you make for them to apply, the less applications you get; it’s science.
[clickToTweet tweet=”The harder you make for them to apply, the less applications you get; it’s science.” quote=”The harder you make for them to apply, the less applications you get; it’s science.”]
Culture is everything.
Ignore anyone who tells you culture comes later. Culture is the strongest foundation of your business and will determine your attrition rates and ability to retain talent. No matter how great the job is, or similarly, how bad the job is, people will always stay for the people. Through employee engagement, open offices, thoughtful routines, core values and rivers of communication, you can create an environment that people want to be in.
Romance them.
Companies often think they need to be like Google to attract the best employees, but that’s not the case. Target the superstars you want in your business, and spend time romancing them. Find out where they hang out online and what they’re interests are, and then go talk to them. Engage with them. Build relationships. Woo them, and when the time comes to introduce the idea of a job with your organization, they’re already warmed up to it and have had positive interactions with you, so you’re not a cold call from just another business.
Yellow brick road.
Everyone wants to know they’re on the way to something great, and your employees are no different. Offer progression opportunities and the ability for them to grow with the business. After all, it’s one of the biggest perks to joining smaller companies. Let them know that there is an open road and they have free reign to build, flex, develop and transform their careers. It sounds like a scary prospect, but once you give your employees room to breathe, wonderful skills emerge that will be beneficial to your business.
Stand for something.
Nobody wants to work in a business that doesn’t know why it exists. Making sure you have a strong Employer Value Proposition (EVP) is the simplest thing you can do to attract great people. Know what you stand for, whether that’s your organizations values, mission, promise to employees, absolute no nos, things you fight for, what you dream about, and even the way you like to do things. This will create a strong narrative for your employees to believe in, back, and fight for. If you’re all fighting on the same page, your battles are easier to win.
Fight on my friends, fight on, and may the war for talent be ever in your favor.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Fight on my friends, fight on, and may the war for talent be ever in your favor.” quote=”Fight on my friends, fight on, and may the war for talent be ever in your favor.”]