“If you build it, they will come.” True, but will the right ones come? And will they stay? With the new generation entering the workforce with extraordinary talent, how do you attract them to your company?
It is really quite simple – change your thinking!
Top talent is no longer driven by money and power, but by the opportunity to do something they are passionate about. They care more about WHAT they do, rather than who they do it for or what they get for doing it. Creating the right environment for this to occur is the key to getting the top talent attracted to your company. Keeping them is as simple as following through with what you have promised and implemented. Happy employees stay and happy employees produce high quality work. It is a fact.
Just because it has always been done that way does not mean it has to remain that way... Change your thinking, develop a plan, revamp your system, and follow through.
Here are the top seven job features you need to be aware of that will attract and keep A-list talent:
1. RECRUITING – How will you recruit the best? They are busy, happy in what they are doing where they are doing it, and are not actively seeking new employment. So how do you get them to come over to your greener grass? The answer is employment branding through blogging. You should actively publish stories pertaining to your company in the areas top talented employees are perusing on a daily basis. Seek out industry-based websites relating to your industry or actively blog on the front page of your own website. Keep the content fresh, updated, exciting, and eye catching. Use content that speaks the language of those you are trying to attract. Showcase your own employees and their stories of success within the industry. Publish examples of company innovation, recognition, or awards that demonstrate how your staff “think outside of the box,” stories that will entice them to want to be a part of your next venture. There is no need to say you are hiring. The stories speak for themselves. Make them WANT to be a part of this wonderful company they are reading about. In your “About Us” section, ensure you highlight the benefits employees have and enjoy with your company.
2. COMPANY PRIDE AND OWNERSHIP – Does your company have a vision with core values? If not, it should. One of the best ways to develop this is with employee input. What a sense of ownership employees can have if they are actually able to assist in the overall vision of the company for which they work! Knowing they will be kept in the loop with company decisions and are able to have an avenue to provide input regarding any rules that affect their day-to-day existence reminds them they have a voice.
3. PURPOSEFUL WORK – Again, today's top talented employees care more about what they DO than what they get for doing it. They want a sense of purpose in what they do on a daily basis. They care that they make a social or environmental impact on the world. They want to take pride in what they have accomplished each day. Your company must relate the jobs, assignments, and projects to ideas, beliefs, and visions to which top talented employees can relate. They must be provided with cutting-edge technology to be able to do their jobs as effectively and efficiently as possible. Any glitch in technological abilities can halt production and have a negative effect on the work environment. When things flow smoothly and they have the tools necessary, they feel free to be able to accomplish the tasks they find purpose in.
4. WORKFORCE – During the recruiting/hiring process of potential candidates, allow them to freely talk to other employees. Not only will this allow them to see first-hand the true picture of the working environment at your company, but it will also allow them to see a sample of the people they will be working with side-by-side. A-list talented individuals prefer to work with similar talent. Gone are the days where people are sitting on the payroll because it is just easier than having to let them go. Unproductive, stagnant employees tend to deter talented individuals from not only entering your workforce, but remaining a part of it. Your employee referrals are vital to making that first connection with potential talented candidates. Ensure your current employees are as satisfied with their environment as you are advertising to new employees. As a potential candidate, they should feel free to have the ability to ask any employee any question without hesitation.
5. ENVIRONMENT – Not only do top-talented individuals seek out others of similar abilities to work with, but they also need to find an environment that fits their skill level. Creating an environment which is flexible will allow for many different abilities to thrive. Allow employees to think outside of the box, have the freedom to suggest better ways of doing things, work on projects they have interest in but may not have experience in, and have a variety of interesting, available work to challenge them. Let them run with ideas and see where it leads. Feed and encourage their creativity and abilities.
6. DEVELOPMENT – “Need more input.” Yes, it is true, we all need more input. We are ever-learning creatures, thriving to learn more, do better. Employees seek companies who put staff development as a priority. It is common sense that if employees improve their knowledge base and skills, companies will ultimately benefit from that knowledge. Implementing paid time for professional development outside of the company is vital and should be encouraged. Within the company, productive career coaching is necessary and embraced by those seeking to move forward. Programs should include mentoring and grooming for projects and promotions, and performance evaluations that provide career path suggestions and opportunities for growth. Encourage open communication between employees and management where it is known what employees are interested in, what they desire in moving forward, and this knowledge is acted upon and rewarded by management as frequently as possible.
7. BENEFITS – Yes, the regular employee benefits are great and should already be a part of any company, but with the way the workforce has evolved, so should the company benefits. Often referred as “soft” benefits, these are things tailored to the benefit of the company by way of benefit of the employees, themselves. The main mindset needed must change to accommodate the needs of today's top talented individuals, many of whom are family members, wives, husbands, parents. Micromanaging can no longer exist. If employees are allowed to work the best way they know how, in the hours they can do so that works for them, in the place most productive for them, then let this occur! Productivity will not suffer if an employee is not behind a desk or not working at 4:55 pm in the office. Productivity can occur at any time, at any place, and it does and it will. Offer flexibility in the workplace and you will keep A-list talent who know how to do what it takes to get a job done. With a work/life balance, employees are more satisfied in all areas of their life and ultimately more productive. Extra perks can be especially enticing when they include personalized benefits such as company family picnics, paid days off for community charity work, on-site physicians, and even nap pods. Tailor your benefits to what you hear your employees tell you they need. Showing employees you care about them personally will keep them doing their very best, and doing it at your company.
Gone are the days of passing the sealed envelope across the table with a number inside to be the highest bidder for top talent. Gone are the days when employees stay at a company because there are no other jobs. The times, they are a-changing, and companies must change their environment with this new style in order to attract and keep those whom we have created with our higher educational standards. If you create it in a way best for those who work for you, they will come, they will prove their worthiness, and they WILL stay.
