How to Hire and Retain the Best Talent for Your Business
Hiring new talent is an exciting phase for any growing business, but adding a new member to your team is more nuanced than just putting out a call for resumes. Today, we'll explore some of the best tips and practices to attract and retain talent for your growing business.
5 tips to level up your hiring process
If you already have a hiring strategy, there's a good chance it can be improved to serve your business needs better. Check out these five tips to enhance your company's hiring process.
Improve your job description
The best job descriptions don't include an endless list of responsibilities, qualifications and how the perfect candidate could further your business goals. Instead, they should focus on what your company can do for the candidate and how the position will enrich them professionally and personally.
Ask the right questions
You've created a shortlist of candidates. Now it's time for interviews. When interviewing a candidate, your primary goal is to learn if they have the right stuff to get the job done and if they'll mesh well or help cultivate your company culture. Ask open-ended questions and encourage the candidate to share experiences revolving around their skills, knowledge, interests, and personal character.
If you go too overboard with your "imagination" during the interview by asking over-the-top or irrelevant questions ("What would be your one superpower?"), you won't make a good impression and end up wasting time. While there can be a time and a place to ask these questions, they shouldn't be the focus of the interview or act as a tiebreaker between two top candidates.
Personalize the hiring experience
A CareerBuilder survey found that the number one complaint of job seekers about the hiring process is a lack of personalization. Hiring technology helps you win the war for talent by allowing you to personalize the candidate experience. Automating your resume screening can reduce your administrative load and help foster high-touch relationships with candidates to determine fit and persuade them to accept an opportunity with your company.
Leverage your most engaged employees
Employee referrals are one of the most powerful ways to improve your recruitment process. According to LinkedIn, 45% of new talent sourced from employee referrals stay more than four years. Highly engaged employees can double as brand ambassadors and tap into their professional network to connect you with skilled candidates. You can sweeten the deal by implementing an employee referral program to encourage your team to get involved in the process with incentives like referral bonuses.
Promote from within
A practical but often overlooked way to find qualified candidates is to look within your organization as internal candidates decrease the time required for onboarding. Your internal hires also have pre-existing organizational knowledge and can get up to speed in their new roles more quickly than external hires. Plus, it can be a great morale booster when employees see an opportunity to evolve within their organization.
4 tips for retaining your top talent
A new study published by Qualtrics reports that almost half of the country's workforce plans to look for a new job within the next 12 months. Instead of allowing turnover to slow your business growth, give your people a reason to remain with your company. Here are some tips for retaining and cultivating a happy and dedicated team.
Provide upskilling opportunities
Employees are eager for their companies to trust them with more responsibility, and many of them are interested in building upon their current skills or developing new ones. Offer your employees new ways to advance and flex their talents by providing upskilling opportunities through Coursera or HubSpot Academy.
Incentivize employee loyalty
A little care and attention to the needs of your employees can go a long way. In addition to offering an attractive compensation package, consider providing your employees one-time bonuses, helping them pay down their student loans, or supplying work-from-home stipends. Beyond that, you can also offer additional perks to retain talent over the long run, like taking every other Friday off or reimbursements for mental health sessions or wellness-related expenses.
Practice daily gratitude
No one wants to work hard with little to no praise, and words of affirmation can go a long way in the workplace. According to a recent study conducted by Cicero Group, 50% of employees believe being thanked by supervisors improved their relationships and built trust with their managers.
Lean into your purpose
Your brand purpose is the reason people join your company and choose to stay. Showing your employees there's more to your organization than pushing the bottom line is a daily practice. If you let your brand mission guide your leadership practice and how you do business, your team will reward you with their loyalty.
Retaining employees is a challenge for a lot of companies. Employees will turn towards greener pastures for better opportunities if they don't feel valued. Your business needs to create a strategy built around supporting your employee's needs and keeping them engaged. By keeping these recruitment and retention tips in mind, your business can foster a work ecosystem where employees want to work and enjoy it.
