When you are running a company, your people are your most important commodity. They are the face of your business, the driving factor for growth, and can make or break your success. So how do you make sure you are filling your staff with the best and brightest employees around?
Finding, recruiting, and securing top employees can be tough. This is especially true when you’re business is growing and expanding your workforce is critical for progress.
Having some strategies in place can make you an attractive employer to top talent and lead to your success. Check out these hiring tips to take your recruiting game to the next level.
Stand Out From the Crowd
If you are in a competitive and saturated industry, standing out from the crowd is essential.
Finding ways to make your business more unique and attractive than your competitors is important to appeal to qualified candidates. After all, you are all aiming to recruit from the same pool of job seekers right?
First and foremost, your job listings need to catch the eyes of job board scrollers.
Make the job title and qualifications clear, but highlight the exciting aspects of the role prominently as well.
Explain why awesome candidates will be a good fit for a fun and dynamic role where they get to utilize their skills.
It’s also a good idea to make any important perks part of the job title or heading. Being able to work remotely might be a huge benefit to many job seekers. Or maybe you have an immediate opening that you are looking to onboard very quickly. Highlight these features to attract candidates that are looking for these specific job characteristics.
Sharing things that are unique about your company culture is also helpful in finding the right fit.
Do you have a focus on leadership training and promoting from within?
Maybe encouraging diversity or protecting the environment are strong components of your company culture.
Communicate these features to help your job listings be more complete and stand out.
Manage Your Brand and Reputation
It’s likely that potential candidates have heard about your company. If not, they will likely Google it to see what you are all about. Making sure you have a solid employer branding strategy and consistent reputation management in place can garner positive results.
Your brand as an employer can determine your standing as one of the top places to work.
What does your image say about your business?
Are you a fun and engaging company that supports your employees and encourages their career growth? Or do you run a tight micro-managed ship where running lean leads to overworked employees?
Focusing on both being the latter and making sure the job pool knows this will earn you the most interest from the best candidates.
It’s important to determine what value your business offers to employees and communicate that clearly. Then, create a branding message that’s consistent throughout your job listings and recruiter outreaches.
Make sure to feature your team on your website and share their success stories and incidences of career growth.
Your online reputation is a big part of managing your brand.
Ask your satisfied employees to leave reviews about their great experience working for you on job sites.
Even customer reviews can give candidates a glimpse into how your company operates.
Make sure to respond to all reviews to show you are engaged and have keen attention to relationship building.
Engage Your Current Employees in Recruiting
Your current employees can be your best asset when it comes to recruiting. First, make sure they are happy and excited about your company and its culture. Then, bolster your recruitment efforts with their network of connections.
An employee appreciation strategy is key to keeping your staff happy and feeling valued.
This can be customized to your company and its individual culture. But it should include everyone and run continuously, not just during Employee Appreciation Day or bonus time. Regular staff meals, bonus paid time off, or small tokens of gratitude go a long way in keeping your employees feeling appreciated.
When these employees are thrilled with their roles and how their company culture supports them, they are likely to share this with friends and others in their industry. This is a prime opportunity for you to recruit from their network. And these candidates will already have insider knowledge about how awesome your company is, making them easier to recruit.
An employee referral system is another super-effective strategy. Ask your current staff to refer qualified candidates for roles in exchange for an incentive. Maybe they receive a bonus after their referred new hire is there for six months. Or, you can provide a free vacation once they refer three candidates. Either way, sweetening the pot will encourage them to do the recruiting legwork for you, saving you precious time and money.
Harness the Power of Social Media
Social media has been a game-changer in so many processes and industries. Recruiting is no different.
Your social media presence can be a big component of your talent-seeking strategy.
It’s also another way to cement your reputation and brand image.
When a candidate spots your job listing, they are likely to check you out on social media to see what you are all about. Give them a great impression with active pages, engaging posts, and an overall fun-to-work-for vibe. Photos of team-building events and employee success stories are awesome ways for them to gain positive insight into your company.
Social media is also a prime location for job listings and recruiting. Sites like Facebook allow you to easily get your open positions in front of the eyes of tons of users.
LinkedIn gives you the chance to search for talent based on current employers, past experience, and relevant skills. Just make sure you have a plan for outreach that’s engaging and makes them want to learn more.
Growing Your Company with the Right Employees
Successfully growing your company just isn’t possible without the right employees on staff. Recruiting the best talent out there gives you the best chance to reach your goals as a business. So come up with a strategy to find amazing candidates and hit the recruitment ground running!
