Tips for Hiring and Keeping Top Talent

Everyone is concerned about a shortage of quality talent, where to find them, how to attract them, how to get them on board and how to retain them.

The hiring experience today needs to be positive from beginning to end.

We are in a digital era where talent have easy access to company information and what others are saying before even applying. Employer review sites like Glassdoor add a further element of transparency and candidates can discover all they need to know on their smart devices.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that companies are constantly being assessed by candidates and staff. And with the high demand for skilled talent, staff are likely to walk if they aren’t getting what they need.

So, what should you do?

Here are my top tips to help secure the right person for the role and keep your team happy for the long term.

1) Interviews are a two-way street

Respect your candidates. Employers often don’t realise they’re similarly
being assessed by candidates. They show up late, come unprepared or are
distracted by their phones and end up leaving a bad impression. From the
time they are kept waiting to the interview structure, candidates form
conclusions about the company and its suitability.

Long drawn out interview and hiring processes also do not go down very
well. Nobody wants to hear that after going through three interviews, one
assignment followed by a presentation, that they are either not suitable or that the company has decided not to hire for that role or they have decided to promote someone internally.

Be decisive and respectful, even if you’re on the hiring side – you wouldn’t
treat a potential client any less so be sure to treat candidates in the same way.

2) No one likes to stay late

Employees value hard work and success, but more than ever people today
don’t equate good performance to long working hours.
They care about life outside of work and leaving at a decent hour. It takes effort from management to implement a company culture that celebrates  good work life balance. This begins with an emphasis on efficiency and proper manpower planning to ensure minimal work overload. Then it takes regular reviews to identify problems keeping employees late in the office. Management should also lead by example.

3) Be flexible 

Talent, particularly those in the marketing and creative industries, appreciate the flexibility of working from home or being out of the office. Some companies only require staff to be in the office during core work hours of 10am to 4pm for meetings, and they are free to work elsewhere outside of that time. Other companies (including ours) set clear expectations and KPIs and as long as staff are meeting those expectations, there is a lot of flexibility on work hours.

Understand what your employees need and work with them to arrange suitable flexible arrangements to best suit everyone’s preference,however be smart so it won’t interfere with workflow and output.

4) The office isn’t just for work 

All work and no play just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Friendships are an important component of our working experience and professionals want to not only work, but also play hard. Knowing you can grab a drink with your colleague after a long workday makes the working relationship that much better.

Be it regular company training sessions, off-site days, team-bonding exercises, or just enjoying a meal outside of work, make an effort to host and encourage these activities. Celebrate the small wins and acknowledge the performance and contributions by the team.

5) Help them grow

People always strive for professional growth. When they know everything about their job, they stop learning and look for new opportunities even if they have comfortable remuneration packages. Have a development plan for each of your team members, and even more so your star performers. Offer opportunities for further training, collaboration on cross-departmental projects and chances to develop skills they’re interested in. Challenge them to reach their full potential and push them outside of their comfort zone – it will make them better at their job and they will be appreciative.

People will look elsewhere when they feel there is no more career progression or learning opportunities for them at their current company.

6) Say a proper goodbye – and find out why

People leave their jobs, that is inevitable, so make sure the exits are properly handled. Remember that they will be ambassadors for your company even when they leave. It’s incredibly important to integrate exit interviews as part of that process – find out why your staff are leaving and identify any other problems that should be addressed in your organization.

If certain ineffective processes or certain team members are mentioned repeatedly as the cause, that raises red flags.

Resist the urge to blame or bad mouth people who have moved on as the others who are still around will notice.

7) Hire for attitude, not aptitude

Attitude – rather than aptitude – is the denominator of outstanding candidates. If someone has positive energy, they are more likely to pick up a skill and develop high proficiency. Companies need to start taking a chance on these candidates. The key is to look for professionals who have transferable skills. With a passion to develop the right skills, these people can become some of your best performing staff.

The companies that make an effort to respect their candidates, care for their staff and find out how to make the workplace better often attract the best employees and retain them.

Remember that a company is only as successful as the people driving it!