Top talent is often what it takes to help your business advance in the game. Talented individuals have the creativity necessary to innovate a new strategy, develop a new approach for your brand, and even invent new technological solutions to enhance workflow.
The question most businesses ask is: how can I recruit top talent? Today, we’re covering some of the steps that you can take to ensure that your business hires highly talented individuals. Following these steps is often what it takes to attract those individuals who give your company a serious edge.
Step one: Get competitive with compensation
What’s the easiest way to make sure that your job postings attract top talent? The answer is pretty simple: just offer higher compensation. Highly talented individuals often have a broad selection of potential employers to choose from, and the main factor that will tilt the scales in your favor is promising to pay more than your competitors.
Other options to include along with a higher salary are:
- Employer-matched 401(k)
- High-quality medical insurance, including dental and optical insurance
- Plenty of time off opportunities
- Flexible hours and other perks
Top talent is not only on the lookout for a high salary, which many competitive organizations may provide, but also the time of work atmosphere that allows them to live and enjoy their lifestyle. Perks, like those listed above, allow for that.
Step two: Clearly define growth
The next thing to consider is that highly talented individuals often have their eye on the prize long-term. Sure, they may excel at their current entry-level or mid-level job, but they have their sights set on learning new skills, and maybe even management and executive positions.
One way to attract top talent is to clearly define, at the beginning of their career with your company, or even during the interview, what the growth opportunities look like. If they stay on for five years, for instance, what kind of position can they expect to advance into (provided they work hard).
Having a clearly defined structure for advancement assures the applicant that they will be able to pursue their long-term career goals while working for your company – something every highly-talented worker looks for when applying to jobs.
Step three: Apply due diligence
It’s smart to spend time trying to attract top talent, but it’s also important to ensure that your applicants really are as talented as they say they are. After all, if you’re spending extra money on higher compensation and perks, you want to make sure your business is getting what you’re paying for.
What can you do? Try these strategies:
- Use applicant screening software
- Conduct pre-employment criminal history checks
- Conduct a pre employment credit check
- Call references and verify past workplaces
You can also have a hands-on, comprehensive interview that includes applicant tests. This shows you two things: that your applicant has the skills they claim, and that they have the additional skill to perform under pressure.
Step four: Network strategically
If you’re having trouble finding the right applicants just by putting a job posting out on local and online job boards, you may have to invest some times and resources into networking.
Online networking platforms and mentorship tools are a great place to start, but if you’re serious about finding the best talent available, you’ll probably want to call up old friends and colleagues to see whether they have any up-and-coming young professionals on their radars that you should know about.
Attending in-person networking events is also a great way to get in touch with top talent. Why? Because only more motivated and serious individuals actually prioritize attending in-person events; online networking is so easy, just about anyone can do it, regardless of work ethic.
Step five: Trust in your team
The last step in attracting talent – and keep top talent – is to let them do their thing with the support of your organization. Your team often knows their own professions best, and allowing them to create, innovate, and accelerate on their own terms shows them that you trust them enough to handle their workloads and their own career development.
Plus, showcasing your hands-off, creativity-forward approach is a great way to organically get the word out about your awesome company. It’s a win-win.