How to Recruit Top Talent?

Human Resources and Recruitment departments are constantly competing for top talent in today's economy. There's a talent shortage due to the pandemic and the scattered re-opening of different states in the US. Many candidates are waiting to see what happens or don't want to change because they have a job that lets them work from home.    

Considering this scenario, companies must find the answer to this question: What are some of the critical steps you can take to make your company stand out from the crowd?

Best strategies to recruit top talent

These are four areas your company should focus on to stand out and become the best option for your future candidates.  

1. Employer Branding.

2. Defined talent in your company.

3. Hiring High Performers.  

4. Proactive Hiring.

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Let's discuss each one.  

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   1. Employer Branding  

This specific area is often overlooked as an essential part of the long-term hiring process for a company. So, how can you make an impact on your brand to help you stand out from the competition? Here are a few tips:  

• Use all social media options available to your team.  
• Encourage your team to post about the great things happening with your company to their network. Your employees are your greatest brand builder.    
• Engage your alumni to provide reviews of your company, culture, and opportunities.  
• Use video on your website, social media, and even in candidate emails. A short 30-second clip from someone in a similar role or a brand ambassador.  

   2. Defined talent in your company  

Many consider the job description to be the most important thing. But there is actually more to it. Most companies do not have a proper definition of the experience needed for each position or what a top performer looks like in their company. HR and hiring managers are often not on the same page when it comes to the ideal candidate. How do you improve this?  

• Identify your top performers within the company in these roles. What makes them stand out? Who consistently meets or exceeds their goals? These are the building blocks for what makes top talent in your company.  
• Build job descriptions based on what these top performers look like in your company.    
• Hire for more than just skill! You can teach the job requirements, but you cannot teach integrity, a strong sense of urgency, and an ability to work as a part of a team. What are the key personality traits that are necessary? Hire for these first once the standards for experience have been met.  

   3. Hiring high performers  

Make sure you have your top performers doing the hiring within the company. Why? They know how to recognize other top performers and will not be intimidated by hiring great talent.    

• Feedback is necessary early and often. It does not stop when you hire a new employee. You should follow up with them at set points for the first year after they are hired. It would be best to have a strong feedback loop with the hiring managers when you succeed and fail with a new hire.    
• Companies should always measure success and failure to improve the hiring process.  

   4. Proactive hiring  

Proactive hiring is not yet as common as it needs to be, but it positively impacts the company across the board. Imagine when one of your top leaders leaves the company and not having to think twice about it because you have their replacement already on the team. This is necessary for today's recruiting environment.  

• Have a talent plan for your company to ensure you have the right people in the right place with redundancy built-in. You should never depend on one person to end up in big trouble if they leave the company. Have multiple people who can jump into new areas and eliminate these gaps.  
• Hire proactively so that you have a talent bench. Your company will grow faster and respond quickly to issues when someone leaves.    
• Many people say, "but what if I don't have a job for that person?" Make one. Cross-train!    
• Some will say, "I can't afford to have extra talent on my team." Can you afford not to? according to a study by the Center of American Progress (CAP), the cost of replacing an employee working in a midrange position and earning between $30,000 to $50,000 per year is 20%. Lost labor due to a vacant position pushes the price to the higher end of the range.  

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Many other factors lead to a competitive advantage in recruiting. Starting with best-in-class employer branding, ensuring you know exactly WHAT talent you need for your company, hiring high performers, and doing so proactively is a great start. There are many steps in-between that can help you build a proper plan, measure the ROI of talent acquisition, determine the right approach to hiring and ensure that your team is connected at the hip.    

We work with our customers to help with this process. Where do you start? Contact Lean Solutions Group!

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