One of the biggest investments you can make as a business owner is to invest in your employees. The people that you recruit can make or break your company and it can be difficult to attract the talent that you need if you don’t know where to start.
Believe it or not, your brand, reputation, and social media presence all play a big part in how prospective employees gauge whether or not they will send in an application. That’s why it’s important to start early and to have a clear goal in mind before you start with a focused recruitment plan.
Find out what your business can do to attract the best employees in this post.
Written and Visual Personality
The written and visual personality of your company is likely what is absorbed by the public. This includes your social media pages, your website, and any media coverage that you have. Even your logo and marketing materials are important.
Your social media pages should be up-to-date, consistent, and in line with your brand. The colors should match your site and your posts should follow some sort of schedule—free from spelling errors. The language that you use in your posts should be the same as you use throughout your website.
Your site is also very important on its own. It should match your service or product, and be up-to-date and clean. Your logo and branding should be modern and representative of your company, not outdated and irrelevant.
In today’s world, your online presence and communication will usually be the first impression that you give to people. Since so many people use technology in their everyday lives, it is important to make the right online choices, regardless of if you think your audience is online or not.
By using older branding designs and not having your social media pages or websites managed by professionals, you risk missing out on an entire market of potential hires. They may overlook you simply because they are not confident that you are a company that will continue to move forward in the future.
Employment Reputation
Many companies have employment reputations outside of their business or brand reputations. Although the two go hand in hand, what you promote to potential employees is different from what you promote to your customers.
When thinking employment reputation, think about companies like Google, Virgin, or Facebook. All three have reputations as being excellent employers to their workers. Why? Because of the things that they offer.
The corporate culture and workplace allowances that you create in your business can either help to draw people to you, or to push them away. It all depends on what you have to offer and how you treat your talent.
Businesses with positive employment reputations tend to offer things that other businesses don’t, such as:
- Flexible hours
- Childcare
- Transportation
- Telecommuting
- Customizable office spaces
- Competitive salaries
- Paid lunches or stocked fridges
- and more
Not every business is able to offer flexible hours or work from home options, but it isn’t impossible to find something that you can do to entice future employees. Think outside of the box and choose something that would mean a lot to you as a worker.
Doing so will nurture your reputation and put you a step above other companies.
Getting Applicants
Sometimes, the biggest problem isn’t whether or not you have a strong brand or an employment reputation, it’s that you just don’t see enough relevant applications come in. One of the most common reasons for this is not strategically placing your job ads online.
General ads will get you a general applicant. Professionals won’t usually waste time on ads that are unspecific or unclear. Each position that you want to fill should have its own posting, and the manager of that department should review the ad before it goes live.
You should also write each ad differently based on the applicant. For a creative position, such as a writer or a designer, you may want to show more personality in your ads, while for an analytics or financial position, you may want to stick to the basics.
Try not to overwhelm applicants with too many required or suggested skills. Sometimes, the perfect applicant will avoid applying for a job simply because the posting said “applicants with experience in _______ preferred”. Remember to hire for what you need. Extra skills are just added benefits.
The Hiring Process
It isn’t just about making sure that your company entices people to send in applications. You also need to shape your hiring process into something that benefits both you and the people you will be interviewing.
Some small, yet thoughtful, practices to adopt include:
- At the end of an interview, let the candidate know when you will update them.
- Let prospective workers know whether you select them or not.
- If they had to complete personality tests, ask them if they found them easy, understandable, and useful.
- Remember that your business needs a good employee just as much, if not more, than they need the job.
- Be clear, honest, and open about the company and the role they are expected to fill.
You can also have employees provide short video clips or written statements about their experiences at your business. Ask them what they like, why they stay there, and what their typical day is like. Post the videos on your website or social media pages to show others that you have happy and satisfied employees.
Try to target where your future employees might be by exploring your different posting options. Free listings will generally get you a large number of responses, but the majority are not quality or don’t fit the job description. Try to anticipate where your audience might be conducting their job searches and post where they may see them.
This could be in forums, specialized job boards, industry communities, or through paid ads and listings. You may also want to consider enlisting a recruiter for specialized positions.
Getting the Employees You Need
Finding the right employees early on in the search can save you a significant amount of money in posting costs, training expenses, and lost income due to an unfilled position. That’s why it’s extremely important to up your hiring game by making your business an attractive prospect to the talented individuals out there who are looking for employment.
Focus on what makes your company great and do your best to promote that to the public. Be strategic about your brand, reputation, and the hiring process to make people feel wanted and welcome. Then, once you’ve found the right candidate, continue to grow and expand your employment reputation and hiring practices so that you are continually offering the best of your company to job seekers.
Do you work on your employment reputation? What do you do to entice new hires?
