Attracting and retaining great talent is at the heart of any successful organization. But how can you attract this talent? Here are five tips to attract amazing talent to your organization:
Build a human-focused employer brand.
One of the most important things you can do to attract and retain amazing talent is build a human-focused employer brand.
Human-focused branding is about attracting talent with a compelling employer brand, which encompasses all aspects of how your company attracts and retains employees. The more you can surround yourself in an employee experience that makes your company stand out as different from other companies, the better chance you have at building an engaged workforce.
Employer brand is the perception of a company by job-seekers. It’s not just about how you market yourself as an employer—like your pay, benefits, and work environment—but also how well you treat your people and how they feel about working there. These all contribute to what makes up your employer brand.
Flexible work hours and locations.
Flexible work arrangements are a great way to attract talent and keep your best employees. A flexible work arrangement is any time-off or schedule adjustment that allows an employee to have more control over their time. This can include remote work, flexible schedules, and compressed work weeks.
Flexible hours are very popular in the tech industry because they allow employees to fit their lives around their families or other interests rather than vice versa. They also help with employee engagement, as people who are able to make more of a commitment to their jobs tend to be happier at them.
Invest in employee education and development.
Invest in employee education and development.
You’ll be doing employees a favor by investing in their professional development, and they’ll repay you with loyalty and referrals.
A Harvard Business School report found that “employees who are more engaged with their jobs are significantly more likely to stay at their organization longer than those who are less engaged.” Another study by the same researchers found that highly engaged workers were nearly twice as likely to refer friends or family members for employment opportunities than disengaged workers were.
Create a culture of inclusion.
- Set the stage. A strong, inclusive culture starts with the top leaders of an organization. The CEO should be clear about what type of culture they want to create, and then set the tone by living it out in their words and actions
- Build a diverse team. This can be done through hiring practices that attract diverse people, or creating opportunities for employees to learn from each other
- Foster an environment where people feel safe to speak up. It’s important that everyone feel comfortable expressing their thoughts at work, whether that means discussing ideas for products or sharing feedback on how you can improve as a leader
Invest in diversity and culture training for managers.
Cultural fit is important, and employees should be able to bring their whole selves to work. Managers should be trained on cultural differences, including gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, age and disability status—and how to best manage employees with these characteristics in the workplace.
In addition to understanding different cultures through cultural competency training, it’s also important that managers understand different types of diversity (single parents vs two-parent households) as well as inclusion (whether you can bring your dog to work or not). If your organization doesn’t already offer training on these topics or you need help making sure that its policies are inclusive for all employees (including those who need accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act), contact us at [email protected]
Human-focused branding, flexible work arrangements, education and development, and inclusive culture will attract top talent.
In order to attract top talent, you need to offer more than just a paycheck. In fact, studies show that millennials are more driven by personal development than by money.
- Human-focused branding: If your company has an inclusive culture and unique brand identity (think Google or Starbucks), it will attract more candidates who share similar values.
- Flexible work arrangements: Millennials value flexibility in their work environment, so if your organization offers flexible hours, telecommuting opportunities and other flexible working arrangements, you’re likely to attract a lot of applicants—especially from Generation Zers who have yet to enter the workforce full time.
- Education and development opportunities: Organizations should ensure their employees are supported with ongoing education and development programs that allow them to grow professionally while building skills they can use both on the job and after they move onto something else in their careers. This type of investment shows potential new hires that the company values their growth as individuals as much as it does its own growth trajectory over time.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, you have to be willing to invest in your employees. This doesn’t mean just throwing money at them or giving them perks—it’s about building a culture where people feel valued and appreciated for who they are. If you do that, talented people will want to join your organization and stay with it for years!