Secrets to Recruiting The Talent You Want

Where are all the workers? The shortage of workers directly impacts our ability to keep the business open during regular business hours.  The unfortunate reality is that this is not unique to one specific industry.

Over the past year, we have talked to business owners in a diversity of industries; and the following three questions is what has stood out the most and where we go from here:

1. How do I get people to apply?
2. How do I ensure they fit the organization?
3. How do I keep them?

These are questions and challenges causing business owners to make quick and sometimes “out of the norm” decisions.  For example, a few owners I talked to recently mentioned that they are just offering more money upfront to start, sometimes doubling the original starting pay.  Other owners are foregoing the worry of a cultural fit and just putting someone to work.  Although both these approaches will get you some boots on the ground, they will not provide a long-term solution for the current need. And, worst of all, begin to erode the organization’s culture, which is the secret sauce to performance, talent recruitment, retention, and all things influencing your definition of success.

Culture is what inspires people to stick around.  It is what attracts customers as it impacts the delivery of products and services to consumers.  Employees and customers talk, and their voices carry especially in our social media world.  Even in our current environment, where talent is hard to come by, it is better to do more with less than hire someone who does not fit your culture as it will de-motivate those who do fit your culture.  One bag apple CAN rotten the bag.  So choose culture and honor your high-performing loyal employees who exemplify the organization’s core values vs. filling a seat.

It may seem like a rhetorical question, but do you realize how critical recruiting and retaining the right talent is to your business’s current and future? It is crucial to fulfilling your vision and goals and your future financial health, otherwise known as succession planning. Succession planning provides solutions to overcome the possible, probable, and potential issues that impact your vision.

We are experiencing historic times in many ways. Increases in the minimum wage, innovative offerings for getting people in the door, huge bonus and incentive programs, and other recruiting strategies are at play.  What are you doing to innovate in your recruiting? More importantly, are you recruiting to retain? Culture attracts and creates loyal teammates and customers; it also has the power to lose customers and talent.  The value of your business directly correlates to the quality and depth of your team, which is critically dependent upon a relentless commitment to nurturing core values and investing in your culture.

Top talent is hard to find these days, so when you find them, it is critical you have the strategies in place to retain and motivate your key people. Click the following links for more drill-down resources on Leadership and Management Continuity.

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We can help you with insights, other resources, and see if it makes sense to work together. At the very least, in 30 minutes, you may get some ideas you can apply to your business right away.