How To Attract Top Talents To Work For Your Business


You need to hire top talents for critical positions in your company if you are to maintain top-level performance and competitive advantage within your niche.

But who is a top talent?

A top talent is a potential employee who fits into your company’s bottom line. Someone could be a top talent for a competitor company but fail to meet the threshold of “top talent” in your company. In that regard, you need to interrogate your bottom line, particularly the vision and mission of your company, before going out to fill your talent tank.

That being said, you need to attract the talents that your company needs to rise to the next level, not the talents you feel might keep the company running. Attract talents who will help you beat both the current and future competition, both foreseeable and unforeseeable. How do you attract such talents? Here are 6 tips for attracting top talents to work for your business:

 

1. Rehire ex-employees

There are ambitious employees your company had to let go in the past, probably because you couldn’t match up to their wage demands or because you could not guarantee them the growth prospects they wanted. If you were unhappy to let them go, or if they left in a respectful and amicable way, maybe you should reach out to them and give them better offers. Ex-employees are people who already understand your bottom line so you will not need to retrain them. Besides, the fact that someone would be willing to come back after leaving for greener pastures is enough assurance that they trust your business plan.
 

2. Hire people who share your mission and vision

Employees are more likely to flourish in their roles if their values and ambitions are aligned with those of their employers. Identify the most important skills and values for your company, and then liaise with a professional employer organization to fill positions around those needs. If you are starting a business in China, for example, you will easily find perfect employees for your vision and mission if you liaise with a China PEOOpens in a new tab. to get your company’s value proposition out there.
 

3. Invest in employer brand makeover

Start by resolving any negative aspects of your employer brand; anything that might have pushed former employees out of your company. Note that if employee retention at your company has been unimpressive, potential top talents can interpret that as a red flag and will be reluctant to work for you.

After fixing the problems and ensuring that your current employees are happy, now design an employer brand that will get the attention of top talent. Some employer brand makeover tips that might come in handy for you include:

• Offer reasonably high compensation and attractive employee perks. You could, for example, improve your employees’ medical cover, travel benefits, and social security insurance.

• Be clear on whether your employees should have a casual or official dress code. That will define your future employer-employee interactions.

• Create a healthy workplace by helping employees achieve the highly elusive work-life balanceOpens in a new tab.. Flexible working, gym stipends, catered lunches, and team building, among other work-life balance provisions, might attract young top-talents.
 

4. Tap into professionals’ events

Look for talents at candidate-specific events as opposed to relying entirely on online job listings. If you are looking for sales professionals, for example, send the head of your sales team to events where sales experts may gather. Such talent pools are usually filled with candidates who have no idea you are hiring; candidates who you’d have missed out on had you not gone on that wild goose chase.
 

5. Connect online

LinkedIn and other social platforms can help you find candidates with the experience and skills you need. However, you must show these candidates the reasons why they need to work for you. Share truthful information about your company, e.g. employees’ testimonials, team building videos, testimonials from happy clients, and photos of your employees and other associates making meaningful change in their communities, e.g. taking part in community empowerment programs.
 

6. Diversify your board of management

Modern employees want to work in homogenous work environments. They don’t want to be discriminated against in terms of religion, sexuality, gender, race, and other social biases. There is only one way of convincing potential employees that your company stands for diversity: Diversifying your board of management. A talented employee will be more interested in your job offer if they can spot someone who looks like them in the interviewers’ panel or company executives’ list.

7. Let your employees be your brand ambassadors

Most organizations have utilized employee advocacy in marketing, advertising and branding. However, did you know that the strategy can also be effective in attracting top talents? Top candidates are more likely to trust the words from a current employee in an organization than they would if the employer said the same thing.

Of course, you want the employee to portray you as an ideal employee. You need to work on employee engagement strategies to enhance commitment, loyalty and talent retention. That way, current employees won’t just say they love working for you, but they will mean it.

Social media has created a good avenue to get the word out there. Leverage the opportunity to use your employees as brand ambassadors to raise your brand’s awareness to potential candidates. Ways to do this include posting testimonial videos, sharing photos taken during happy hours and team building activities. Employees can also post about their experiences such as career development opportunities, flexible working schedules offered as well as overall job satisfaction.

8. Implement the use of education programs

Another way brands are using to attract top talents is creating apprenticeship programsOpens in a new tab.. This is a hiring strategy meant to attract young talents who are in school developing their skills. Any young talent willing to join such a program is more focused on landing a permanent role once the program is over. You can be sure that these individuals will work hard not only to develop themselves but the organization as well. The advantage of absorbing apprentices to your workforce is that you have grown this talent and thus you are sure if they are right for your organization.

9. Use employee referral programs

Probably the least used strategy by brands to attract top talents, but certainly a unique and effective one. Start an employee referral incentive program where your current employees get to refer talents to your organization. Offer extra benefits such as extra vacation days, free lunches, money or any other depending on how well you know your employees. Making it mutually beneficial will ensure that your employees are not just referring people for the sake of it. They will be sure to refer to stellar candidates so they can earn the rewards.

10. Host a job fair

There are individuals who attach a resume to an email, and then there are others who are willing to do much more to get your attention. Hosting an open house or job fair gives you the opportunity to separate the two. Invite potential employees to job fairs and engage them using creative learning programs- teach them about your brand and see who still wants to work for you after that.
 

Conclusion

In a competitive hiring environment, employees prefer to work for establishments that allow them to grow professionally, that compensate them reasonably, and that respect their diversity. However, you must be truthful in every promise you make. If you cannot follow through with your promises, employees will quit on you and that will tarnish your employer brand. Strive to build a strong organizational culture that speaks for itself.

Steve Todd

Steve Todd, founder of Open Sourced Workplace and is a recognized thought leader in workplace strategy and the future of work. With a passion for work from anywhere, Steve has successfully implemented transformative strategies that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction. Through Open Sourced Workplace, he fosters collaboration among HR, facilities management, technology, and real estate professionals, providing valuable insights and resources. As a speaker and contributor to various publications, Steve remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of workplace innovation, helping organizations thrive in today's dynamic work environment.

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