It’s a New Year and the fight for talent continues and the parameters are changing. Wages have increased, flexibility has become integral to a job and the success rates are still slow. Sign-on bonuses are not as effective as hoped. For the employee, they’re better off negotiating a higher wage and not taking the bonus. Is it time to rethink your hiring process? Check out these proven ways to attract great talent, shared from our friends at SCORE Cape Cod.

1.     The Wage War is the starting point. Desperate times require desperate measures which is why we saw many businesses increasing their hourly wage over the summer as they recruited talent. Today, that higher wage is the point of entry. Applicants all have a pretty good idea of today’s “going rate” so if you’re not at that level you need to find ways to raise your wages.

2.     It’s a buyer’s market and today the buyer is the applicant. Why would they want to work at your company. Let your culture flow. Ensure that every piece of communication about this job reenforces the values and culture of your business. In the jobs section on your website, talk about your company and the value of working there–not just a listing of available jobs. People who buy into your mission are also more likely to apply and stay.

3.     Your best sales tool is your current employees. Employees are not going to recruit someone that they know won’t be effective. It would negatively reflect on them so line up your employees as your recruiting firm. Like a recruiting firm, give employees a commission or a financial incentive of some sort. No matter what you do, it will likely be cheaper than placing ads online and the good news is that the applicants will be better.

4.     Advertise in places you haven’t been before. Just as you research where your target customer gets information, do the same for your target employee. Where might they receive information? Ask your employees where they would look for employees?

5.     Create a job description that is engaging. What’s great about this job? What will they learn? How can they progress? What’s your company’s mission and culture? Give applicants a reason to want your job.

6.     Recruiting is a year-round job whether you have openings or not. Anticipate churn. Use platforms like LinkedIn to connect with people who could be future employees. Frequently post content about your culture. Recognize talent so that the community knows how great it is to work and grow at your company.

7.     Don’t just hire for what you need today but rather look at what you’ll need for the future and hire the people whom you think can grow into those positions. No one wants a dead end job. Include growth in your pitch

8.     Never hire on the first date. Always bring an applicant back to talk again. People come in more relaxed and you get a more honest impression of the person. Plus, it’s an extra opportunity to sell the company culture/organization.

At the end of the day the tiebreaker is the culture. Is your company one where people want to work? Is it one where they will want to stay? What are the opportunities? Play them up and become well known for having an amazing culture.

Need help with this or other questions? SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands provides free, confidential mentoring. Contact us at capecodscore @verizon.net, at 508-775-4884 or on our website at www.capecod.score.org