Great businesses are built by smart and hard-working people, which is why astute business managers prioritize hiring the best employees rather than just anybody who applies for a job. However, those who are the right fit for your company can be hard to find in today’s scarce talent pool.

This article outlines the best practices and offers fresh inspiration for hiring and retaining high-quality employees.

Attracting and Recruiting

Top-tier talent is hard to find; the tips below will help you reach the right people and hire them before someone else does:

Expand Your Reach

Utilize job search websites to your advantage. To cast an even wider net, you can attend networking events and look for talent meetup groups.

One great passive recruiting strategy is building and showcasing an employer brand on social media. Brag about your company and highlight the ways it is a fun and fulfilling place to work. This may attract many applicants who aren’t a fit, but it will also undoubtedly attract the talent you seek.

Offer Competitive Salary and Benefits

Money talks. Ensure your business has a compensation plan appropriate for your organization, industry and region — such as overtime pay or commission.

Offering benefits such as retirement plans, fair paid time off (PTO) policies, holidays, health insurance, maternity leave and flexible work policies are usually standard. If feasible, also consider offering:

• Student loan assistance.
• Educational benefits and development programs.
• Company equipment.
• Stock options.
• Additional insurance, such as life or disability.
• Perks, including discounted gym memberships, travel savings and company cars.

Master the Interview

A smart candidate uses the meeting to feel out the employer and see if they want to work there, so act like your company is being interviewed, too. Take this chance to sell the job and your organization.

When asking questions, show them you are a serious business that doesn’t hire just anybody. By vetting them adequately, they’ll see your company is selective and prioritizes employing a solid workforce. However, you must ensure your questions are appropriate.

Write Quality Job Descriptions

A job description is one of the possible first points of contact with your candidate, meaning it is their first impression of your business. Far too many job descriptions sound robotic and corporate, filled with buzzwords and fluff.

Your business should write each job description with passion and humanity, providing specific details that leave the reader fully informed. A really well-written one excites the right candidates.

Retaining

Losing quality employees is preventable but requires action. Running a business with a positive culture, transparency, fulfilling work and good pay is a great way to start, but there is more to holding onto employees in the long run. Some ways to accomplish this include:

Be Welcoming

It’s challenging to integrate new hires onto a team of people familiar with only each other, and they may feel hesitant to speak up initially.

Ensure your employees are respectful and patient with new hires as they learn the ropes and find ways to break the ice and build chemistry early. Also, show your new employees their voices matter by asking for and valuing their input and contributions.

Provide Opportunities for Growth

Lack of advancement is one of the top reasons employees leave their jobs.

Quality employees are ambitious and have goals. They should be able to see themselves building a career at your business, not viewing the role as a stepping stone or, worse, a dead end.

Here are a few ways you can invest in each employee:

• Offer to meet with them regularly to help chart their path forward
• Promote from within rather than hire from the outside
• Create mentor and training programs
• Recognize and reward achievements and outstanding work

Work-Life Balance

All employees want to be respected and have time away to live the rest of their lives and recharge. If you overwork any of your employees, those who know their worth will look for a new job that treats them better.

A key aspect of this is offering flexibility. So long as your employees do their jobs well, there is no need to hold them to a strict schedule. Instead, allow them to do what is best to maximize their output and keep them happy.

Build a Smooth and Comprehensive Onboarding Process

Onboarding is an employee’s first real experience working with your business; it sets the tone for what will come. A poor onboarding experience can be all it takes for a new hire to start searching for their next job immediately.

Your company’s competence, organization and vision are on display. Prepare your new employee to do their job adequately and set clear expectations.

If you found this article informative and helpful, visit americanbusinesscoalition.info to learn more about how the American Business Coalition can support you.