5 New Ways to Recruit and Retain Talented Employees

Is The Great Resignation harming the vision you have for your company?

As you know, your brand can’t shine without star employees but employees are looking for better opportunities every day. Maybe you’ve heard of passive candidates? These are people that are currently employed but open to bigger and better opportunities. Are your employee’s passive candidates for your competitors’ brands?

If you want to do a deep-dive into this topic, I’m hosting a webinar on November 10th with expert panelists and you can sign up here. The webinar will go over best practices according to experts on recruiting and retaining talented employees.

I’m sure that you know by now that sourcing and keeping great employees is more than just a paycheck. So let’s talk about the 5 things you can start doing now to recruit and retain talented employees. Time is of the essence, so let’s dive right in!

Embrace Flexibility

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve been experiencing a new normal in the workplace.

Employees have come to expect a flexible schedule. This can mean you offer a hybrid approach to home-office life or even make completely remote an option.

Your current and future employees have families, pets, etc. and now that the new normal has hit, employees are looking for flexibility in which they can work from anywhere.

When you offer flexibility, be sure to set standards so that the quality of work you get from your employees is not compromised. Use an internal communication tool like Slack and check in on your employees more often than you would in an office setting. Just because your employees aren’t working in the office with you doesn’t mean the collaboration and random brainstorming sessions need to go away.

Flexibility doesn’t just involve WHERE your employees work. It also involves WHEN they work. For instance, one of your employees may be a night owl and is more productive in the afternoon hours. Or perhaps you have an employee that wants the option of working from Europe for a month. If they’re getting the work done, consider letting your employees create their own hours.

Revisit Your Onboarding Process

Onboarding new employees set a precedent for how they will contribute to your company’s goals.

There is a delicate balance of equipping your employees with your vision but not overloading them with too much information.

Consider recording your onboarding process. At the very least, create a streamlined document that every new employee receives. The bottom line, make sure all new employees are getting all the information that they need to succeed in their roles.

Here are some things your onboarding process should tackle:

• Your brand’s current foothold in the industry
• Buyer personas
• Who your competitors are
• The goals you have for your brand
• How employees can grow with your brand
• Internal policies
• Who do they need to contact for different questions/concerns

Bring Employees Into Your Vision

Employees care a lot about being part of a company with like-minded values.

Give them a sense of ownership in your company by always being transparent about your brand and where it is headed.

Don’t forget that your employees are sources of valuable information about your consumers. Consider gathering their opinions on big company changes with strategies like ongoing satisfaction surveys, random check-in chats, sentiment poles and more.

Implement a Company Culture

Company culture is crucial. Whether you have a fully remote team or you’re in the office, camaraderie still reigns.

With a strong sense of culture, your employees will develop their own internal connections that will foster creativity and new ideas.

Take it a step further and showcase your company’s culture on Instagram to attract new talent. You can do simple things like happy hour at your local brewery or block off an hour mid-day, let your employees expense lunch, or do a Zoom team building lunch. Get creative and let your employees have a voice when it comes to company culture.

Create Room for Growth

I saved the best for last. Employees care more about the room to grow than anything else.

Emphasize to all new and current employees that if they work hard, they will have ample opportunities to grow their careers.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never met anyone who is content with being a little fish in a big pond. Make sure your employees know that you are willing to judge promotions based on their efforts and talents.

Another key thing when creating room for your employees to grow is to let them know you’d prefer to promote from the inside as opposed to hiring from the outside.