Finding the right group of professionals to work within your establishment is more involved than most entrepreneurs realize. You can’t simply put a “help wanted” sign in your window or place a job description in local newspapers and online job sites and hope the applications and resumes start piling up. Just as you take time to analyze each candidate’s education, skills, and experience, job seekers review and compare hundreds of employment opportunities to determine which company has the greatest potential to accommodate their needs.
More than a reasonable salary and a benefits package, today’s professionals are interested in working for companies that provide a safe and healthy work environment. Job seekers also prefer organizations that offer room for professional growth, work-life balance and cultivate a positive environment for their employees. If you’re going to attract (and retain) top talent to your startup, consider these suggestions below.
Flexible Work Schedules
Modern professionals are interested in positions with schedules that accommodate their home life. Working 9 to 5 or commuting to a brick-and-mortar location isn’t ideal for everyone. You can set yourself apart and attract more applicants by offering flexible work schedules. Offering morning, afternoon, and evening shifts, remote options, or hybrid solutions, gives employees more control over their schedules and routines.
Casual Dress Codes
Sometimes wearing business attire is necessary to make a good impression. However, a strict dress code could cause applicants to look elsewhere. No one wants to dress up all the time. Not to mention, the cost of purchasing and cleaning corporate attire is expensive. People tend to work better when they feel comfortable. Therefore, a casual dress code could entice job seekers to submit resumes.
Career Development Programs
There’s nothing worse than working for a business that causes you to feel stagnated. Most people have professional desires to advance their careers. More than offering promotions within the workplace, job seekers want to work with an employer that will invest in their future. A career development program is an excellent way to attract attention. It’s a collection of activities and offerings that enable employees to set goals, identify strengths and weaknesses, and receive training, mentoring, shadowing, and tuition assistance opportunities.
Employee Appreciation
Imagine putting your best foot forward for an organization but never receiving any recognition or appreciation for your efforts. You’d probably start to feel unappreciated. Showing your gratefulness for your team can encourage top talent to join your team. Whether you have an employee of the month, highlight your team on social media, host annual reward shows, give bonuses, or plan special events like picnics and company sporting competitions, it boosts morale. It also indicates to applicants that you go above and beyond to support your team.
Sustainability
As climate change continues to wreak havoc on everyday life, more people are holding businesses accountable for their carbon footprints. To attract (and retain) top talent, you should invest in sustainable or eco-friendly solutions to support the planet. Going paperless, recycling, installing energy-efficient lighting, and offering remote jobs are some of the most standard and common practices.
Of course, there are other ways to make your business more sustainable. For instance, you could hire someone for commercial EV charging station installation to accommodate drivers with electric vehicles.
Customer And Employee Satisfaction
Lastly, you should consider the satisfaction level of your customers and employees. If you’re not doing the best you can to provide the best customer and team experience, it sends a message that you care more about the money than the well-being of others. Do an online search of your company to see what information you find. If there’s a lot of harmful content, you should address these issues to improve your brand’s policies and reputation.
If your small business is newly established, you can encourage your existing customers, employees, vendors, and investors to write a review. Advertise these reviews on your company website and social media platforms to increase content visibility.
It’s a dog-eat-dog world as you compete against local, national, and international companies to attract (and retain) top talent. You don’t necessarily need a large budget or high salary offerings to bring the best to your team. All you need is to set your brand apart by offering job opportunities and a work environment far exceeding job seekers’ expectations. You’ll have no trouble building the right team for your organization by making the above changes.