Top 10 List for Hiring (and Keeping) High-Quality Talent

By Stewart Gott

2020 has handed us a wildly unexpected ride that the history books will be writing about for decades to come. Realistically, however, our businesses must go on and strive to profitable.

This takes top talent.

How can HR professionals make sure they are hiring the cream of the crop, and what can they do to keep them once they snag them? Read on for our top 10 list for hiring and keeping high-quality talent.

Study Your First-Choice Candidates

You have a blueprint to help you hire the people you want; you just need to realize it. These are the people you landed in the past who were your first-choice candidates. Poll them and find out why they chose your company, the selling points, and the drawbacks that made them think about turning down the offer. From there, you can pinpoint the key points to use in attracting and landing those coveted A-players.

Create Illuminating Job Descriptions

Job descriptions should invigorate and excite, not bore and stifle. Yes, include the specific key responsibilities of the position, but add the opportunities available, benefits, and the type of person who typically succeeds at your company. Give as much information as possible upfront to save you and the candidate time that may be wasted if they aren’t a fit. Paint a picture of the job so the applicant can visualize themselves in the scene. (Ask marketing for assistance if you need to.)

Put Company Successes Out There

Employer branding has never been more important than it is now. Candidates often read a company’s social media pages, website, and employee reviews before they take the time to send a resume! Share information about awards (such as Best Place to Work, or Top Workplace, among others) and accolades that set your company apart from your competition. A-players want to work for strong companies that are enthusiastic community partners.

Showcase Company Culture

The best education and most spot-on experience won’t make an employee succeed if they don’t fit into the culture of your company. Share authentic information early on about what your organization is about, what it values, and the overall “vibe” of the organization. Prominently display your Core Values and discuss them throughout the interviewing process. A clear idea about a company’s culture can help the talent most fitting to your business accept your offer and become a high-value asset.

Talk About the Company Vision…and the Candidate’s Part in It

Given a choice, almost everyone would like their efforts to be part of a greater good. This is where you can leverage your company vision into a selling point for your organization. Offer a direct correlation between the position and the success of the company vision. This “bigger than the sum of its parts” scenario will appeal to high-quality candidates and engage A-playing employees, so they perform more productively and enjoy their jobs.

Offer Tantalizing Opportunities

Stale jobs where it looks like a job applicant will do the same thing day in and out won’t be high on anyone’s list. Weave opportunity potential into every part of the hiring process. Talk about relevant education offers, new departments being formed, new products coming into production, and other exciting ways that a new employee can expect to improve themselves and grow. Highly sought applicants expect to enjoy ongoing opportunities in their workplaces.

Embrace Inclusion

Job seekers are increasingly discouraged by companies with uniform, cookie-cutter employees. Organizations need to create a diverse and welcoming environment that is compatible with people from all walks of life. These different viewpoints and experiences will undoubtedly mesh into a unique and positive company culture that fosters long-range success.

Practice Versatile Flexibility

One of the top answers on any poll asking “what do you look for in a company” will always be flexibility. It’s moved from a nice benefit to an expected necessity in the last decade. Many companies provide remote positions, ample vacation time, and other flexible ways that employees can perform their jobs. Being inflexible pigeonholes a company and makes it look outdated and restrictive, and neither of those aspects does well with high performers.

Invest in A Mentoring Program

A mentoring program is a smart way to drive productivity and decrease turnover. The mentor can experience new challenges with the mentee, and the mentee can soak up the mentor’s knowledge. Cross-generational and departmental mentor/mentee relationships are positive in building company loyalty, establishing a network, and maintaining focus and morale.

Bring Competitive Pay and Benefits

Finally, we’ve got to talk about what may still be the most important tip for hiring and keeping high-quality employees: the money! If your company is not in line with what other companies offer, A-players won’t accept your positions, and if they do, they won’t stick around for long. Do some research on average pay for your positions and make certain your pay and benefit scales align accordingly. Hiring and keeping top talent takes effort, but a team full of A-players is well worth it. Being able to design a powerful job description and interview process that showcases the company culture and growth opportunities is the first part. Once they are hired, keeping them engaged and invested, and well-compensated, is crucial in keeping high-quality employees on your payroll and not your competitors’.