Advice For Attracting & Retaining The Top Talent
Growing your SME means having the right people behind your business, get the best advice for attracting and retaining the top talent of your business right here.
Attracting and retaining talent is a huge challenge for SMEs and startups because you have to compete against the much larger businesses who have the reputation and wages to attract the top workers. It is also important that you are able to attract and retain talent as it is the employees that are the driving force of the operation, and you will struggle to succeed without a great team. Fortunately, there are a few excellent ways to attract and retain the top talent, which will help your company to grow so that you are able to compete with these much larger brands.
Offer Flexible Working
Today’s workforce expects some flexibility with their schedule and the days of 9-5 Monday – Friday are quickly disappearing. You should offer remote working opportunities and flexibility when it comes to start and finish times to show that you trust the staff and understand that they have other responsibilities. The rise of remote working and cloud computing means that flexible working schedules can easily be managed and you might find that there are a range of other benefits too.
Attractive Office Space
People spend the majority of their day at work, so you need to make sure that you have an attractive office space. This might involve:
- An open place office
- Comfortable furniture
- Lots of natural light
- Plantlife
- High-quality equipment
- Stylish decor
- New technology
Relaxed Yet Productive Atmosphere
Following on from this, there also needs to be a relaxed yet productive atmosphere so that they can enjoy coming into work each day. Allowing staff to communicate freely during the day but making sure that work is a priority can create an enjoyable work environment and allow staff to form important bonds which can help the company in numerous ways. As their boss, it is a good idea to be friendly and show an interest in their lives but keep in mind that you are their superior first and foremost.
Use Current Employees As Ambassadors
It is easy to say that a prospective employee will enjoy working at the company, but it will be much more effective coming from a current employee. Obtain a few quotes from employees that can be used to show what life is like at the company and encourage those that come in for interviews to speak to staff to get a sense of what it is like to work here.
Provide Positive Feedback
People crave positive feedback, and this can be highly effective in retaining talent and boosting morale. Providing regular, genuine positive feedback helps employees to feel valued and also communicates to them that they are on the right track. This can be particularly effective when done in public and encourages people to work hard and celebrate each other’s accomplishments.
Offer Progression Opportunities
The top talent is usually the most ambitious, so they need to feel like they have the change to grow and develop in their role. In addition to providing career progression opportunities in the form of promotions, you should also provide them with the ability to develop their knowledge and skills with training courses, workshops, mentorships and anything else that will help them to grow.
Challenging Work
Similarly, you need to keep staff stimulated and challenged as otherwise they will become bored and could start to look elsewhere. This means that you need to provide challenging and varied work to keep them on their toes. You should consider giving them more responsibilities, creating group projects, and varying their day-to-day role with challenging, interesting, and rewarding work.
Incentives
Creating incentives can encourage employees to work hard, but it also shows that you value and recognize hard work. Simple incentives like a gift card, early finish to time-off can go a long way and also create some fun energy in the workplace.
HR Solutions
HR is a highly important for any business, and it is one which needs to be handled by experts. One of the best ways to do this is to use TriNet’s human resource solutions which help you to attract and retain the top talent while also freeing up time for you to focus on the business. These solutions provide your business with comprehensive benefits and service options and will help you to take better care of your employees.
Regular Social Events
As mentioned, people spend most of their time at work, which means there is much more than the amount printed on their paycheck that goes into a decision. They will want to feel part of a team and have strong relationships in the workplace, and the best way to achieve this is with regular social events. While you can organize events like team-building days, you should also consider less formal and more laid-back events like a drink at the end of the week, BBQs in the summer or a takeaway in the office after hours.
Create Detailed Job Descriptions
It is incredible how little effort many businesses put into their job descriptions, yet this is often the first point of contact with a job seeker. You need to create a detailed job description which outlines exactly what is expected from the role, what skills are required, what life is like at the company and what they will receive in terms of compensation.
Competitive Wages
The wages will, of course, be a hugely important factor so you must make sure that you are offering competitive wages. You may not be able to match the salary that they could command with a much larger business, but if you can offer competitive wages and offer an attractive work-life with the above tips, then you have every chance of securing and retaining top talent.
Attracting and retaining the top talent is vital for growth and success, but it can be a huge challenge when you are competing with the larger brands in your industry. It is not all about money, and the above tips should help you to start to attract and retain excellent employees who can take your company to the next level.
