How To Attract The Top Talent

Hiring the best people is essential for any business. Poor hiring can lead to a number of issues, but the best workers do the best and most work. Unfortunately, many companies find it hard to attract and retain the best talent. In our 3-part series we look at how to hire and keep the best people for your organisation.

2021 is a candidate’s market meaning companies need to work harder than ever to attract the top talent. In part 1 of our series, we take a look at what attracts employees to a company and what you can do to attract the top talent.

Key Takeaways

1. Top talent is up to eight times more productive than average employees
2. Attracting great talent is a significant challenge for many organisations
3. There are a number of actions you can take to help you attract the best candidates

Why Is It Important To Attract The Top Talent

According to McKinsey, superior talent is up to eight times more productive than average employees. If your competitors are hiring the top talent, then you are simply going to be left behind. Steve Jobs once stated “Go after the cream of the cream. A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players”. Attracting this top talent can give you a competitive edge, can make you more profitable and help deliver growth more quickly.

It is increasingly difficult to attract great talent with almost one-third of senior leaders finding talent as their most significant managerial challenge. In order to understand how to attract the best talent, you need to consider what elements are important to them.

What Attracts Employees To a Company

Every employee has different wants and needs but there are some common areas that candidates will be looking at when it comes to considering which company they want to work for. Not all of these will be financial as there are other important factors that candidates consider when accepting a job offer.

Perks have evolved over the last decade with an increased focus on flexibility, mental health and work life balance. With so many different aspects to consider, what are the best ways to attract top talent?

5 Ways To Attract Top Talent

1. Provide Fulfilment: Most employees don’t want to just feel like a small cog in your company’s large machine and want to feel like they are offering real impact in their role. The top talent wants to know that they matter and that they will make a tangible difference. Take the time to explain how their role will impact the department, the company and even the wider society.
2. Develop Relationships: The interview process is not only about assessing a candidate’s competencies but can be an opportunity to develop strong interpersonal relationships that can make the difference as to whether a candidate accepts a role or not. Your hiring managers should be trained to ensure they are presenting themselves and the company in the best possible way and developing relationships.
3. Manage your Reputation: Your company should be creating a reputation as somewhere that candidates would want to work. Looking after your employees can lead to more referrals and having positive employee reviews on sites such as Glassdoor can help provide candidates reassurance beyond any claims you might make directly. Take a look at our guide to Managing Your Glassdoor Reputation for more help on this.
4. Offer Growth: Career progression is often a big factor when it comes to attracting the top talent. You need to make clear any available opportunities for professional development. This doesn’t always mean getting promotions or growing a team but can be learning new skills or expanding responsibilities. Helping candidates expand their skillset can show them potential for long-term career development.
5. Offer Value: Consider the value proposition you are offering to your employee and compare this to your competitors. This includes everything from tangible rewards, the substance of the work and the overall employee experience.

Innovative Ways To Attract Talent

Beyond the suggestions above there are also more creative and innovative ways that you can try and attract talent.

Use Video

Get your employees to put together video testimonials or a short day in the life type video. This will not only show your company is engaging and creative but will also give candidates and inside view of the organisation.

Use Referrals

If you already have some great people working with you then chances are they will know some other great people. Before you advertise a role, why not ask around internally to see if there any candidates your top performing employees could recommend.

Take a Risk

Sometimes you need to try something different and be bold. Run a competition, create some viral content or make your job advert a little more out there.

Summary

Attracting the top talent is important to help your business grow. If you are specifically looking to hire the best salespeople then take a look at our recent article on How To Hire The Best Salespeople in 2021.

Part 2 of our series looks at ‘What Your Recruitment Process Says About You’ with some practical tips to help you optimise your process. Part 3 then looks at ‘How To Onboard & Retain Top Talent'.

How ecruit Can Help

If you are looking to attract the top talent, then ecruit can help you recruit top performers at a fraction of the cost of traditional agencies.

From writing optimised job descriptions, listing on the top job boards and managing your applicants, ecruit saves you time and money while recruiting the top candidates across your sector.

Book a 5 minute demo with our team to find out more.