Today the job market belongs to the ‘candidate’. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or the type of job you are recruiting for; finding, attracting and retaining top talent is a real issue for everyone. At HCC Partners, we believe that with the strength of the economy, low unemployment rate, and number of available job openings, the challenge of recruiting top talent will continue to be top of mind through the remainder of 2019.
To be successful at hiring top talent in 2019, HCC Partners recommends the following steps:
1. Clearly define the duties, responsibilities, and experience needed. Be thorough and include everything that can help in the overall recruiting process.
2. Determine the required competencies and behaviors, as well as those that best fit with the culture of your company.
3. Develop the appropriate compensation package (base salary plus incentives), including benefits. You may need to be creative. For instance, you may want to consider paying for all or part of an employee’s student loan or offering the ability to work from home on certain days.
4. Formulate a ‘hook’ as to why a candidate would want to join your company. This is especially true for smaller companies or those in less-desirable locations. This could be a faster path to management, the opportunity to bring a new product to market, or the ability to build a new department from the ground up.
5. Check whether or not you have an internal candidate who meets 80% of the criteria outlined in your job description, and then develop the other 20%. This person may be your best candidate in the long run because they know your company and culture.
6. Decide if you will outsource the recruiting process. If you don’t recruit and hire every day, you may be at a disadvantage due to the competition, today’s technology, or just the fact that you need to focus on running your business—in which case, leave the hiring process to the experts.
7. Choose the employees who will be involved in the interview process and solicit their input early on.
8. Make the hiring decision quickly, but don’t settle. There’s a balance.
9. Conduct a background and/or reference check—it’s worth it.
10. Create and send the offer letter, outlining all of the terms and conditions of your offer, including title, compensation, and a non-compete/non-disclosure agreement.
11. Devise an onboarding program for the new employee and include others on your team.
People are one of the keys to your business success. To find, attract, and retain top talent you must have a process in place at your organization. At HCC Partners, we believe that recruiting talent needs to be approached in a systematic way just like other business processes. If you are having trouble finding, attracting and retaining top talent, feel free to contact me at jim.geier@hccpartners.com or at 215-244-8110.