There are a lot of similarities between sports teams and businesses. The primary example of this is that it’s usually the organisations with the best players that come out on town. While there are no guarantees in sports or the business world, those that take the time to put together a team of A-grade superstars are certainly giving themselves the best possible chance of finding success. The problem? Bringing the best talent on board can be a challenge. After all, every business (and sports team) wants the best. With that said, by adopting a few strategies and making a few adjustments to your hiring process, you can significantly increase your chances of bringing game-changing employees on board. With that in mind, we’ve put together the 5 most effective methods — incorporate them into your hiring process, and you should notice that you’re hiring much better candidates soon enough.
By Team Savant
Review Your Job Descriptions
In the vast majority of cases, a candidate’s first impression of your brand will come from the job posting they read. What they read will determine whether they submit an application or continue scrolling. You’ll get applicants for your open roles regardless of what you include (/don’t include) in your job description, but if you want to attract the top talent? You’ll need to work on crafting job descriptions that speak to that calibre of candidate. All too often, companies put together demanding, uninspiring job adverts that virtually guarantee that the best candidates avoid applying. Remember: top talent wants to know what you can do for them, not just what you want from them.
Pay Well
Money isn’t the only thing that motivates the best talent, but it’s certainly an influential factor. It’s also one of the easiest — albeit expensive — ways to bring the best employees on board. You may not yet have the prestige of other brands, but if you can pay enough money, then you’ll have more than your fair share of talented candidates applying for your roles. You don’t need to offer stratospheric salaries, but they should be above average for your industry.
Look International
Finding top talent can be challenging, and it’s even more difficult when the search parameters are limited to the local area. Unless your headquarters are based in a major city, it’s simply far from guaranteed that the employee you need to take your business to the next level will already be nearby.
One underrated strategy for bringing on board the best talent is to look internationally. You’ll be much more likely to find the employee you need if you expand the search to other countries around the world. The only downside to this approach is that some candidates are hesitant to move overseas for a job, but there are corporate relocation services that can help overcome many of the obstacles that may prevent an international candidate from accepting the role. If that still doesn’t work but you’re determined to land the candidate, then you can consider making the role entirely remote.
Offer Good Work-Life Balance
Having work-life balance and the ability to choose when and where they work is increasingly important for the best talent. And what’s more, they know that there are businesses out there that are offering those things, and as such, they don’t have to settle for a role that doesn’t provide them with them.
Fortunately, this is one of those things that is relatively easy to offer and doesn’t have a negative impact on the business. Most organizations find that, at the bare minimum, they can offer flexible working arrangements in which the employee works some of the time at home, some of the time at the office. Initiating other policies, such as no work emails after a certain period, can also demonstrate that you care about your employees’ work-life balance.
Streamline the Hiring Process
Finally, reviewing and improving your hiring process to make it more streamlined can be a good way to avoid missing out on quality candidates. You may still be weighing up whether they’re the right person for the role, but if they’re genuinely talented, then there’s every chance that they’ll have other offers on the table. Many businesses believe that they hold all the power in the recruitment process and that they can take as much time as they like, but that’s not the case with the top talent. Long delays or poor communication can harm the candidate’s experience, making it much more likely that they accept a position with a fast-acting company.