Remember the good old days when you had a vacancy and all you had to do was this. And then this would happen. Well, unfortunately, it feels like it’s a little bit more like this now.
In the UK, many businesses are finding it really challenging to be able to attract the right talent into their businesses. So unless your recruitment strategy is like this. Pulse. C.V. You’re hired. Then that’s not going to help especially if you are a growing business because you obviously need people in your company to support your growth journey.
How do you attract the right talent for your business? Or any talent would be nice. No the right talent. Well the key is to develop something called your employer brand. What is your employer brand? Well the employer brand is all about how you are perceived in the marketplace amongst prospective candidates. There are loads of other businesses in the same space offering the same amount of money for the same pool of candidates.
What is it that you have to offer that they don’t? This is what your employer brand is all about. So how do you build a good employer brand? Well there are three main things that you can start to think about.
First of all: reputation. What is your reputation as an employer? What are you doing to make sure that when people research your company they can find information that helps them understand that you are a really great place to work.
Next up: think about how you are marketing the roles that you have available. Are you just putting up generic adverts that don’t have a lot of detail or are you putting together an advert that really helps the candidate understand what’s in it for them other than the money. Of course, candidates want to be paid properly but what else can you offer candidates other than the money? Is there additional career opportunities in the future? Is there an opportunity to get involved in different parts of the business?
Small businesses have flexibility so if you are in a position to be able to offer candidates a little bit more then make sure that you really do sell that aspect of the role. Also, consider how well you sell the business. Candidates right now have got lots and lots of choice and you want your adverts to be head and shoulders above everybody else’s on those jobs boards.
The other thing you want to think about is how well you are utilising agencies and consultants. Are you giving them a proper brief about your company the journey that you’re going on are you giving them everything that they need to be able to get candidates excited about the roles that you have on offer.
And finally, think about your recruitment process. Think about how responsive you are as you are dealing with candidates. Do you sell the role? Do you sell the business? Do you get to know the candidates? Do you give them an insight into what kind of culture you have in your business? A recruitment process is all about mutual due diligence. Don’t mislead people. Don’t oversell. Be open and honest but do explain as well as possible. You are choosing the right candidate but the right candidates are definitely choosing the right businesses.
So look, it is difficult to find talent right now but it is even more difficult than it needs to be if you have a s*** employer brand. See you next time on “Mind Your Own Business”.
If you’re looking for more small business tips, then we’d like to see you every week on “Mind Your Own Business,”
Marco Soares is an award-winning business coach in Sussex and is available if you’d like help implementing these tactics.
