One of the top struggles facing businesses today is the lack of quality candidates and managing the employee lifecycle effectively.  With this in mind, DHW Insurance Brokers has compiled a list of the top tips and tricks to help attract and secure top talent regardless of your industry.

1.       TREAT TOP CANDIDATES LIKE YOU WOULD TREAT A NEW CLIENT PROSPECT.

How many of us put a mission critical role on a job board and then when the applications start rolling in, we just put them in a pile on our desk to review in a couple of days or next week?  If those were leads to new business, would you wait a few days or a week to review their needs and then get back to them?  We bet not.

When recruiting for a new position, you need to review your resumes quickly, choose the top few, and contact them as soon as possible.  We always try to keep in mind that if we think they are a top candidate, then someone else probably does as well.  Always make sure you are treating your top candidates to an exceptional hiring process and meeting them where they are.  You should always try to make the path of least resistance for the strong candidates because you are competing for them with every other firm in your industry.

2.        WHY HIRE A FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE WHEN YOU CAN USE A HIGHLY QUALIFIED FREELANCER INSTEAD?

Many times, we carve into our budget the ability to hire full-time employees for positions that require only temporary work.  There are extremely qualified individuals capable of assisting a variety of industries, offering their stellar experience and knowledge for a fraction of the cost.  In addition, if the relationship goes well, there may be an opportunity to gain them as a full-time employee at a later time.

Some of the positions most common for freelancers include marketing, lead development, accounting, bookkeeping, graphic design, technology and more.  There are countless freelance websites to help you navigate the waters and find the person who is just right for your business.  While not a comprehensive list, here are a couple of our favorites:

There are a host of options out there to meet your needs and hopefully, save you some money in the meantime.

3.      WHEN DEVELOPING YOUR BRANDING STRATEGY, BE SURE TO INCLUDE EMPLOYER BRANDING OBJECTIVES.

In today’s competitive environment for top talent, simply posting a job description on a job board will not get it done long term.  This is why top firms are implementing long term branding strategies in their marketing plans towards attracting new talent. 

Every member of your team is critical to your success and also your best marketing strategy.  One of our favorite methods is to have each employee write a short “blog” piece on their position (250 to 500 words) and how they feel it benefits the company as well as their experience with the company.  If you are a small firm, we would recommend all employees complete this task from the front desk to the CEO.  If you are larger firm with many employees, try to pick a wide range of individuals in various levels of the company to give prospective candidates the opportunity to hear from multiple divisions of the company.  Note:  Always ask the employee if they are willing instead of demanding compliance.  You will want the employee to truly buy into the value of their contribution, but if they feel forced, then they likely won’t be genuine or provide very useful information.

The most important thing when considering an employer branding initiative is to make it authentic.  You are more likely to attract top talent if candidates have heard of your company before and feel comfortable with your brand.

4.      MAKE COACHING A PART OF THE ONGOING TRAINING WITH ALL EMPLOYEES TO ATTRACT TOP MILLENNIAL TALENT.

Ah, the millennials.  They are becoming some of the top talent recruits in all industries as the other generations start to retire. With this in mind, businesses need to start recognizing that this new generation of recruits have a very different set of needs for recruitment and continued, successful engagement in the workplace.  One of the best ways is continuous coaching opportunities for all employees.  Millennials see coaching as an opportunity to grow and change within a position and also helps them feel more valued within the company. 

There are numerous theories about the best practices regarding employee coaching and we may discuss some of them at a later time.  For now, I recommend to pair each employee with someone in their department and, ideally, a personality match.

5.      CULTURE! CULTURE! CULTURE!

There are a thousand of ways to say it and frankly, it is almost a cliché to talk about it anymore, but the truth is, if your company culture is bad, no tip or trick will help you attract and retain top talent.

Make sure your candidates are a good cultural fit for your company and make sure you are creating a culture that is easy to assimilate.  That does not mean that everything is perfect and easy.  It just means that goals should be well-understood, the mission of the company as a whole should be the primary focus for every role, and communication should be clear.

While there are hundreds of tips and tricks out there to help guide you through recruiting effectively, we hope these few have given you some ideas you can implement immediately.

Best of luck and happy recruiting!

Top 5 Recruiting Methods in 2018

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Talk to our insurance broker experts today to discuss how we can help you with your insurance needs. Please contact Terry Stotka at tstotka@dhw-ins.com or 925.922.2200.