The most common hiring problem I hear from business leaders is how hard it is to find talent. Usually the conversation is heavily weighted with complaints about the poor quality of choices in the talent pool and how things need to change to make these people easier to find.
However, there are a few companies that don’t seem to have any problem attracting talent, even in the really tough times. As a matter of fact, they always seem to have a lineup of talent waiting in the wings. These companies:
- Have a culture that is laser focused on supporting their vision for the future; it’s consistent with what they say they care about and what they are out to do in the world.
- Have a culture that is well known; it is talked about by competitors, customers, employees, and the wider business world.
- Take great care of their people.
The talent attraction silver bullet is to BE the company where the best prospective candidates really want to work. Those things make a business a magnet for the talent they need. The talk is that their leadership is solid, the company is up to something in the world, and they treat their employees as an asset. Who wouldn’t want to work in a place like that?
Becoming
Here are three areas you’ll need to focus on now to become a magnet for talent:
- Get super clear about who you are and how you do it (your culture).
- Hold your people as your top asset on your balance sheet.
- Be committed to hiring only people that match your culture.
Easier said than done, you say? Time is going to pass if you do these things or not. Why not start by getting crystal clear about who you are and how you do what you do. Be driven to be identified by your core values and your team’s manner of delivery. Be so driven as to risk being called pathological about it. Your culture is what is evident to the wider world. You make clear what you care about by the way you act. Your deeply held principles are evident by the way you treat your customers, your vendors, your employees, and your community. Get super clear about who you are and how you do it. You can do it!
Now, diligently watch candidates you are thinking about hiring for a cultural match. Choose only those that you know fit. Bless and release the rest of those candidates. The best talent gets to choose where they work. What they want (whether they know it or not) is a company that matches them. You are doing everyone a favor by only choosing those that fit you.
Role Models Are Out There
One such talent magnet example is Michigan company, EDSI. It’s truly compelling to meet them and watch how they act in the world. Their guiding principles – Show up, Smile, Support – are pervasive and persuasive. These principles show up in who they are and how they do their work.
Their culture is an asset not just with talent but with partners, customers, and their community. They have no such complaints about the lack of talent.
Yep, there’s a silver bullet for attracting talent. Start forging that bullet now.
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M. Miche Rayment is the Founder and Chief Facilitator for The Hire Effect™. The Hire Effect’s clients learn about hiring so they have healthy and easeful growth. TheHireEffect.com