For any business team that wants to grow, hiring new people is essential. The success of any business is highly dependent on its employees, so you need to make sure that you attract and employ the right talent.
Read on for the best tips on attracting the right people and growing your team without putting your business at risk.
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Determine the right time for growth
Before your business team grows in size, make sure the time is right for your business to expand. Many small teams get bigger too quickly before they can afford extra paychecks and without enough work for newcomers. As the failure rates for small businesses aren’t really encouraging, you need to be careful and realistic when considering the goals of your business. Depending on your needs, there might be some more affordable solutions that don’t involve hiring new staff on a full-time or part-time basis. For example, you can think about outsourcing some of your specialized tasks, such as marketing or payroll, and take the burden off yourself and your colleagues.
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Consider contingent workforce
One way to grow your business team with the right talent is by using the benefits of a contingent workforce – an on-demand labor pool that you can count on when you have the needs for their services.
The crucial benefit for companies that hire these kinds of workers is cost savings. There are usually no costs related to payroll taxes, no contributions to their social security or unemployment funds, and no health insurance. As it is cost-effective, the contingent workforce can provide businesses with additional agility and flexibility, helping them offset a skills gap.
This type of workforce usually consists of consultants, freelancers, and contractors to hire ad-hoc, either from the agency or independently. Professional contingent workforce solutions in Asia are thriving, and according to some recent reports, 40% of the US workforce is made up of contingent workers.
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Promote within your current staff
To enable the growth of your business and your team, you need to take care of the employees who helped your business get where it is today.
The number one reason employees leave their employers for a new career opportunity, so make sure all your star employees have a chance to build their careers within your company.
Enable continuing education to your staff so they can improve their skills and follow their passions. Sign them up for conferences, workshops, and online courses, mentor them one on one so that they can grow with you. If you have a new position to fill in, let your HR manager first promote it within your company and check whether some of your current employees might excel at it.
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Establish a solid hiring process
Before you create a detailed job description for the new position you want to fill in, determine the common qualities you want your team members to share.
A formula used by recruiters widely today is SWAN, an acronym that stands for Smart, Work hard, Ambition, and Nice, as a perfect combination of qualities of a new employee.
Once you’ve determined desired qualifications and qualities, you can put a hiring process in place.
Provide an easy application system and send your recruiters and candidates time and energy. Also, ensure you’re clear about your expectations, salary offer, and benefits.
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Involve your employees in growing your team
You’ll have better chances to hire suitable fit candidates if you involve your employees in the hiring process. There are several ways you can do this:
- Your employees can recommend great candidates.
- They can assist you in reviewing the qualifications and resumes of potential candidates.
- They can help you interview candidates to evaluate their potential “fit” within your company.
Your employees who participate in the selection process will be committed to helping the new ones succeed, so it can hardly get better for your team and the new member.
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Be a great employer
Being a great employer is simply not enough to attract the best talent – you need to build your brand and your reputation and let your potential candidates know that you are a great employer. This way, you will have the best prospects looking for their place in your company, as they will be able to recognize themselves as being part of your brand.
Reconsider your practices related to retention, accountability, motivation, recognition, reward, promotion, involvement, and work-life balance. You need your employees to believe your company is a great place to work and talk about it out loud on social media or various employment-related websites.
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Pay better than your competition
When it comes to the job market, the truth is, you get what you pay for. Examine the job market and determine the pay people in your industry attract. One of the ways to attract and keep the best candidates is by paying above average. It seems obvious, right?
Not to everybody. Every day employers try to get employees cheaply. Sometimes they get lucky and find a candidate who is often in a desperate position. But that person most often resents their pay scale, feels unappreciated, and leaves for the first better job offer. At the same time, the company faces employee replacement costs ranging from two to three times the person’s annual salary. If you want to attract the best, pay better.
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Make quality of life a priority
Your business will definitely attract more talent if you show potential candidates that you respect employees’ private lives and quality. Think about improving their productivity and morale with flexible policies that recognize that employees’ life doesn’t end at their workplace. You can start formal programs such as condensed workweeks or flextime to help your employees find a balance between their work and lives. You can nurture a culture that respects home life so that the employees can easily pick up a child from school when they are sick or take them to the doctor.
As you can see, there are many ways for your business to attract the right talent and make them stay, and none of them requires fortune.
