Arm yourself in the war to find, keep employees

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When I read that a software company in Massachusetts is giving a $60,000 sports car to the first employee who successfully refers 10 new employees, it was like a warning shot was fired across the bow of every other company in America. The war for talent has escalated.

The gloves are coming off as companies steal employees from each other and cut deals with hard-to-find professionals that would make an NFL player envious.

If you’re not having much trouble recruiting, just wait…you will. The demographics are going to be working against employers until 2008. We’re already starting to feel the pain. There are hotels and franchises that can’t open for lack of employees. Employee-starved companies are now acquiring entire firms just to get their hands on the employees.

Big companies are finding their standard benefits packages aren’t enough to lure skilled workers. And small companies are worried that they can’t afford a lot of fancy perks. So what can you do?

In my consulting and training work, it’s clear that the top two issues facing companies today are recruiting and retaining employees. As a result, I’ve developed two booklets, "120 Recruiting Secrets to Help You Win the War for Talent," and "125 Tips for Retaining Talented Employees." One fact emerged as I did the research for these tips booklets, every company is going to have to rethink the way they find and keep people.

Here are some quick-hit ideas to get you started:

§      Give every employee business cards, with information about the company on the back.
List the things that make your company a great place to work, not just your benefits package. For instance, if you have a fun atmosphere, play it up. If you have a creative rewards system, let people know.

§      Encourage every employee to hand these cards out to people they meet; anyone who provides them with good service or who has skills the company needs. Each month, have a drawing and award prizes to employees who have referred potential candidates.

§      If a referred employee is hired, pay a referral bonus and don’t skimp. A meager bonus of $100 just won’t get employees interested. For instance, if you just spent $4000 for advertising and you successfully hired four people, why not pay $1000 to each employee who refers a successful hire? And I recommend that you put a time limit on it; if they only have 60 days to cash in, they are likely to go home and look through their Christmas card list. Offer the same deal to vendors or other organizations, too. For instance, advertise in the local church bulletins and offer them the same bounty.

§      Use the Internet.
Create a Career Page on your Website. Feature photos of happy employees and quote them touting the benefits of working for your company. Put your company’s job openings button right on your Home Page. Put a "resume builder" section on your Careers page.

Candidates who don’t have a resume can create one right on the spot.

§      An alternative is to post open jobs on trade association and college websites, as well as on job boards. Most of these organizations will let you look at available resumes that are listed on their sites.

§      Clean up and speed up your interview process.
It’s so difficult to get a candidate, don’t blow it in the interview. Candidates often complain that interviewers aren’t prepared and don’t provide enough feedback on the status of a job.

§      Ask the employees you’ve hired recently, "What would make our recruiting and hiring process better?" For starters, make sure you train people in interviewing skills.

§      When filling a job, conduct a mini-interview over the phone, schedule multiple interviews on the same day (so they don’t have to keep coming back), and make the offer quickly, before someone else snaps them up.

§      Think creatively about perks.
Yes, salary is important, but so are flexibility, autonomy, family-friendly hours and a liberal vacation policy. People of all ages, married and unmarried, are juggling too many balls and surveys reveal that employees (particularly women) will trade income for a saner lifestyle. Why not let a student work around his class schedule, or let a parent schedule around her children’s school calendar?

§      Why make a new employee wait? Why not start every new employee off with a week (or two) of vacation?

§      If you’re looking for part-time college students, offer to pay tuition reimbursement for "C" grades or better. One fast food chain was able to get- and keep- a quality workforce that way.

What are you doing to find talented employees? Let these tips spark your creativity. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can recruit and hire people the same old way…the war has just begun.

Good managers know that employee satisfaction is essential to healthy teamwork, initiative and productivity.  Based on an in-depth study of the most innovative ideas in recruiting and retaining employees, our recruiting & retention tools have all the secrets you will need to find and keep the best employees.
Creative Recruiting & Retention Strategies
Recruiting & Retention Booklet Series