How to make you Business Attract the Best People- Lisa Askwith- Engaging Your People for Success

IBGR.Network - PROFIT Radio. Everything a business owner needs to start, grow or exit a business. Grow With Us.

Introduction

John Maxwell says that he gets asked all the time, “How do you motivate your people” and his answer is very simple “Hire motivated people.” You want to attract and hire the best talent in order to continue your development and growth as a company.  You can have great processes and great products but the execution of your business plan is dependent on the people in your organization. They are the ones that will allow it to Thrive……..or Stagnate.

Developing your Brand and having it make your recruitment more effective is a massive piece of work for any business. However there are key parts that you really need to focus on to get this right. Recruitment in itself is not as easy as many people think…..in today’s fast paced work environment it has become an essential part of any leader's role, however, it is more often than not, not given the attention it deserves in order to really get it right.
 
If you are finding you are struggling to attract great people, or any people at all, or to recruit and retain them for any length of time, then it is time to thoroughly review your recruitment process and your Brand. Brand is much more than just an imagine, it needs to link to the inner workings of your business as well as the successful front page product or service.
 
Hiring the best Talent is a crucial leadership skill.
 
Show Objectives - The Why

Recruiting the best talent is not a one off event, it is a process. Regardless of your industry there are some basic steps that you can take to help you with the process of recruiting and retaining the best talent. The people in your organization are your greatest investment. So they need to be thought of and treated that way, not as an afterthought. Once you have them in the door, there are then several steps you need to achieve to not only keep them, but to provide and environment that leads to ongoing engagement and ultimately happy staff who want more than a clock in clock out role. Today’s show talks about steps that you can take to help you successfully attract and retain great people in your business.  

To call in today and ask a question, please use

Meeting ID
meet.google.com/rvd-gppn-ksw
Phone Numbers
(‪US‬)
‪+1 617-675-4444‬
PIN: ‪923 652 223 1606#‬
More phone numbers


Key Issues

Owner/Manager Perspective: 

1. The company’s Brand – Your company's reputation and brand will either attract or repel the best people,
2. Clear Technical Requirements – The eligibility - intelligence & competence - requirements are clear and consistently applied throughout your organization. 
3. Fit test – The character, personality, and other desirable qualities needed for the position are clear 
4. People worth the investment – You are willing to invest in the hiring process to increase the likelihood of hiring the best talent- but what about the post hiring process?
5. Onboarding- Does it actually work for or against you?
6. Long term engagement- Develop and support a learning culture

Key Tips for looking outside of the box and building your brand to help it attract great people
Think about;

1. LinkedIn and Facebook- obvious, but are you really utilising it regularly and effectively, are you reaching people and creating interest in your brand, or just making noise? Regular engagement and positive reviews are key.
2. Local universities and work associations- do you have partners, and better yet avid supporters? Local universities or ite’s/ polytechnics, such as in Singapore can be great sources of support as well as surprising benefits, such as graduates running short projects for you.
3. Developing your internship program- are there also government or industry grants?
4. Industry job fairs, network platform, local chapters of key business areas etc
5. Links with industry chambers, chambers of commerce etc. These can be a great source of referrals.
6. Internal- Don’t forget the power of internal advertising and referrals- develop your program here too!
7. Know what you are hiring for and be honest about it!!!!!- This is key, brutal honesty attract better people than fluffy job adverts with no direction.

What You Need to Know - The What

• The definition of “Best Talent” is dependent on the context of the job needs, your company culture, and the level of compensation. Check and review what you are looking for against the current relevance.
• Be aware of your company’s culture.
• Successful Recruitment is much more than a one off event, it is a whole package.
• Technical and non-technical requirements have to be considered and Job Descriptions critically evaluated.

What You Need to Do - The How

1. Invest the needed time and resources to go through the process needed to successfully recruit.
2. Know your company’s brand and reputation with internal and external stakeholders.  Your reputation can attract or repel the best talent.
3. Understand your company culture and define “best talent” within the context of the job requirements and your organizational culture.
4. Develop a well-rounded assessment of the job requirements: Technical and non-technical requirements; the desirable qualities to make this job a success.
5. Market to your ideal candidate with your job advertisements
6. Conduct well thought out interviews as part of the process that provide insight into the technical proficiency and the core values of the candidate.
7. Remember that it is a team effort
8. Close the deal by connecting the offer to what is important to the candidate.

Good recruitment, adn attracting the best (or any) talent does not stop at the point of the job offer, it goes further, the next critical step is good on boarding;

Good Onboarding

• Done by the hiring manager- like recruitment
• Clear weekly agenda
• Time spent with the person to ensure any required training is clear and being utilized
• Hiring manager to review all training with the new employee as it is finished/passed
• Clear program set out for the entire length of probation, and run by the hiring manager- milestones, expectations and meetings
• For the first week, the hiring manager should meet with the new employee daily at a minimum.
• For the entire length of probation the program should ensure the new employee has weekly meetings with the new manager to review their feelings of settling in, success, training, needs, and general work ability. As the new employee displays the appropriate skills and attitudes these meeting can become less formal, and if probation is to last for 6 months then the last 3 months may just be a monthly meeting
• Fixed probation review meeting with workplace expectations that are clear and able to be reviewed.
• Clear objectives     
• Most importantly- document everything!!!!

To bring all of this together and make your business the best that it can be, you need to ensure you have thorough training and succession plans linked to your job description and roles. This will then help you retain and develop your people past recruitment and into the future. Plus if you become known as an organisation that values your people and helps them build their skills, your brand will also be more well know, and your chances of attracting great people quickly raise.

After all, your great people want value- to give value and get value from their organisations. So to achieve this you need to have a strong Brand backed up by training and development opportunities that your people want to access and that can ultimately work for you. Amazing training opportunities and career succession plans, lead to more engaged and happier employees. This in turn strengthens your business and encourages continuous improvement. Which is what all businesses can benefit from.


Put simply, start to focus on developing a learning culture. Not only will it further support the building of your brand, and attract amazing people. It will also allow those people you have to grow and prosper, which in turn will allow your business to reach higher levels of success



Shows

Previous: Episode 3 Has your Strategy Forgotten about Your Culture
Next: Episode 5 Improve your Business by Developing People carefully and ensuring promotions are fair Formal Training Programs are Vital for Business Success.


Written by Lisa Askwith

Director of ApexBRS | ApexBRS, Regional Director of See Global Media, Chair of  EGN Singapore, and Associate Professor Cambridge Corporate University | At the Age of Change, providing the HR component of the Global Executive MBA and BBA. Lisa has worked for some of the largest companies in the world and successfully led restructures and change management programs in order to improve the bottom line through engaging the people for success, while developing exceptional leaders who can make a positive impact on Culture and long term business sustainability.

You can connect with Lisa on any of her platforms

LinkedIn Lisa Askwith - Director - Apex BRS
https://www.apexbrs.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ApexBRS
https://tockify.com/ibgrnetwork/pinboard?search=lisa&startms=1602216000000

To Book a free 45 Minute Discovery call- https://calendly.com/lisa-apexbrs/45min

To Book a 1 hour Consultation call- https://calendly.com/lisa-apexbrs/consultation-call

 

​