As a small business, your employees are crucial in defining your business and brand image. A smaller workforce means that those you do employ need to make a bigger impact. They are the backbone of your business, and they can determine your success. Of course, you want to recruit the best. The question is what do you need to do, as a business, to attract the best talent. The answer is simple.
You build a great reputation.
It is often thought that employers have the upper hand in the recruitment game. You might have stacks of resumes in your inbox to choose from, and between Google and social media, you have the tools to thoroughly check out each prospective candidate before you even contact them for an interview. The flip side of this is that talent can check you out just as thoroughly before they even consider sending along their CV. How you manage your reputation directly influences the quality of talent that you attract.
First, Know Your Stats
You can’t manage, or build, your reputation, if you don’t know what it is. Too many small businesses focus only on customer satisfaction, and those are the only reviews they care about. Of course, this is important, but you need to be aware of your image from all angles.
Before seeking out or attempting to recruit new talent, take inventory of your image in the community. Do you have a good relationship with the community? Is your business looked at as an asset or a liability to community quality? What steps have you taken to reach your hand out into the community to help build it up?
Secondly, don’t ignore employee review sites like Glassdoor.com. You don’t want to make the mistake of thinking that just because you are a small business, that your employees have not publicly rated your value as an employer. If, your business name doesn’t have a presence on any of these sites, go directly to the source for some information and insight. Your current employees.
Open the dialogue about their impression of you as an employer and a community member. Encourage them to speak freely without fear of offending you. If the dialogue is difficult to achieve, consider asking your employees to complete an anonymous survey. Your current talent can be your best word of mouth strategy for attracting new talent. Do everything you can to create an environment that ensures they only have positive things to say.
Know Where You Are Going
If there is one aspect of small business that turns off new talent it is the perception that there is often no potential for growth. For new talent to be interested in you, they need to be excited about the opportunities you can provide them with. Even if they are fresh out of school, just looking for a foot in the door, they are looking for a learning and growing experience.
What can you do to promote your image as a forward moving company?
You need some serious long-term goals. Maybe you have just gotten started and for the longest time THAT was your goal. Great. Getting started was hard work and a major accomplishment. But now what? In what ways do you plan to be a leader in your industry? Where are you taking your brand in the next 5 years? In what ways can new talent expect to grow with you?
New recruits will be interested when they see that you have direction, that you are moving forward and that there is potential to build a rewarding career with you.
Have An Active Presence On Social Media
As a small business, if you have a low profile on social media, you could be missing out on great opportunities. Social media marketing is the thing right now, but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily the right fit for every business. Some small businesses choose to purposefully back away from social media. If that marketing strategy works for you, then great. But, attracting customers isn’t the only goal. Social media provides one of the best platforms for attracting top new talent.
Most people use at least one social media platform daily. According to Pew Research, 69% of adults have at least one social media account. Now, narrow that down to adults age 49 and under and that rises to 80%. For adults 29 and under, who are often looking for career growth opportunities, that number jumps to nearly 90%. What does this tell us?
Social media is crucial for building a reputation that attracts new talent.
Being active on social media opens your small business to an incredibly large pool of potential new talent. This is your chance to build up your business reputation by taking advantage of how accessible your image is.
For example, you can tailor posts to show how you are a small business industry leader. Or you can post behind the scenes workplace videos, give teasers about exciting new projects and highlight reviews that illustrate what is so great about your company. This type of presence will keep prospective new talent interested, and they will be the first ones to notice when you post that you are looking to add the best new talent to your team.
New talent that will help propel your business forward is out there. As a small business, your reputation is your number one asset for bringing them to your door. You have a great business, and a bright future. Take the time to polish your reputation, and get ready to build your best possible team.
