8 Keys to Attracting Top Talent

Attracting Top Talent is a complex process with many parts and factors. Let’s take a look.

1. Manage the Company Well to Give it a Future

It is hard to get top talent if you do not have top talent who manage the company well. People like to work for a winner.?

Assuming you need top talent to get there, you need to be even better at the following.

2. Care for Your Team

Do you know the dreams of your leadership? Have you inquired about their family concerns? Do you care? Caring goes a long way and gives you a company that people like to work at.?They are your base that must attract the top talent.?

3. When You Recruit, Focus.?

Get a team that can work night and day to find and filter, because?you must be agile to find the time when the right guy or woman is available. The best recruiting team in the world will not help if you are not available to jump as necessary. When your recruiter contacts a person who is interested, the clock starts. If the recruiter and hiring manager do not move with alacrity to interview and keep moving the ball, you lose momentum. The candidate is waiting at the phone day by day. Any hour you make them wait hurts their passion to work for you. Jump when the recruiters asks you for a time and give them some near term choices. You can win the best if you move with speed and win their heart by your focus.

I helped a stock held company find a GM for a factory for them.?I fell upon a guy from a fortune 500 company that was already?being chased by another company. He expected an offer in ten days. I called the CEO in New York and said Top Talent! Call him now. At 10 pm Eastern Time he called that GM in China. He won a great leader to his company because he jumped and the whole system kept jumping and checking and confirming to bring him in.?

4. Interview to Know What the Candidate Has Done (Experiential)

The best politicians can make a very good impression, but they are a mess. Many times, we are too influenced by the first 2 minutes with the candidate. Politicians own the first two minutes. Beware. Usually, you should not ask what they will do. You are encouraging the story tellers. You need a great hire.?Ask people what they did. Be curious. Ask everything in your heart and on your list. Chase every topic. Draw them out. Be patient. Take an interest in them and what they have done.?

5. Silently Doubt Everything

80% of top talent are lying to get a job. If they lie to get in, they must lie every day with you to keep up the story line.?Politics rises. Get all their stories with details. Especially get details that can be checked. Then go check to see if they are the real one or part of the 80%.?

6. Do All Steps with Alacrity

We all hate waiting by the phone or by the computer. Do not drain the life out of candidates but not moving. Make promises and stick to them. Blast through bureaucracy and get to an offer when the right guy is found and proven. I see some companies make the hire, but they have hurt the candidate with useless process and delays. The candidate arrives and is already at half his or her passion level.?

7. Be as Transparent as Possible?

To do a great hire, you need to have top talent accept the real you and not the fake version you give them. 80% of companies are lying to candidates to get them to accept the offer. 80% of recruiters are lying to help you get the candidate.?Do not let this happen. Top talent have all been burned. They are sniffing to filter out the 80% just like you are. Be real. Make?the whole system tell the truth, care, and move with urgency. Then you can bring in talent that will stay and will?talk to others.?

8. Make Their Start as Good as Possible?

The first minute, hour, day and week a new hire spends with you is critical. They do not know anyone and are unfamiliar. Give needed help and support, and you can make them a success and win them to you long term.?

Then we can all celebrate together. You got top talent, and they are happy and energized working for you.?

See these other blogs on getting better talent

Attracting Top Talent is Within Reach

Many of these methods are not hard to employ. Let's do what we can to make our businesses a great place as we can hire the best. See Also:

Employer Brand Management - 9 Ways to Attract Better Candidates

China Employer Branding - Impacting Us More Than We Know