Red Hot Job Market: What’s Your Strategy for Winning Talent?

For HR professionals, the struggle for talent in a red-hot job market has become normal, and your department is held accountable for recruiting, retention, and even overall performance. So how do you rise above the fray to emerge victorious? Here’s what you need to know:?

1. Build relationships with universities?

Establishing a strong presence on local college campuses builds brand awareness. This allows you to create some buzz as a great place to work as the next generation of employees are considering their options. It’s also a great strategy to build partnerships for internships which helps develop the exact skill sets you’re looking for to boost performance when you hire.?

2. Compensation is just the start?

Compensation is important, of course, and you’ll need to make sure you’re in line with the competition. But at the end of the day, a sky-high paycheck doesn’t lead to motivation, and it’s no guarantee that your new hire will excel in their position — or even stick around for very long. Fair pay and a balanced benefits packages are important, but you’re unlikely to be able to differentiate your company on this front alone.?

3. Compete on company culture?

Since you can’t stand out with just the money, do it with culture. When pay is basically the same across the board, you need to differentiate by being a great place to work. But, you can’t mandate culture — you have to build it. This is best done through: ?

• Employee recognition: Today’s employees want frequent recognition. 57 percent of employees say feeling recognized would reduce the likelihood that they would take a call from a headhunter. If you don’t already have an employee recognition program in place, it’s time to consider one. Building a culture of recognition encourages employees to recognize one another (whether peer-to-peer or top-down) in the moment and on a frequent basis. Having a strong workplace culture built around spreading employee appreciation can lead to your company gaining a reputation for being a best place to work. ?
• Employee listening: Regular pulse surveys are a great place to start — as long as you take action on the feedback you receive. Incorporating employee feedback into your company culture is critical considering 90 percent of workers say they are more likely to stay at an employer that takes and acts on feedback.?
• Leadership investment: Just 9 percent of workers say leadership is “very committed” to cultural initiatives. Cultural change begins at the top, with executives and managers modeling the types of interactions and behavior they want to see from everyone else. Investing in diversity initiatives is also a great top-down way to transform company culture for the better. ?

4. Train the next generation of leaders?

The master stroke of strategy for winning top talent comes when you commit to developing internal talent. Showing employees, you trust them and want to build a future with them is one of the best ways to keep them engaged and loyal—and you’ll also create an in-house talent pool to draw from, instead of maintaining an endless cycle of recruiting. ?

You can learn more about how to attract and retain talent here.??