How to Hire an Elite Workforce

Article Cintributed by Jenn Livingston

When you own a business, the best way to set yourself up for success is to surround yourself with a talented team. The most successful companies are places where the cream of the crop rises to the top. They are places where talented people flock because they are treated well. If you are looking to boost your business to new heights, use the following tips to put together an elite workforce that makes you look good.

1. Stop Making Your Job Announcements Read Like Novels

In the 21st century where attention spans trend ever downward, you have to change with the times or be left behind. Nobody wants to read your two-page job announcement. You will turn off many talented applicants if you make your hiring notice too long. Make it short, punchy and designed to capture the attention of people who have been brought up in the Information Age.

2. Make a Checklist

You will never have a great team unless you give detailed thought to the type of employees you want to hire. You should put together a checklist of all the attributes that you want in an employee. When you have a checklist to follow during the hiring process, it makes it much easier to ensure you find the perfect hires to complement your team and implement your company vision.

3. Cast a Wide Net

If you want to land the big fish, you need to cast a wide net. There are lots of ideal employees waiting for you to employ them, but you have to make sure they apply before you can hire them. The best way to ensure you get a large pool of talented is to use a multi-faceted approach to attract candidates.

Start by advertising across multiple fronts. Advertise both locally and nationally to get as many qualified applicants as possible. Network to find even more job candidates. Make use of your social media connections to find applicants.

Don’t scoff at the power of recruiters to find amazing employees for your company either. They are able to find candidates that you might never have been connected to otherwise. Using all three of these channels to attract applicants is your ticket to getting the ideal candidate pool for your job openings.

4. Improve Your Interviews

Even when you get a great pool of candidates, you still need to be able to find the brightest jewels to shine in your firm. Without good interviewing skills, it is a matter of chance whether you will get the eight candidates. By honing your skills interviewing candidates, you will be able to narrow the candidate pool down to the pick of the litter. 

5. Take Stock of Your Reviews

Like it or not, your reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed can have a huge effect on the quality of the applicants you receive. If you have a number of negative reviews, it will turn off a huge segment of the job force. You need to keep your profiles updated on these rating sites. It is critical to respond to negative reviews in a respectful, thoughtful manner. This will go a long way towards redeeming your appearance in the eyes of potential employees.

6. Have a Succession Plan

You need to plan for hiring new employees before your old ones retire. Implementing a succession management plan will ensure you do not have a lapse in production when your employees retire. You will find you keep your company smoothly flowing forward will happen when you replace your veteran employees with talented newcomers.

If you follow these six tips, you will be blown away by the talent level that starts to flood your workplace. Taking the time to perfect your hiring process will pay huge dividends. When you surround yourself with a strong team, you will be poised to take your company to the extreme level of success that you deserve.