talent edge solutions

Once you have the right people hired, you need to keep them happy so they stick around! We recently attended the Vancouver Education & Career Fair held on Feb. 19, 2008 at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre. We took this opportunity to survey some of the employers at the fair and when asked what they are doing to retain their top talent, the following 10 responses emerged as the most common.

1. Bonus: If you have seasonal staff, pay them an end of season bonus to stick around till the end of your peak season.

2. Training: Top employers are providing training and development for their staff to ensure they are helping people to further their careers and build their resumes – even if it means after 6 months or a year, they will take that experience somewhere else.

3. Career Path: Find out where your staff want to go with their careers, what are they aspiring to become? Find ways to help them get there. (If you help them, they are more likely to stick around and help you)

4. Promotions: When you have top talent, identify them early on and fast track them through the internal systems, promote from within.

5. Recognition: Do not underestimate the power of saying “thank you.” Put programs in place to make sure you look for and recognize desired behaviours.

6. Communication: Today’s employees want to be involved and empowered so communicate to them, often, explain the “what, where, why and how”. Ask them for feedback and suggestions – they have an opinion and they are not afraid to share it with you.

7. Fun! Don’t forget to have fun! Create a workplace that takes the time to celebrate successes, work hard and play hard together as a team.

8. Lead by Example: Ensure your leadership team walks the talk, creating the right workplace culture and empowering people to do their jobs right the first time.

9. Quality: Employees are looking to be part of a company that sells products, services they can believe in and relate to. Quality is #1.

10. Perks: Offer discount programs, work out reciprocal discounts with other employers allowing you to stretch you reward dollars. (…kind of sounds like more free stuff, are you seeing the trend?)

Even students coming out of school with little to no experience have very high expectations of their future employers and the type of workplace they want. We heard several stories from employers feeling they were being interviewed by the candidates at the fair. The question to think about the next time you are conducting an interview is to think, who is conducting the interview and how do you compare to other employers in the marketplace? What are you doing to attract and retain your top talent? Sell yourself as an employer, if you don’t, your top talent might start getting lured elsewhere…

There is no question, the “war for talent” is on and employers are battling each other to hire top talent. At the Vancouver Education & Career Fair held on Feb. 19, 2008 at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, top employers and educational institutions were present. The target audience: students, looking for their next educational experience and awareness about the career opportunities that await them. We took this opportunity to survey some of the employers at the fair and asked them what they are doing to recruit top talent. As you would imagine, the responses had many differences given the mix of employers present – from the Department of National Defense to Starbucks!
When asked what employers are doing to attract top talent and differentiate themselves from the competition, the following top 10 responses emerged:

1. Flexibility: If you have seasonal staff and peak time needs, provide flexible scheduling and pay premiums for undesirable shifts.

2. Fit: Ensure you understand who will be a good team and company fit, hire people with the same values that are espoused in your workplace culture. Who better to recruit for you than your current employees who know the workplace? Put referral programs in place and reward people who refer people you hire.

3. Environment: Today’s job seekers are looking for employers who value and make commitments to be green and support the environment. Create corporate social responsibility programs and include them in your recruiting campaigns to attract people.

4. Outreach: As an employer, getting involved in community activities is a great way to showcase yourself as an employer and that you care.

5. Co-op: Create partnerships with schools and supporting co-op programs is a great way to attract talent fresh from school.

6. Go to them: Many employers are finding they have to go to the talent – schools, career, education fairs and in some cases are interviewing and hiring on the spot.

7. Apprenticeship: Where possible, support apprentices in your workplace to attract top talent from trades and other schools.

8. Brand – You: Top employers have a good understanding of their brand as an employer, what they stand for, who they look to hire and what they can offer. A strong employment brand allows potential employees to decide if you are the right employer for them. (…kind of sounds like the candidates are interviewing you, see where this is going…)

9. Rewards: To play the game and be in the “right” ballpark, you need to make sure your base pay and benefits are competitive enough to get people in the door. Pay and benefits are only one factor people consider but it is getting more and more attention these days.

10. Free Stuff!!! When all else fails, give away free stuff. All the employers we talked to at the fair told us today’s younger generations expect free stuff – pens, hats, free passes, perks…So, the next time you are looking to attend a career fair, ask yourself how you will get them to stop at your booth?

After reviewing the top responses that employers are using to recruit top talent, you can see tides are turning. It is a candidates market and they are shopping around for the best opportunities. Are you attracting top talent or are they going to your competitors?