Attract Top Talent with Transparency

Employee reviews

2020 has brought a multitude of challenges with it, especially for growing businesses. Adaption has become a new mantra, and only those enterprises that can roll with the changes will survive for the long run.

One primary concern for entrepreneurs is attracting bright, capable, and productive employees who can grow with their company. The current global pandemic, despite its many tragedies, pitfalls, and setbacks to virus containment, has offered a silver lining for business owners in attracting new talent via remote working, in addition to local candidates.

Attracting Top Talent Locally or From Across the Country

Now, most companies will have a hybrid model of both in-office team members and remote working, as we do at 4Patriots. Some roles we offer are best suited to our HQ here in Nashville, Tennessee, while other roles are more than satisfactorily performed remotely in the many states we currently have employees. Online tools like Zoom, among others, have made team meetings and project collaboration relatively seamless.

In the quest to recruit top talent, both in-house and remote, you’ll need to have a multi-pronged approach to achieve that goal, based in an overarching principle of online transparency. Because just as the game has changed in terms of attracting, nurturing, and retaining the best customers for your business, the same rules have applied in attracting the brightest talent.

So where do you start? Well, you’ll need to start with the information potential job candidates find to assess what kind of company you lead.

Your Online Reputation is the Key

Social media reviews: Be sure and keep on top of your Facebook, Google, and Yelp reviews. Prospective employees will check these sites for negative reviews – because they surmise the way your business treats your customers is how you probably treat your employees.

GlassDoor.com and Indeed.com employee reviews: Encourage your current team members to post honest reviews about their experience working for your company. The more positive reviews you get, the better “attractor factor” you’ll have for top performers. And don’t worry about a couple of not-so-glowing reviews. As long as you address the review with a response based in empathy, many prospective candidates will look past them, giving your organization the benefit of the doubt.

Champion a thriving company culture. Part of transparency means that you can’t “fake” a quality as an organization you don’t possess. Each company will have highs and lows, but it’s imperative you establish sound internal core values, a stated company mission that resonates, and adhere to those tenets above all else. Listen to all your teams at every level, and act on their feedback if necessary.

Have a website Career Page that shines. Describe in detail what sets your business apart in terms of culture, growth opportunities, and benefits. What makes your company unique and attractive? Remember, top performers have high standards for themselves and the places they choose to work.

Remember every business is a “people business.” No matter what products or services you provide, it’s people you employ, and people you serve. If you strive to stay aligned with values such as empowerment, empathy, and excellence, it will be reflected in the quality of people your business engages with – both as customers and employees. And the end result of that is happier teams, satisfied customers, and a robust bottom line… even during a crippling pandemic.

Allen Baler is a leading entrepreneur and Harvard grad. Allen Baler is a Partner in 4Patriots LLC, based in Nashville, TN.

Disclaimer: This blog post is not a substitute for the sound advice of a professional with expertise in the subject matter discussed. Please seek appropriate counsel on what strategies make sense for your personal circumstances and/or your business.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay