We didn’t get the guy we wanted for a particular position the other day and it got me thinking about how we come across, and how we should spend more and more time looking at our internal stakeholders with the same focus and care that we recruit our new clients with.
There are a couple of big things that seem to make a huge difference in how people see your company – so if you are struggling to attract the right people or keep the right people, as we know it’s all down to us, so here’s a few learning’s I can share with you.
Firstly, where you work counts – people want nice offices and good conditions of work. We had a veritable shack up until 2012 and now we are feeling the squeeze in our offices with 15 people squeezed into space for 5, 7 tops – half the offices don’t have a window and its super congested. It takes a special person to see over the state of the office – to understand it is temporary but needless to say if you want a quality team this kind of thing really counts.
I know a great business person who ran her business from a very professional, but none the less home office and was having difficulties recruiting – but it was like she was inviting people into her home. As soon as she moved into high spec offices all her vacancies were easily filled. So it really matters.
What are the prospects? Another thing people really need to buy into is the journey this new role will be taking them on. Who is in situ presently and whether they are going to free up the new recruit promotion ambitions are really important. Your new recruit needs to buy into your business growth story. The kind of people we want mostly are people fascinated by the fast growth and how interesting being part of their trajectory is going to be for them and their future careers. Now this will not be for everyone – for people who want a stable boring 9 to 5 we are probably not the company for them.
We have actually created some team benefits of late – to keep the current superstars well rewarded but also to act as an attractive lure for newbies too. Some of it costs us money – but mostly it’s time, like additional holidays for years of service – but some bits and bobs that makes them know we care – like free eye tests, occupational health particularly for back care when they all spend a lot of time hunched over a screen and, of course, pensions coming in November.
So that’s the work environment, their career trajectory, the team benefits – and that’s the job that meets their true calling, a team they can get on with and a company culture that suits them. It’s not easy but it is worth really investing in, as we are only as strong as our team, so spending the time to get this bit of your recruitment – your people bait right will land you the big fish you need!