5 Ways Your Company Is Missing Out On Top Talent

Finding top talent is hard work and hiring the right recruiter is not always enough to make sure you attract quality candidates. Candidates want a variety of things in their next company and although you may have some of those amazing attributes, it is important to make sure they know you have them.

Here are five ways your company could be missing out on top tier talent:

1. Your Company's Job Descriptions Explain the Position, But Don't Sell to the Candidate "Why You"

Candidates, especially millennials and GenZ, crave knowledge about how a company and a position fits their career goals. Whether it's help with professional growth, mentorship, work-life balance or competitive salaries, make sure your job postings tell candidates why your company is the place to work. Perhaps it’s a short introduction at the top of the page, a section about benefits or “What You’ll Gain,” that little bit of “Why You Should Work Here” is enough to help them become motivated to apply.

2. Your Company's Digital Presence Is Non-Existent

In the age where everything is Google-able, you want to make sure your company’s best features are front and center for your candidates doing the research. Consider engaging with potential employees by including a culture section on your website, increasing your LinkedIn presence with engaging information, or business focused posts on Facebook or Instagram. Something as simple as sharing photos from the company Happy Hour or quotes from your team about why they love working for you, are all great steps in letting other talented professionals know it’s a place worth working for!

3. Your Company's Mid to Low-Tier Employees Don't Vouch For Your Company Values

There's an adage that says you should treat the CEO with the same respect as the Janitor and your company values should emulate the same. Your entire team should be active recruiters for your firm and should be able to speak highly about your company, no matter their level or involvement. Many companies take different approaches to accomplish this, whether it's employee referral bonuses, engagement surveys or referral raffles, building and cultivating genuine referrals from actual employees is a great start to attracting top talent. After all, if the people who work for you don’t like it, why would anyone else.

4. Your Hiring Team Takes Too Long When Deciding On Candidates

Talented candidates don't stay on the market long. There isn’t really any other way to explain it. Hiring managers who have new-hire fears require weeks of multiple interviews including multiple stakeholders. They put candidates in positions where they're unsure of the company's intentions have decided to make a transition. If you're interested in hiring a talented candidate, consider letting them know immediately, presenting an informal offer and being transparent about any next steps in the process as well as the timeline to close. This will help assure that another company (or Recruiter) doesn't scoop your candidate or the candidate doesn't lose interest sooner than your decision-making timeline.

5. Your Hiring Team Offers A Low-Ball Salary to Candidates With The Expectation Of Negotiation

Maybe we’ve experienced it or maybe we’ve heard rumors of it... but hiring teams have interviewed candidates and taken them through the interview process, only to make an offer and have them decline without any negotiation, discussion or even an email. There are many ways to avoid this issue early in the process. For instance, you can have your HR team explain a 10k range of the position and any value-added requisites, like certifications. You can also ask the candidate how much they're looking to earn based on the positions’ salary range. Both questions give your team a reasonable understanding of the candidate’s salary requirements while displaying a level of transparency and value of the candidate's time. Ultimately, giving candidates a low-ball salary offer sends an unintended message that you don’t value them. It's also important to note, recent research has shown that GenZ and Millennials tend to avoid confrontation, salary negotiations qualify as a confrontation.

Making these adjustments will help place your company in a better position to engage and retain talented candidates within your recruitment process.