Calibre Search have been in the press again with the following article appearing in the Business Insider.

The current skills shortage in many industries does not need to hold back your business. Simon Owen, director of Calibre Search, offers guidance on how to attract and retain staff.

Finding and retaining professionals to add value to your organisation and contribute to its growth should be at the heart of every business plan. Unfortunately, too many management teams prioritise the customer, or products and services, over the teams delivering them. They realise too late they don’t have the right strategy in place for resourcing expansion.

Post-recession and throughout the economic recovery, the companies that have thrived are the ones which value their people. Yet, across all sectors, vacancies continue to go unfilled, expansion plans falter and delivery to clients whilst remaining profitable is all the more difficult. So how can you attract people who will add value to your business, keep the people you have invested in already and, most importantly, develop your image as an employer of choice?

Attraction

When quality applicants are scarce, the temptation is to pull out all the stops to recruit the perfect candidate. The danger with this is that your growth may be on hold until this person comes along, and there’s no guarantee they will. Offering an inflated salary could upset your existing team, so make sure not to rock the boat as you could risk losing some of them as well as the new recruit.

Think long term about how to recruit good people into your business. Look at people who are capable of doing the job, not just people who have done the job before. Alternatives include:

• Apprentices. A lot of companies wish they had invested in more junior people during the downturn. Apprentices can be loyal, motivated and whilst they take some time to get up to speed, you can tailor their training to your own processes and procedures.
• Veteran professionals who may consider working on a part time basis.
• Returning professionals who may have been out of the industry a while and who are keen to find organisations willing to provide training for them to get up to speed.

Retention

It’s important to honour promises made at the outset of the relationship. Be honest about your expectations and have regular reviews discussing career plans, giving clear direction both for daily responsibilities and future opportunities. If your team share your vision and successes, they are likely to be more motivated to contribute ideas and stay committed.

When it comes to personal and professional development, in the words of Sir Richard Branson: “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

Think about the benefits you offer; could they be better suited to your employee demographic? Be inventive, as some popular benefits can be quite cost-effective, for example, free fruit, flexible lunchtimes, time off to do community work etc. Be flexible if you can; many people are turned on by having the freedom to choose working times, working locations such as home offices, and the chance to “bring your own device”.

Keep up-to-date with market rates for the roles your company offers. It is far better to offer a pay rise before you are asked; there is less time for damage to be done too.

If your team is happy, encourage them to share their experience, which will help to improve your chances of becoming the employer of choice. You should consider having a section on your website about your team with soundbites from them about their career journey at your company.

Become the employer of choice
And finally, following on from asking your team to share their experience of your workplace, you should let the world know more about your company’s personality, vision and values by sharing your approach to training and recruitment, as well as any community work, volunteering, and fundraising activities.

If you have a corporate social media presence, make it a human one. Have conversations, thank people, be interested and interesting.

Make your mark on your sector by getting involved with events relating to your industry. Awards are a great way to celebrate success and help you stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Enhance your reputation by building strong relationships with influencers including the media as they can provide powerful third party testimonials about your company. Invite the media in, or go to them with your stories – work with a PR advisor if necessary.

Give some thought to the look and layout of your workspace. Don’t be afraid to spruce things up; a lick of paint or a change of pictures can work wonders!

Look after your colleagues as you would your family and encourage them to do the same. A surprise bunch of flowers or box of chocolates help make people feel wanted and valued, as well as providing an element of fun!

The full article can be read here: http://goo.gl/x48D5D