How to attract and hire top talent

Why is hiring top talent so challenging right now?

What one company or industry sees as ‘top talent’ can be different to another’s but, generally, top talent refers to sought-after people with standout skills, expertise, and experience in a respective field.

Common characteristics of top talent include:

• Exceptional skills: These tend to be skills that are in high demand within an industry. These could include technical proficiency in a specialized field, leadership prowess, or strategic problem-solving capabilities.
• Track record of success: Anyone can embellish a CV or LinkedIn profile, but top talent doesn’t need to – they have a history of delivering outstanding results, meeting targets and driving business innovation. The numbers do the talking and there’s usually a string of managers singing their praises and lamenting the day they resigned.
• Specialized expertise: Finding a candidate with deep knowledge and experience in an area of specialization can be like striking gold. Top talent like this doesn’t come along every day, and is highly valued.
• Staying power: Top talent often has leadership potential, is a great cultural fit, and has qualities that inspire and motivate teams to perform.
• Soft skills: More companies are realizing the impact of non-technical soft skills on how well an employee performs in the workplace.⁹ Those in the ‘top talent’ category usually have well-developed listening and communication skills, and the emotional intelligence, collaboration and time-management skills that allow them to get along with co-workers, meet deadlines and express their ideas.

No wonder top talent can be so valuable to a company but so hard to find!

Some industries or specialized fields face a chronic shortage of skilled professionals, while others suddenly find it more difficult to find top talent when technology evolves, industries change, or trends move on. As companies or sectors grow, and their need for specific skill sets and expertise evolves, competition for top talent can be fierce. The demand for top talent almost always exceeds the available supply, making it challenging for businesses to find and attract the best candidates.

The level of seniority can also impact talent shortage. The higher an exceptional hire moves up the career ladder or the more specialized their skills become, the more selective they can be about where they work next (and the higher the salary they can demand).

Creating a workplace culture candidates like these want to be part of has never been more important.

How to create a desirable workplace culture

It’s no longer enough to offer free doughnuts on Fridays and a ping-pong table in the break room. We’ve entered a new era known as The Purpose Economy. It’s now widely accepted that businesses do best when they make a difference in the world.¹⁰

While it’s a feelgood way to do business, social entrepreneur and author of The Purpose Economy book, Aaron Hurst, says it is becoming the only way to do business, claiming: “Only businesses with a strong, positive purpose will survive in this new era.”

The Purpose Economy follows the Agrarian Economy, Industrial Economy, and Information Economy in order of progression.

Hurst says this purpose-driven era has evolved as more people realize they want their work to be more meaningful. Instead of just working to pay the bills, people want to feel like their work matters. They also want to work somewhere that allows for authentic self-expression and personal growth.¹¹

Candidates are prioritizing their own personal values when it comes to seeking employment, as well as the company’s values. Someone who is against gambling or tobacco production, for example, will obviously avoid working in these industries. Someone who values philanthropy, on the other hand, is likely to be drawn to a company with a foundation or transparent chain of custody that backs up their sustainability claims with real evidence.

Other candidates may value things such as kindness, fairness and a workplace culture that respects work-life balance.

F4S takes the guesswork out of defining your workplace culture. The work-style assessment tool and resulting Culture Map allows you to deeply understand your teams’ work styles and motivations. Armed with data-driven insights, it’s much easier to make sound decisions on who to hire next. Plus, you’ll be clear on what to tell a potential new hire about your workplace culture so they can decide if it’s a good match for them.

How to streamline your recruitment process

Specialized software can take the pain out of recruitment, while ensuring a positive experience for a new hire. Greenhouse HR, for example, simplifies the process by helping businesses post job ads, track applications, line up interviews and generate reports. Other popular recruitment tools include Workday HR and HR Cloud. Automating tasks such as screening resumes, interview scheduling, and candidate communications saves significant time and energy during the recruitment process, and reflects to potential candidates that they’re applying to work at a well-run company with efficient processes in place.

Read more: How to use F4S for talent acquisition

Another time saver in the evaluation process is to clearly define the job description in a job ad, outlining the qualifications, skills, and experience required for the role. Job ads that are too vague do the opposite of attracting top talent – they risk appealing to too broad a range of applicants, most of whom will be ill-suited for the position.

Have a structured interview process in place that covers both behavioral and competency-based questions. Having multiple people interview a candidate can be useful in providing diverse perspectives and reducing bias.

Incorporate skill and character assessments and tests to benchmark a candidate’s true proficiencies, cultural fit and suitability for the role. Evidence-based HR decisions are much more likely to result in a successful new hire.¹²

How to raise awareness for your employer brand

How your company is perceived in the market by potential employees will have a major impact on your ability to attract top talent. Ideally, people want to work for a company that has a reputation as being an employer of choice. Getting the low-down on what a company is really like is easier with review platforms such as Glassdoor revealing the opinions of current and former employees.

In a tight employment market, having a reputation as a great place to work is vital when it comes to grabbing the attention of top talent. One way to do so is by embracing cutting-edge tools like an audio to text converter, used to tailor the training and onboarding methods to accommodate a wide range of learning styles and accessibility requirements. Thus, your company will set the employer brand apart through a commitment to inclusivity and innovation. If your company doesn’t have a strategy in place to manage and promote its public persona, it’s time to develop one. At the very least, this strategy should include ways to promote the company’s mission, values, work environment, career development opportunities, employee benefits, diversity and inclusion practices, and the overall employee experience.

Raising awareness for your employer brand can be done in the following ways:

• Showcase the company’s culture through employee testimonials
• Use social media and online platforms
• Engage in employer branding campaigns
• Build relationships with industry influencers and thought leaders

Airbnb, for example, has positioned itself as a company with a purpose-driven culture that empowers its employees. It’s also known for having a unique work environment that fosters collaboration and innovation. And Airbnb’s no-meeting Wednesday policy and quarterly credits for employees to use towards stays and experiences have proven popular with employees and candidates alike.¹³

Using data to define ideal candidate motivations for your role

Your job ad is out and applications are rolling in. The best hiring decisions are based not just on a candidate’s skills and experience, but on that valuable but elusive X-factor that makes a potential new hire stand out.

In the past, it was all but impossible to define X-factor, other than relying on gut feel. F4S makes it far more accurate with a Ranking Tool that short-lists candidates based on specific attitudes and motivations. The tool precisely predicts whether a candidate has the X-factor required to thrive in a specific role, team, or workplace culture.

Having existing team members take the free F4S assessment (it takes just 15-20 minutes) measures 48 different traits that influence energy levels and motivation for certain tasks. Then, using the F4S Benchmarking Tool, you can pinpoint your team’s success gaps and blindspots and compare them against industry standards. This allows you to quickly identify candidates that will complement the team and improve performance. Pretty powerful stuff.

How to network to reach the best talent

The days of advertising a job opening and hoping for the best are over. Opportunities abound when it comes to reaching top talent, so it pays to be proactive. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Leverage LinkedIn to build your profile, grow your professional network, and find suitable candidates
• Establish an employee referral program to encourage and reward employees to recommend a potential candidate
• Hire a recruitment agent or headhunter to do the networking for you
• Use social media to your advantage, spreading the word in relevant industry groups
• Attend in-person networking events – they can be far more fruitful than conducting your search solely online.

Be sure to cast a wide net during your search to reach potential candidates who may not be actively looking, but may be interested in the position once it’s brought to their attention. Research shows that while only 36% of the workforce is actively looking for a new opportunity at any given time, an overwhelming 90% is willing to talk and learn more.¹⁴

Essential benefits to attract top talent

Top talent can be hard to impress, so it’s important to present your company as an appealing place to work and grow. Start the recruiting process with a compelling job description that highlights the benefits and growth opportunities. Offer a competitive compensation package, keeping in mind that salary is just one aspect of what a potential employee may be looking for. Comprehensive health, vision and dental insurance coverage, extra annual leave, stock options, flexible working, and perks such as a company car or gym membership can make the role more attractive.

Career progression and personal development opportunities are likely to be welcomed, but be prepared to explain the details of what these are during interviews. A vague promise isn’t likely to cut it.

Other essential benefits offered by employers of choice include a wellness program designed to nurture employees and empower them to thrive; employee recognition programs; and work-life balance initiatives (such as the opportunity to work remotely from anywhere in the world for one month a year).

How to write a thumb-stopping job ad

You can write the best job ad ever, but if it’s riddled with typos or grammatical errors, it’s likely to turn top applicants away. Have a copywriter craft the ad, and make sure to proofread it carefully before it goes out.

Inclusivity and diversity matter. Avoid using gendered language and take care not to specify age, even indirectly (avoid terms such as ‘young gun’, for example).

Follow these steps to write a job ad that grabs attention:

1. Start with a clear job title that accurately reflects the position, followed by a brief overview that sums up the role’s purpose and importance within the organization
2. Highlight the impact a candidate could make in the role and what a typical day might look like
3. Outline the company's mission, values, and culture in an engaging way
4. Detail essential qualifications, skills (hard and soft), and experience required for the role, plus others that are desirable but not essential
5. Highlight what makes the organization unique and why it’s such a great place to work
6. Invite candidates to find out more by emailing to request a detailed job description.

How to write a desirable job description

Just as it’s important to have a flawless job ad, the same is true in a job description (JD). Many of the same rules apply – using inclusive, non-gendered language, in particular. Be sure the job description is written in a tone that matches the company’s brand and use the JD as another opportunity to promote the company’s purpose and unique culture.

The JD is also a chance to get real about duties and responsibilities, to highlight why the role is important to the company, and what the expectations are in terms of deliverables – will the person in this role be expected to improve profit margins, drive growth or increase market share? Make it clear from the outset.

How to offer the best onboarding experience

You’ve managed to attract a great new hire, but make sure you set the stage for success by offering the successful candidate a positive and effective onboarding experience. According to research by Bamboo HR, 89% of people who had a ‘highly effective’ onboarding experience felt ‘very engaged’ in their work, and 87% felt they had ‘strong clarity’ about their role.¹⁵  

Follow these tips for a successful onboarding experience:

• Share important information such as manuals and forms to be filled out before they start work
• Send out company swag, but make sure it’s useful and sends the right message. If your company claims to value sustainability but the company swag includes a plastic drink bottle, it’s out of alignment
• Give them a warm welcome and take the time for introductions and ice-breaking lunches
• Set them up with the equipment they need to work from home (asking what their laptop brand of choice is before sending it out)
• Announce their appointment with enthusiasm on LinkedIn and other social media.

The onboarding process should begin well before their first day on the job and last at least a month after they start. Employee onboarding that lasts three months or more is even better, and has proven to have a positive impact on employee retention and engagement.¹⁶

Inviting your new hire to set personal and professional goals using F4S is becoming a popular part of many organizations’ onboarding process. It all starts with inviting the employee to take the free assessment. Then AI-powered Coach Marlee will analyze their unique traits and personal and career goals, then recommend a hyper-effective coaching program.

Each personalized coaching session takes just 5-15 minutes and might just mean the difference between an employee that stays with the company long-term and one that leaves within three months (a recent survey found almost a third of people have quit a job within this timeframe).