Stop banging your head and start changing how you think
Whether or not you have an active job posting or are frustrated with the work ethic of a colleague, you are likely aware of the frustrations that come with finding and keeping talented and passionate employees within your organization.
Utilize Social Media: It’s no secret that some people are better than others about taking advantage of platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, but even if you are new to the social media scene, it’s in your best interest to utilize these sites for job postings and recruiting. With a minimal investment on LinkedIn, you can post your job, review applicants and find individuals who have the skills and experience that you’re looking for and proactively reach out to them. Plus, it’s a terrific way to review their experience, look at their endorsements and do additional screening before bringing them in for an interview. That’s time and money well spent! Also, don’t forget to post your job openings on your own LinkedIn and Facebook pages. You never know who is out there looking for a new opportunity.
Build Relationships with Colleges and Universities: Not only do these institutions have job boards for you to utilize, you can also try to speak to classrooms and build your brand with professionals who are about to be begin their own job search. Many universities also have student organizations who are always looking for speakers at their meetings or even internship opportunities. The insurance industry is an exciting place to be right now – let’s not keep it a secret!
Stay in-house: Don’t forget about the employees who you’ve already worked hard to find and keep. Do you already have the skills internally and can promote a current employee? You should also consider whether your employees know someone who might be a good fit for the organization. Before doing this, make sure you have a referral bonus program set up to incentivize employees to help you find the right person for the job.
Know Your Ideal Candidate: This might seem obvious, but when the competition for talent is fierce you need to know who you’re looking for. What are your must-have skills and what can you train? How important is organizational fit and their ability to “mesh” with the rest of your team? How much experience do they need to have versus how much you would like them to have? Once you have a clear picture of your needs and wants, you will be able to sort through candidates and conduct focused recruiting efforts.
The late Steve Jobs of Apple stated, “Go after the cream of the cream. A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.” The data around productivity of high performance is staggering. Build the right team and you will get the results you are looking for. If you fail to focus on the risk of having low-performers in your business, you will see your competition surpass you and any good employees you may have acquired will quickly begin to look for greener pastures.
So now that you’ve found the right employees, how do you keep them? Well, that’s another article for another day, but an important topic to discuss.
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