benefits Archives - High Performance Coach Cindy Donaldson

How to Attract Top Talent for Your Business

When your company is expanding, hiring the right people becomes more important than ever. In order to keep up momentum and reach the next level, every seat has to be filled with just the right individual for the job. If you’ve been recruiting for a while, sometimes it feels like there are slim pickings out there. Finding candidates that match EVERY requirement are hard to come by. And to make matters worse, sometimes the people you do hire prove to be not a great fit for your company culture in the long-run. So how can you leverage your current resources to find the right player for the team? Consider these tips!

Turn Mixers into Interviews
Use every networking event as an opportunity for recruiting. Tradeshows, mixers, and marketing events are common places to find professionals you want to partner with. As a hiring manager, go in with an eye-open for your next recruit. Having this intention in the back of your mind will encourage you to listen a little harder when the people around you talk about their experience. Find ways to plug their expertise into your business. In many cases, the people you meet may even know someone who could possibly be a good fit for your vacancy.

Create an internal referral program
If your employees know that you are hiring, they may be open to sending you recommendations for the gig. Who better to choose a good fit for the company than an individual who is actually involved in the day-to-day. By setting up a generous sign-on incentive you will increase your chances of finding a recruit via your current staff. To attract the best talent, add a clause to this program that says new hire must last 30-60 days in order to receive full incentives. This will ensure your employees remain selective.

Write a detailed job description
In many cases, we will still have to use online job boards to generate a nice pool of applicants to choose from. Make sure your job description is detailed and accurately reflects the culture of the company. Those small details will attract candidates who align with your values and discourage those that don’t. Take some time to craft a meaningful job description that gives applicants a precise view of what their duties will be. Spell out the requirements clearly differentiating between mandatory qualities and qualities that re just pluses.

Make the job worth it
The small pool of top talent has top notch requirements to match. Make sure the position has perks and a salary that is competitive and worth their time. Things like flexible work schedules, lenient dress codes and work from home hours excite applicants looking to feel empowered. The best of the best is not likely to settle for or even apply to a job that doesn’t make them happy. They’ve earned their right to be selective.

Last but not least, congratulate yourself on your business growth! By following these simple steps you’ll be one interview closer to building your dream team. Good Luck!

The Employment Offer Letter – When to Send it, and Why You Need it!

Leave a Comment / Culture, Must Read Blogs, Operations, Uncategorized / By Cindy Donaldson / August 31, 2017 / at will, benefits, culture, employment, jenn donovan, new hire, offer, offer letter, RBC, Red Barn, salary, start date

It’s been a long and grueling search to find the perfect candidate who’s not only qualified for the job opening, but also fits your company culture, embodies your Core Values, is within your salary range, and is ready to hit the ground running. So, what’s next? Making them an offer of course!

Most people will call a candidate on the phone and share the good news with them. It’s the perfect time to lay out what the initial offer will be and allow them to ask any immediate questions. Since you already know the candidate’s salary requirements, and most companies address the benefits of the job beforehand – there really should be any sticker shock on either end.

A simple, and easy way to follow up the conversation is to then let the candidate know that you will be sending a formal offer letter via email. This allows the candidate time to process all the information, review it with a spouse or trusted friend, and not be pressured to make an immediate decision.
While a handshake may have been the preferred method of acceptance in the past, you should require your new hire, upon final negotiations, to sign and return the offer letter back to you. Here’s a few items that we suggest you include in any offer letter:

Congratulatory/celebratory comments. Express your excitement about them joining the team.
The company/organization. Include the specific company name or department that the new hire will be working for along with their official title.
The job requirements. Briefly touch on the key requirements again for the position.
The supervisor. Who will the person report to, and what is their title.
Conditions of employment. If your company performs any drug or background checks be sure to indicate that employment is contingent upon the results of these checks.
The pay and benefits available. Is the position full time or part time, temporary or regular, and exempt or non-exempt? Make sure to clearly list these along with the hourly or weekly pay. Also include any guaranteed bonuses, overtime eligibility, and what benefits the employee may qualify for.
Hours and where to report. Clearly lay out the expected working hours and where the employee should report to for their first day of work.
At Will Employment. Probably the most important thing to include in your letter is a statement of “At Will”. You do not want the employee to believe that your offer letter is a contract for employment.
Conclusion: Let the candidate know what to do next. List the start date of employment and when you require the candidate to accept the offer by. Also provide them with instructions on where to return the signed letter and any next steps.

A job offer letter allows you to itemize the facts about the offer, outline the job’s responsibilities and highlight relevant details about the company. Candidates may be uneasy without an offer letter and might wonder about the organization’s commitment to them in the long run if they are not even willing to commit at the beginning.

Creating an offer letter doesn’t need to be a daunting task. Simply create a template so that each time you want to make an offer of employment you can easily fill in the specific/unique pieces for the candidate. By using an offer letter, you can convey to your new employee that they are joining a professional organization.

The Employment Offer Letter – When to Send it, and Why You Need it! Read More »