Today’s professionals are looking to work for startups and growing companies more than established firms. Being a part of something new is a lot more exciting than working for a company that’s done the same thing for decades. According to LinkedIn, the total revenue for the top 20 Fortune 500 companies fell by one percent in 2016, while the revenue for the top 20 public companies on LinkedIn’s US Top Attractors List rose by 14 percent. Here are some of the best companies who hire talent and some useful tips on talent recruitment for your business.
1. Twitter
Twitter recently laid off some of its employees and experienced some turbulence in the stock market. However, CEO Jack Dorsey’s announcement that he would share a large portion of the company’s stock with employees was very popular. Twitter also offers 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave for all full-time employees. It holds regular meetings between leaders and stresses transparency, as well.
2. Microsoft
Microsoft‘s huge campus has 37 espresso bars, 33 cafes, and more than 500 stocked kitchenettes. It also has several convenient retail shops and a sports field for employees. The company calls career development “an individual adventure,” and it provides mentoring, coaching, and over 2,000 training programs.
3. Amazon
This company is an online retailer, a cloud provider, a device-maker, and an AI pioneer. Many programmers, engineers, and other innovators would love to work at Amazon and help develop the next popular type of technology, such as the smartphone. The company offers excellent salaries and perks, like the Amazon Career Choice Program, which pays 95 percent of tuition for in-demand fields. The Amazon Women in Engineering program provides ongoing mentorship for women.
4. Apple
Apple recently started to give all its employees restricted stock units (RSUs) that vest over time in order to encourage retention. Most other companies only offer this benefit to executives. Employees can also enjoy talented coworkers and great flexibility. Apple is also making an effort to hire more women, and it’s designing a new, multi-billion dollar environmentally friendly campus headquarters.
5. Salesforce
In 2015, CEO Marc Benioff spent $3 million to close the company’s gender pay gap. Actions like this mean a lot to discerning employees, even the ones who aren’t women. Most people want to work for a company that cares. Salesforce also planned its offices to include meditation spaces and “mindfulness zones,” and the company took design advice from Buddhist monks. It offers paid volunteer time off, and it recently increased this perk from six business days to seven. The company is also known for its high pay and charity work.
6. Google
Google is also making an effort to close the gender pay gap by basing salaries on the job at hand, rather than past pay rates. According to Laszlo Bock, the Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google, the company uses structured interviews with standardized questions instead of unstructured interviews with questions like, “What’s your greatest strength?” An internal tool called qDroid recommends interview questions for a wide variety of positions.
To prevent bias, the company tests potential employees with mock tasks similar to the job, and it doesn’t let managers make hiring decisions by themselves. When the company hires a new manager, the subordinates who will be working for the new employee can rate him or her. This prevents cronyism and horrible bosses. Also, someone from another department evaluates all potential employees, for an impartial opinion. Workers can also enjoy free food, quality speakers, on-site massages, and even death benefits for the families of employees.
Talent recruitment
Search for good candidates
This tip seems pretty obvious, but many companies miss out on hiring the best talent because they wait for candidates to apply for openings instead of being more proactive. Develop good relationships with university placement offices, recruiters, and executive search firms for a better selection of candidates. You should also reward current employees for recommending your company to friends and family members. Also, watch sites like LinkedIn for excellent candidates who work at other companies and may not be actively looking for a job.
Post positions internally first
Promoting employees and offering opportunities for lateral moves encourages people to stay with your company longer. Giving current employees a chance to fill positions first lets people search for a new job without searching for a new employer. Also, a candidate who already has experience in a department often makes a better manager than someone from outside your company who may not fully understand your industry. Also, attract people who are looking for a career, not just a job. An intern program is a great way to get to know potential employees.
Stay in touch with people
A candidate who wasn’t the best fit for a position six months ago could be perfect for another role today. If an excellent employee leaves for another company or has to quit to deal with personal problems, stay in touch. He or she may eventually be willing to come back to your company.
Don’t worry about geography
With new advances in cloud computing and video conferencing, hiring people remotely is easier than ever. People who work at home can communicate with managers and coworkers through email, Skype, and similar technologies. You can hire people across the country and communicate very well online.
Offer lots of benefits
You don’t have to build dozens of espresso bars like Microsoft, but you should keep employee benefits above average. As well as standard benefits like medical insurance, dental insurance, and retirement, many people are looking for flexible hours and the ability to work from home. Allowing some employees to work from home at least some of the time also reduces the amount of office space your company will have to use, and it lowers your utility bills.
Many people also look for employers who offer stock options, profit-sharing, or bonuses. Even if your company can’t offer a high salary, it can attract better candidates with a flexible schedule and company laptops or cell phones.
Hire people who fit with your company culture
To attract employees who agree with your company on key issues, make sure your business has a clear, defined set of values, and be open and honest about those values at every stage of the interview process. This also makes deciding which companies to apply for easier for candidates. If you’re not sure what your company’s core values should be, talk to experienced employees about the things they love most about their job.
If you let everyone know about your organization’s values, you can attract people with similar goals. Remember that applicants will be looking at your website, social media, and at other sources of information, as well as at job descriptions. Of course, you should also have an employment section on your website with available positions and a list of all the perks of working for your business. In job descriptions, list the personality traits that candidates should have. If you’re looking for an assertive salesperson or a patient customer service rep, you should say so.
Use images and videos to let people see what working at your company is like and show off some of the people who could become their coworkers. Remember that leaving a position open for a few months is better than hiring someone who doesn’t fit your company’s culture and won’t be happy in the long term.
Make sure your company stands out
In job descriptions, make sure you treat candidates like customers and emphasize the benefits of jobs as well as the requirements. Offer unique perks and create compelling content about your company. You shouldn’t have trouble finding talented candidates if current employees tell friends and family about benefits, like an adorable office pet or a fun company retreat that encourages teamwork. You could even get magazines and blogs to write about your company or create accounts on social media. Showcase your business’ innovations, your philanthropy, and even your current employees’ fun personalities.
You should emulate the companies hiring the best talent and use these recruitment tips to make sure your company gets great candidates. Since nationwide unemployment is low, especially in tech fields, businesses need to work hard to attract the best talent. You should also work to improve your hiring process. Ask for opinions from new hires and people who didn’t get the job, so you can fix any flaws in your hiring process.
