How to Attract and Keep Talented Employees

Just as job seekers have trouble finding quality job opportunities, business owners have a similar struggle in finding and holding onto talented employees. In order to keep employee turnover to a minimum, it helps to create a positive work environment that not only attracts loyal employees but make them want to stick around as well, and if you’re wondering how to improve your employee success rate, here are a few tips to get you on the right track.

Knowledge of the Company

In order to attract talented employees to your company in the first place, it’s important to make sure a positive image is associated with your business’s brand. Community involvement and company values can help separate your name from competition, so make sure to bring up any ways that your company culture is represented in the initial interviews; make it known what charities you’ve donated to and any volunteer work the staff engages in to give your future employees a good idea of what you stand for.

At the same time, it’s important to make sure to let your candidates know what kind of work environment they can expect. If you run a tight ship, make that known from the start. When a really great candidate comes in for an interview, it’s tempting to want to sell them on the job, but it’s also important to be realistic about what they can expect. In other words, don’t make it sound like a loose, low-pressure atmosphere if, in fact, it’s a high strung deadline-driven position. This will help you hold onto the employees that you hire because they’ll start the job knowing what they’re coming into instead of not knowing, finding out later on and making the move to jump ship.

Employee Incentives

Businesses that have supportive, loyal employees are the ones who are giving their employees more reason to stick around other than just a basic income. Practical benefits such as health/life insurance, paid vacation time, and sick leave are all things that mature job seekers look for, and by offering a well-paying job with employee incentives included, you’ll give them very little reason to look for employment opportunities elsewhere.

Thorough Training Programs

Nothing turns off potential employees faster than walking into job that doesn’t offer adequate training. It’s nerve-wracking enough being immersed into a new experience and if they are thrown head first into the workplace without any education or training to help give them some direction, don’t be surprised if they start looking elsewhere. Develop a thorough training course that allows your employees to learn on the job as well as have some private time with the instructors to clear up any area that they’re unsure of.  By giving your employees enough time to get comfortable and familiar with their daily duties and responsibilities, you’ll start them off feeling confident and capable instead of overwhelmed and stressed.

Room for Advancement

When advertising your job openings, make any opportunities for advancement clear. Employees love the idea of businesses who hire within the company, so that can be a huge selling point for qualified employees. By offering open positions to those employees already with you, you’ll give your workers a reason to work hard and stay with the business rather than if their future with your company had no room for growth.

With the variety of job opportunities available, it can be hard for businesses to find the right candidates to fulfill their open positions, and it can be even harder to hold onto those employees once they’re hired. However, by giving future candidates a good indication of what to expect if hired and what future positions might be available, as well as providing them with proper training and incentives, it should help open up the doors for loyal, dedicated employees to step in and join the team.

Arlene Chandler is a freelance writer who loves helping people make financial and career-oriented choices to improve their day-to-day lives. When she’s not taking it easy and enjoying the little things in life with her two dogs, she writes about life and income protection insurance for AAMI.