What Does It Take to Hire Great Workers? (Hint: More Than You Think)

Because a strong worker is a hot commodity.

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again: your workers are your best assets. Why? They may not lead your business or have big dreams about the direction of the company, but they are the people who make the company run. They are the ones that who hard toward making the company’s dreams become a reality — and that’s a pretty big job. Remember, you hired them because you couldn’t do it alone.

But why do so many companies find it difficult to hire the right prospects for open positions? The National Center for Education Statistics predicted, “In fall 2015, some 20.2 million students [were] expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 4.9 million since fall 2000.” So what’s the deal? With so many young adults choosing to attend college you’d think that there would be more than enough educated, trained, and experienced people ready to take on new jobs.

Most bosses write it off as a talent shortage, but the real problem might not lie in the potential talent — it may lie within the four walls of your office.

It’s going to take some change for companies to really begin finding the right workers.

One of the main problems companies face is that they aren’t really setting the right expectations. Between robotic-sounding job listings to unrealistic job descriptions, some qualified and talented workers might be too intimidated to respond to job ads. Or, as Liz Ryan writes for Forbes, it’s time to “humanize your recruiting process.” As you search for new talent, you need to remember that this talent comes from real live people, and people are attracted to things that are exciting or familiar and comfortable — not something that sounds stuffy, confusing, and is loaded with jargon.

Your workplace culture plays a huge role in your hiring.

With Millennials taking over office life, they’re bringing different expectations and workplace standards with them. Some of these changes include an emphasis on work-life balance, opportunities for growth, better benefits and more time off, as compared to the stability and stature that previous generations sought.

But it’s critical to be observant about what employees in your particular industry are after. You need to understand what they’re looking for in a workplace and be cognizant of what’s scaring them away. Ryan shares, “Glassdoor has done a great job of warning talented people away from organizations where their talents would go to waste . . . When your culture is healthy, talented candidates will flock to you. When your culture is bad, you’ll run job ad after job ad and get a disappointing response every time.”

Once upon a time, employees didn’t have a real eye behind the walls hiding a company. They only knew what the company projected itself to be. So with scary Glassdoor ratings, employees are informed about the questionable choices and other struggles companies deal with internally.

But Glassdoor also provides employers with useful insight into why employees may love or hate their jobs. And this information is safer in their eyes than an anonymous annual survey. It’s important to take employee feedback, actually address concerns, and implement some of their ideas for a healthier workplace.

You need to match the candidate’s strengths with your workplace culture.

You may have a talented worker or a great workplace culture, but that doesn’t exactly mean they’re made for each other. It takes a special, trained eye to match the candidate’s talents with the right workplace.

Yeh IDeology understands and respects the career needs of our candidates and the employment needs of companies. We’re proud of the connections we help create as we manage strategic placements through client/candidate introduction to offer and acceptance. Our searches range from entry-level openings to top executive and director positions, and we work hard to match the right candidate to the right job each step of the way. Sound like the missing link in your hiring and recruiting process? Contact us today!