Attracting the right people when you own a small business is no doubt the most challenging task, so how is it possible to do it?
Get creative. Be different. Start with who you want or need to attract. What attributes should they have? Then take time and meet with people of that quality, people who have those abilities, maybe people who already have jobs for other companies who fit the description and ask, what would attract you to our company?
They may not be the ones you’re looking for, but the answers they give are vital to building an outstanding company by understanding their needs. These meetings may be something you have to do over lunch or more creative ways to have enough time to meet and discuss this subject well enough to find the answers. These answers are probably not something they have clearly in mind so it may take considerable discussion and even follow-ups to extract usable responses.
The next step is to clarify what you have or can offer that will attract beyond the answers outsiders could imagine. What part of daily work activities can be enhanced to entice people to come your way? Look around at the work you provide, is it attractive? Would you want to work for you?
If it’s fabrication, how impressive are your facilities? Can they be improved? If it’s construction, what projects and job-site conditions do you provide for your employees? If it’s a restaurant, what working atmosphere do you foster to attract the right people?
Whatever we do, we must ask ourselves, what changes can be made to attract the people we need to build our businesses. Except for those at the bottom, desperation to just work for pay no longer exists.
It’s time to stop filling a slot and start Building A Team!
