Why SMEs should recruit by reverse-engineering from their ideal employee

We often talk about creating an ‘attraction-based’ business with our clients, but what can we do to make it attractive to potential recruits? Here are five steps that’ll help you to do just that.

 

1) Humanise your business, find your USP

Could you describe the personality of your business in three to five words?

You could refer to this as ‘values’, but in my experience, very few business values reflect the true DNA of their organisation because they’re generally selected based on what ‘looks good’ to the customer.

The reality of any business or brand is this, humans connect with humans, not with businesses. So, based on your current business ‘values’ (if you have them), do you honestly feel that humans that are looking for somewhere to land are going to be ‘attracted’ to you?

Or, from another perspective, what type of person do you think you’re likely to attract?

Reflecting on the personality of your business will make you check in to see if it has a culture, environment and/or atmosphere that is worth joining. It will also make you realise this one thing, what your business does is not unique, i.e. you will have competitors that deliver the same outcome (sell a product, provide a service).

But why it provides as a product/service is dependent on its personality, motivation and culture…that is the only true USP you have, and it’s the only one you need.

 

2) Work out who you want to talk to

We should know the level of IQ that we need from a recruit, alongside the black-and-white stuff like qualifications and bits of paper that suggest that they know what they’re doing.

But who do you want to find? What are the three-to-five words that describe their personality?

Define the key personality traits and find/google questions that will likely bring those traits out in an interview process.

For sales, it may be energy, for admin it may be attention to detail, but you need to know these because then you can see if the human will benefit from the culture you’re offering.

 

3) More transparency, more trust

We all tell potential recruits about what we offer them; the training, facilities, ‘we provide you with all the tools to succeed’, but very few (if any) show potential recruits what they provide because of some inherent fear that their competitors find out.

Show them everything! Who do you think they’re likely to trust more – the firm that tells them what they have, or the firm that shows them?

 

4) Talk to their lives, not just their role

People work to provide for their lives, so ultimately a job is there to support whatever they want to do.

So, when advertising a position, talk about what may be possible for them as a result of taking on a role in your business.

Ask the question, “Is there anything that you want to achieve outside of your role?”, get them to reflect and open up on that, and find out if/how you can help them to deliver that need.

 

5) If you don’t ask, you don’t know

If you have people in your circle/industry/community that you feel would be an amazing fit, slide into their DMs (platonically of course!) and offer to buy them a coffee.

Setting up that kind of network, even if you’re not actively recruiting, is absolute dynamite and can serve you well into the future.

What’s the worst that could happen? They say no, but you’ve given them a little ego boost that might linger the next time they’re disgruntled at their employer…then who may they call?

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