The Recruitment Game: Building a Magnetic Team
Updated: Sep 16, 2023
If you're a contractor or owner of a construction business, you've probably been at the receiving end of countless headaches when it comes to hiring new employees. While you might excel at marketing your services, obtaining leads, or closing deals, finding and retaining competent staff remains an uphill task.
In today's article, we'll discuss a paradigm shift in thinking. Rather than the traditional hiring approach, we're diving deep into a strategy that combines sales and marketing principles with recruitment. Let's roll up our sleeves and jump right in!
The Sales Funnel Analogy
At its core, our recruitment strategy parallels a simple sales funnel:
Awareness: At the topmost layer, it's vital that potential employees know about your company's existence.
Interest: Once you're on their radar, the next step is to garner interest. What is it that your company offers that others don't?
Decision: Finally, a prospect decides whether they want to be a part of your team.
Drawing parallels with sales, imagine a potential customer first learns about your product, then becomes interested, and finally decides to buy. Similarly, in recruitment, it's all about marketing for employees.
1. Awareness – Your Brand's Visibility
The first leg of this journey is ensuring potential employees are aware of your company. For this, brand-building becomes pivotal. If you've been in business for a while and have a strong ethic, there's a high chance that numerous potential employees would love to join your team. However, if they aren't aware of your brand, you're simply missing out.
Regularly produce content that pulls back the curtain on your business operations. Showcase the unique aspects of your company culture. While competitive pay and benefits are essential, today's workforce seeks purpose, growth, community, and a sense of belonging. Emphasize your values, team, and culture in your marketing efforts to capture both prospective employees and clients.
2. Interest – Stay Relevant
Once you have their attention, your next challenge is to keep it. Remember, mundane advertisements won't cut it. Your messaging needs to be fresh, unique, and, at times, polarizing.
Also, utilize social media to flaunt your company values. Witness a team member embodying a company value? Capture that moment and share it. Such strategies will amplify interest levels.
3. Consistent Recruitment – Always Be on the Hunt
Just as college sports teams are always on the lookout for the next star player, businesses should adopt a similar mindset. The key is to be proactive rather than reactive. Whether it's through innovative job postings, employee highlights, or even celebrating new hires in a big way, keep recruitment an ongoing process.
Investing in Your Employees
Training and development shouldn't be viewed as expenses but as long-term investments. This not only increases employee skill levels but also loyalty. The more you invest in your staff, the more they will invest in your business. Regular training sessions, participation in industry events, and encouraging personal growth are all steps in the right direction.
Furthermore, recognizing and appreciating the hard work of your employees publicly can turn them into brand ambassadors. Their word-of-mouth recommendations can become a powerful recruitment tool.
Conclusion
Recruitment is not a one-size-fits-all game. What's presented today isn't a quick fix but a strategic approach that requires patience, investment, and consistency. It might be challenging, but remember, the alternative is settling for mediocre talent that will eventually stifle your company's growth.