5 Tips to Successfully Attract Employees

 

Every step from the way you post open positions to how you conduct exit interviews presents an opportunity to cultivate your company’s reputation as a great place to work – a place that attracts and retains employees. With a shrinking talent pool and more competition for skilled workers, how your company is perceived by job seekers is more important than ever.

Cast a wider net

Diversity, equity and inclusion play a critical role in attracting and retaining employees. Diversity takes many forms – race, ability, age, gender, nationality, socioeconomic status and more. The case for increasing diversity in every industry is clear. As McKinsey has written extensively, “Companies in the top quartile of gender and ethnic diversity were 25% and 36% more likely to financially outperform those in the bottom quartile, respectively.” Moreover, the pandemic has disproportionately displaced workers of color, and connecting displaced workers to higher-paying job opportunities in advanced manufacturing is a win for the worker, for the company, for our economy and for our society overall.

Sell your company to potential employees

Potential employees need to know why your company is a great place to work. Don’t simply list position requirements on a job posting. Instead, describe your company’s culture. Describe why a potential job seeker will find meaningful employment with your firm while becoming part of an engaged and mission-driven team. Conduct an objective assessment of how your company is described on websites such as Firsthand, Glassdoor and LinkedIn. It is important to update and refine how your company appears to applicants.

Talk about career paths with potential hires

When writing job descriptions and spreading awareness of career opportunities, companies must articulate the potential for career advancement. Candidates are more engaged when they see their career path provides room for growth and consistent improvement.

Make recruiting a priority

Even when companies are not searching for new employees, hiring managers should always keep an eye out for new recruits. This should be an ongoing process for companies looking to attract prospective candidates.

Raise awareness of the manufacturing industry

The major talent gap in the industry exists because most college students and young professionals are unaware of attractive career paths in manufacturing. Many college graduates don’t realize the opportunities that exist and what today’s manufacturing jobs pay.

To overcome the shortage of qualified workers, companies should promote manufacturing career opportunities throughout their community. Manufacturing Day, the first Friday in October, is a great way to showcase the reality of modern manufacturing careers by opening doors to students, parents, teachers and community leaders – to give a glimpse at what today’s manufacturing really looks like and inspire the next generation of skilled workers.

Want to learn more about successfully attracting employees?

On June 28th, join Purdue MEP experts at the FREE two-hour workshop "Employee Retention is an Organizational Metric" from 8:30 - 10:30 am at the Digital Manufacturing Technology Center (DMTC). Registration is now closed for this event.

Source: Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) NIST