Every successful company is built through the collective efforts of different brains and hands with common goals. Choose and nurture the right ones and you’re on your way to success.

In today’s digital world, words travel faster than the fastest jet or a bullet train. Just a click on the keyboard and voila, the word is out there on the internet and social media with a global audience.

For companies, their digital footprint becomes the face of their brand and how people perceive them. 

The best companies to work for are often talked about in public or private discussion groups and people are always on the lookout for their vacancies enticed by good salaries and benefits.

This makes recruitment easier for these companies, online or offline. The challenge now is how to narrow the high volume of jobseekers they attract and choose the right people for the vacancies to be filled.

With jobs scarce these days due to the changing dynamics of global trade and business, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which cover all range of activities with full-time employees, and small-to medium-sized business (SMBs), which are often engaged on smaller scale activities, have become equally important as those belonging to the so-called Fortune 500.

For one, jobseekers think there are less pressure working for SMEs and startups apart from the possibility of building their careers with these firms grow in their respective markets.

Recruiting people is an investment not just in choosing the right candidates but in moulding them as your long-term partners in growing your business. Recruitment alone requires a tedious process of evaluations and tests, in-person interviews and training.

So how do you manage and nurture talent? 

First, develop a culture that makes people want to work and stay for you. It requires building a good work environment where employees feel they are valued for their contributions to the company’s growth.

Tell your company’s narrative in such a way that people would be enticed to join and grow with you. Carry this in your social media channels and all of your marketing tools. If you don’t do this, others may likely do it for you in a different way.

Second, maximize employee referrals. According to a survey of the Society for Human Resource Management or SHRM, an astonishing 96 percent of companies with 10,000 employees or more—and 80 percent of those with fewer than 100 workers—say referrals are their top 1 source of new hires.

Experts say tapping into your employees’ networks is a good way to fill open positions. Offer rewards for their referrals rather than just a pat on their shoulders. That way, they will feel valued for helping the company.

Third, experts suggest pay at least as much as your competitors for talent, and be transparent about what you offer. Your total compensation package should also be competitive in line with your industry standards.

If, however, you can’t match what competitors offer, tell candidates why and design a plan that incentivizes them as they bring more business to the firm. This will encourage productivity and reflects the company’s genuine effort to reward those who work really hard.

Fourth, learn how to build strong talent networks. How? One approach says SHRM is to create “communities of engagement” online through social media—networks through which candidates can learn about your company and see how current employees can make a difference. 

And last but not the least, considering tapping into schools, colleges and universities to manage and nurture talent.

 

Higher institutions of learning have always been the best place to recruit new talent. Forge relationships with them to find the best suitable candidates for vacancies to be filled.

 

This strategy also gives you the leverage to pay at entry level versus experts who demand greater salaries and benefits than newly grads.

 

Most graduates are looking for companies that will give them the chance to work and the right skills to hone their talents in different fields. A good incentive to make them stay is an increment if their KPI (Key Performance Indicator) shows they deserve it.

 

So there you have it. The basics of looking out for the best talent in your business.