How to Attract (and Keep) the Best Employees

While some job markets are saturated with potential employees, executives and entrepreneurs who run the most successful and innovative organizations know that the top talent never seems to be in surplus. Whether you’re running a small startup or growing an established business, you’re going head-to-head with your competitors when it comes to making new hires. Naturally, the organization that wins the talent race often wins everything else too.

That means attracting the top talent in your industry and keeping that talent around is central to your organization’s success. At Cristaux, we celebrate top talent. Our business is honoring achievement, and we know something about what the talented want. We also know that getting talented employees on board with your organization means making smart business culture and recruiting decisions.

Making Your Organization a Talent Magnet

When you hire an employee, you’re forging a relationship. It follows that the recruitment process is a little bit like looking for a date online. You review resumes, try to envision what a candidate could do for your company and evaluate the chances of a hire’s long-term success with your organization. Unlike looking for a date, this relationship tends to be one sided. Candidates are working to get your attention, but is your organization getting theirs?

Maybe not. If you’re having a tough time getting the best employees in your industry to apply for or accept a position, your organization is falling short as a talent magnet. That means it’s time to evaluate two big factors and decide if you’re really doing enough to bring the top talent into the fold.

Salaries: Increasing salaries to be commensurate with or higher than the competition is a consistent priority of CEOs at the top companies. Without an adequate salary package, your organization won’t be able to land the most talented employees in your field. After all, the best employees know that they don’t have to work for small beans.

Benefits: Enhancing company benefits packages also stands out as a top priority of successful executives. The top talent is looking for a combination of retirement, medical and lifestyle benefits. Evaluate your package now. When you offer a great benefits package, your employees will start talking about it. In turn, the best candidates will hear about what you do and will be driven to apply with your organization.

Keeping the Top Talent Happy

If you’ve nailed salary and benefits packages, you’re likely able to attract top talent to your organization. Now you need to work to keep those star performers aboard. The best way to do so is by building an incredible organizational culture. Yes, you’ll need to keep up with raises and changes to benefits packages, but your employees also need you to keep up with the heart of your organization. Find out what’s happening with company culture, and take proactive steps to boost morale and build a collaborative work environment.

There are a myriad of ways to do this. You can lay out a mission statement, practice daily praise and maintain a strong employee recognition program to start. As you work on larger organizational culture, remember to keep things unique. At Cristaux, we’ve created one-of-a-kind statues for stellar employees and custom awards for the best teams. We believe that everything you do and give in your organization should reflect what you want to get back from your employees. Invest yourself wholly in the recruitment and retention process, and you’ll reap the top talent.