5 Steps to Developing a Talent Strategy

5 Steps to Developing a Talent Strategy

Great teams are created

By Traver Hill

Many companies take a haphazard approach to seeking, hiring and retaining great employees. When new talent is needed, they simply cross their fingers and hope for the best.

A talent strategy can be defined as a planned, methodic approach to attract, acquire, develop and retain employees with the overall goal to achieve company objectives. The following guidelines can assist you in developing your company’s talent strategy.

  1. Create Candidate Pipelines. One of the best ways for recruitment is to have your information regarding potential positions available online 24/7 for both active and passive job seekers to access using the company’s career page. Jobseekers can also obtain other valuable information about your company regarding company culture, mission and values. So if you don’t have a website, then you may want to invest in one.

A better way to reach a diversified and broader group of potential employees is through posting on job boards. Employers can expose their openings to niche groups or general distribution groups for the type of candidate being sought.

Another channel becoming increasingly popular for job distribution today is social media (such as linked-in, etc.). And don’t forget about one of the more obvious recruitment channels that also has greater retention and quality of candidates – employee referrals. Consider offering bonuses for successful employee referrals, and watch your number of potential candidates soar.

  1. Design a Systematic Recruitment Process. Using various types of channels to obtain applicants is just the first step. Your company will need a systematic recruitment process to attract and screen top talent. A systematic recruitment process begins with accurate and thorough job descriptions that include detailed information on all aspects of the job. It is also important to have prescreening questions in place to quickly identify talent that will fit your company goals and objectives. Also, having processes in place to do background checks, extend offers and conduct orientations is a part of the recruitment process. There are several online services that can assist with these tasks.
  1. Have Key Performance Indicators Identified. Key performance indicators are measureable outcomes tied to specific job tasks. They should support your company’s objectives and also measure your employees’ performance. For example, on a construction project, a project manager’s key performance indicators would include bringing the project in on time and remaining within budget – measureable outcomes tied to specific objectives and goals.
  1. Have a Competitive Compensation Plan in Place. A performance and reward system is obviously an important way to retain your company’s top performers. A balanced compensation plan that provides incentives for performance can improve recruitment and retention efforts and help position the company to achieve its business goals. However, do not underestimate the importance of a company’s culture, values and goals in retaining individuals.
  2. Monitor Turnover/Retention Closely. Monitoring staff turnover is very important to business success. High turnover leads to low morale and difficulty in maintaining customer and client relationships and, therefore, negatively impacting profitability.  Adversely, staff retention increases profitability and relationships due to a higher percentage of long term employees.

Business owners must consider incorporating the above components into their strategies, realizing that strategies will be dynamic and ever-evolving. It will be necessary to continually review and develop your talent strategy along with your processes, procedures and overall company goals, if you expect to attract and retain top talent for your business in today’s market.

Traver Hill is the Vice President of Operations for Triune. Founded in 1997 with headquarters in Dallas, Triune is a leading, integrated, design-build General Contractor in the Southwest region of the country. Traver is a multi-faceted career professional with over 20 years of experience in Human Resources and Operations.

The Punch List is Triune’s proprietary blog for discussing issues and providing insight specific to the commercial construction industry. Copyright 2013 TMV, LLC (Triune). Any and all rights reserved.

Comments are closed.