Promoting Employee Benefits To Potential Hires

Does your organization have an attractive way of marketing itself to potential workers? If not, look at what others in your geographic area who compete for the same type of workers are doing that's effective. For example, if you're recruiting in an area that has factories successfully filling part-time night shifts, see what you can learn from their processes.

Perhaps you could stop looking for workers to stay with your company for decades and try appealing to a cohort of candidates who think in terms of five-year horizons instead. If you'd like to bring on active seniors, try advertising at the local community center where they hang out or in master-planned communities geared to the over-55 population. You may be able to find tech savvy seniors and others at community courses focusing on basic tech skills, or by providing help using smart phones and basic apps to bring in a group you've overlooked.

Try polling your existing or recently departed workers to see what's contributed to attrition in the past and think about what you can do to replicate and retain your best workers. Examine statistics if you have them, and if not, start collecting them on where your best applicants and workers come from. From there you can examine how long they stayed, why they left and what changes you can introduce to improve your outcomes.

Finally, think about offering referral bonuses to those who send you great candidates. Make it something really attractive, like a one-time bonus. When you think about the cost of a bad hire and how much the right workers benefit your organization, even $500 is a small price to pay when thinking about overall impact. Some tie the referral bonuses to the hire lasting 90 days or more, but that's our job as leaders to ensure we make smart hiring decisions. Increasing the pool of qualified candidates is a great start, but tying it to applicant longevity seems unfair. Just get good applicants in the door and then take responsibility for doing the rest of the process well.

For those who are still hesitant, consider paying out the bonus over time. Offer monthly payouts of $50 over the first six months of employment. That could be quite attractive and well worth the investment.

The key takeaway is summed up in a quote attributed to Henry Ford: "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't — you're right."

To be among those that succeed, we need to be proactive in our approach, innovative in our methods and persistent in our efforts. Only the strong will survive and the strongest will actually thrive. There is plenty of challenge and opportunity for those willing to take it on.

Pam Washington is the Founder and CEO of A1 Janitorial Services in Las Vegas.