In your effort to attract talented candidates, you’re probably wording your postings carefully, reaching out to a select target audience, and gathering a list of appealing perks that can help you present yourself well and get a leg up on your competition. If you haven’t done so already, include every small benefit that your employees will be able to access, like free parking, transportation discounts, or on-site day care. Most important, include continuing education and training resources that employees can use to get ahead.
Great Employees Appreciate Personal Coaching
Let prospective employees understand the basic details of your mentoring program, if you have one
(and if you intend to attract ambitious, motivated team members, you should definitely have one.) A well-structured and well organized mentoring system suggests that you care about an employee’s future beyond the limits of a specific job.
Other forms of structured coaching can include non-job specific training programs in areas like leadership, communication, conflict resolution, and team building. If your HR team has the resources and experience to provide these programs in-house, consider offering optional or mandatory seminars. Otherwise, establish a contract with a professional training firm.
Continuing Education
Managers of small companies often assume that tuition matching programs lie outside the scope of their budgets. But before you dismiss the idea, conduct some careful research and consider the long term benefits. Educated staff members may be more productive, but just as important, the fact that you’re willing to offer the program suggests that you’re willing to invest in your employees futures, and this can help you gain the attention of highly motivated applicants. And your training and certification benefits, while expensive on the surface, can allow you to sidestep the salary premiums that already-certified candidates sometimes command.
Tuition matching is only one possible way to support continuing education. You may also be able to fund an employee’s entire degree program in exchange for a long term commitment of two, three, or five years. Even small and inexpensive gestures can help you gain the respect of both current and potential hires. For example, consider allowing an employee to work flexible hours so he or she can attend classes during the day.
Arrange a consultation with the NC staffing experts at PSU for more detailed information on training and continuing education resources for promising employees.