How do I find good staff?

Looking for good staff? Large corporations have polished processes for attracting new employees, with entire departments dedicated solely to recruiting. In small and medium-sized companies, business owners or department heads have to take on these tasks themselves.

In times of near-full employment, this is no easy task. Besides a good benefits package, however, it takes some fairly basic prerequisites to make it easier for you to find good employees.

Five tips for finding good staff

We’ve put together five tips to help you find the perfect staff for your needs.

1. Know what you need and what you really want

Time and again, you come across job ads looking for a jack of all trades. Potential applicants are supposed to be able to do everything, offer maximum flexibility, be highly motivated and ideally start the new job right away. But what’s the consequence? Many people who read a job ad like this don’t even apply. After all, nobody can meet every requirement that overambitious managers have dreamed up.

A good manager knows what new employees should bring to the table and can name it specifically. If fluency in every foreign language isn’t necessary, then the job ad should simply say: good English skills required, additional foreign languages a plus. In this way, you can go through every single point of a staffing requirement carefully and formulate the essential prerequisites for a job. Because when you know what you want, your job ad will also be much clearer and easier to understand for your potential new colleagues.

2. A pleasant workplace is a good workplace

This isn’t about gold-lined private offices. No, people want to be able to focus on their tasks in a clean, quiet atmosphere. Those are the essential prerequisites for a good workplace. Beyond that, the workplace also shows what a company thinks of its employees. Is the necessary technology up to date? Are tools being cut back drastically? Do you have to beg for every pencil sharpener? These are questions you should answer if you want to check for yourself whether the workplace you offer can meet the current expectations of motivated employees.

This isn’t about constantly buying new equipment. But experience so far has shown that the office chairs from a certain Swedish furniture store may be cheap, but they’re not necessarily sturdy. Not to mention good taste…

Good workplaces give staff room to develop. That may sound trite, but it usually works well.

3. Flexibility is an asset of smaller companies

Large companies have large structures that create a great deal of inflexibility for employees. This is exactly where smaller companies can score points. Mothers and fathers who don’t have to make a huge fuss with the HR department over every little problem with their child appreciate their employer. Colleagues who have to visit a government office for personal reasons that is only open at impossible times appreciate it when the department head doesn’t make a big deal of it but shows understanding instead.

Companies that show their employees trust and are more interested in results than in their colleagues’ constant presence give their staff the chance to tackle both professional and personal challenges flexibly.

4. Trust your colleagues to do things

Does my team leader think I can do this? Does my boss trust me? These are the simple questions people ask themselves when they have doubts. It’s YOUR job to make sure they can answer these questions with a YES. Pay attention to your team members and introduce them to tasks that are challenging but achievable. Reaching sensibly defined goals makes people happy. And happy employees also generate good word of mouth among potential new colleagues – on social networks and in conversations with friends and acquaintances. Satisfied staff reflect positively on their employer.

5. If your employees like their job, they’ll recommend your company

All in all, finding good people isn’t that difficult. If you create a good atmosphere in the company or in the team, you will also be recommended to others outside. That’s how it works in every other area of life, too. If you mention in a team meeting that you want to fill a new position and would be glad if your colleagues could spread the word, the worst possible sign is the whole team staring awkwardly at the floor.

In times of full employment, the tables are turned. Good staff have plenty of choice and will go for the offer that’s best for them personally. And it’s no longer just about money. When you work for a company eight or more hours a day, you want to be valued and treated fairly. You want to look forward to seeing your team – again and again.

If you take these five tips to heart, your search for good staff is sure to be more successful.