Attracting top talent has a direct link with business performance. But it takes some serious work, as top talent is exceedingly rare. In fact, only 2–5% of employees are truly high performers.
While 78% of organizations view building the capabilities of their staff as crucial, just 30% feel they are doing so effectively, McKinsey found. Yet some companies are maintaining a highly talented staff despite these challenges. For example, Toyota and Cisco Systems have long retained a diverse staff of top-level employees due to their exceptional employer brands that prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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- Attracting top talent will give you a major competitive advantage. Top talent drives innovation and productivity, often voicing new ideas that shape a company’s direction. They’ll also enhance your brand image and employee morale.
- Identify and hire top talent by looking at potential, not just technical skills. Assess human skills that are harder to teach. And leverage employee referrals to bring in the best recruits. Then, be prepared to make an offer quickly when you find an outstanding candidate.
- Nurture the development of talented employees with learning they can pursue at their own pace. Invite creative thinking to fully utilize their talents and offer plenty of praise for their efforts.
Let’s look more closely at why you need top talent, followed by how to attract and retain them.
5 Business Benefits of Top Talent
Staffing your organization with top talent provides the following major benefits.
1. Driving Innovation and Creativity
Empowering talented employees to voice innovative ideas can lead to groundbreaking solutions. Often employees see customers’ needs more clearly than leaders, for instance. In fact, a popular approach called kaizen focuses on drawing creative insights from frontline employees. (Toyota’s commitment to this concept actually popularized it.) A diverse staff of talented employees will deliver more of these creative insights grounded in their rich perspectives.
2. Improved Productivity and Efficiency
High-performing employees are 400 times more productive than average performers, research has found. And in highly complex jobs, like management and software development, they can be a whopping 800% more productive.
Further, the top 1% of employees produce 10% of the outcomes for an organization, and the top 5% create 26% of the outcomes.
These productive employees spend less time correcting mistakes and struggling to figure out what to do. Instead, they charge forward to solve problems. They steer their teams in the right direction as well, demonstrating strong leadership. Their presence on a team can streamline processes and reduce wasted time, energy, and resources because they help everyone to channel their efforts in the right direction.
3. Enhancing Company Reputation and Brand Image
Hiring top talent can also improve a company’s image, reinforcing its desired brand. Customers, clients, and potential leads will see the company as a leader in its field based on the level of skill and service its employees provide. In this way, top talent can help businesses establish themselves as industry leaders.
Plus, having top talent is a virtuous cycle. As prospective candidates look at who works for a company, they’ll be impressed by the level of talent they see. Consequently, they’ll view the company as having an environment and culture where they can grow and thrive.
4. Boosting Employee Retention and Morale
Hiring and retaining top talent can greatly boost overall employee satisfaction. Why? Talented employees can inspire and motivate their colleagues. Plus, talented employees themselves tend to feel more fulfilled because they’re using their full potential, actively building skills, and gaining recognition. This makes their work more engaging, and when they inspire others to do the same, everyone becomes more fulfilled.
According to a recent Accenture survey, four factors most influence employees’ job satisfaction:
- Health and wellness
- A sense of trust and belonging
- Meaningful work
- Opportunity to build skills
Having these factors in place “unlocks two-thirds of a person’s potential at work,” says Ellyn Shook, chief leadership and human resources officer at Accenture, in a Time interview.
5. Gaining a Competitive Advantage
Ultimately, all these benefits deliver a sizable competitive advantage. By hiring top talent and retaining them over time, a company can stay ahead of the competition. Over the long term, strong recruitment and development practices will help a company maintain a team of all-stars that accomplishes more than its competitors.
Now, let’s review exactly how to recruit top talent.
Tips for Attracting & Hiring Top Talent
Using the most effective recruitment strategies and practices will identify the most qualified candidates and attract them to your company.
Hire for Potential
Hire for potential, not just existing skills. Smart people who are fast learners and creative thinkers can build the necessary skills quickly. Assess their natural abilities across these five dimensions, urges Gallup:
- Motivation
- Initiation
- Workstyle
- Collaboration
- Thought process
If they are naturally driven and proactive, collaborate well, have a workstyle that works for them and the team, and show good judgment, they are likely to be a good candidate.
For example, Deloitte often hires top candidates who don’t fit a specific list of job criteria but have an exceptional mix of soft and technical skills. These highly adaptable employees can excel in any number of roles.
Leverage the Right Technology
Using recruiting technology and tools, which are constantly evolving, can streamline your process.
For example, an applicant tracking system will help you create a good first impression with a smooth interview experience. It will prompt you to take specific actions when needed, set appointments, and sort and identify top talent.
Request Employee Referrals
Current employees know who would fit into their culture. Their recommendations are likely to be on point, so ask for them! Provide incentives that encourage them to urge qualified friends and acquaintances to apply.
Design Thoughtful Interview Questions
Design interview questions to identify top talent.
- Tell me about a time when you made a mistake at work and how you resolved it.
- What do you value most in a company?
- What type of support do you appreciate having on the job?
Structure interviews as a conversation, treating them like an equal.
Present a Competitive Offer in a Timely Manner
Have a strong offer, including a benefits package, ready to deploy. After interviewing an outstanding candidate, quickly review your offer and tailor it to their specific needs.
After recruiting top talent, focus on developing them so they can achieve their fullest potential.
Nurturing Talent Within the Organization
Providing the right professional development and growth opportunities will help talented employees to thrive, delivering even more value and feeling more satisfied. In turn, they’ll be more loyal to your company. Let’s examine some methods for identifying and supporting top talent within your organization.
- Provide on-demand learning. More than 58% of employees prefer on-demand learning, says McKinsey. They enjoy learning at their own pace. Try combining online modules or webinars with one-on-one training for topics that require more coaching.
- Encourage creativity and innovation. Give a small team a challenge to solve together, letting them find novel solutions. Hold frequent brainstorming sessions. Reward creative ideas, even when you don’t implement them.
- Recognize their efforts. Praise their contributions and acknowledge their role in the organization’s success. Every talented employee wants to feel appreciated.
By securing the right talent and giving them an outstanding employee experience, you’ll greatly boost organizational success. Talented employees may not stay with your company forever, but that’s okay. By focusing on creating an outstanding employee experience, you’ll build a satisfied employee alumni network that will speak highly of your company, drawing in other talented recruits over the long term.