(By Laurie Kahn) With one month left in the year, this is an excellent time to think and act on your talent acquisition plan for the future. With the holiday season in full swing, it’s a great time to network, research, and build loyalty with your employees.
As we are all aware, one of the biggest challenges that managers face is having the right team in place at all times. With the lowest unemployment in decades, competition to hire quality talent is fierce. It’s crucial to always be recruiting and to ensure the team you have remains with you.
Accept invitations to attend as many parties or gatherings as you can. Push yourself and your managers to meet others who you haven’t met in the past. Collect business cards or contact information. Ask questions about what they do, if they are happy in their jobs. Find out if they have friends or family returning to the market who may be interested in speaking with you about a future position. Find out what other companies are doing for their employees over the holidays and on an everyday basis so you can compare what your company does. Use this time to brag up how you have helped the community in the past year, how proud you are of the team you have and how you reward them for a job well done. Spread the word about why your company is a good place to work. Get the word out in non-traditional places.
The holiday season also gives you time to spend with employees in a more social, relaxed setting. Use this time to really listen to their comments, their needs, and what motivates them. Ask what you can do better as a leader and act on those suggestions. This is a great way to learn what you need to do to improve your employee experience for next year and beyond.
If you host a holiday gathering, remind the group of all the good reasons why they work for your company. Share success stories of those who have gone over and above their normal job and give accolades to them. Share stories of clients who you have helped grow over the year. Be creative, have fun, show that you care. If you don’t have a gathering, consider taping a message that can be sent to all employees. Hearing from the top means a lot.
Word does get out on how you treat employees, how you care and how you offer support. This is huge in talent acquisition and will help immensely when trying to attract the right person to your team. Take pictures or videos showing happy, engaged employees to share on social media or on your website; just be sure they are appropriate and no pics of lampshade awards!
Encourage your on-air staff to talk up the fun party; share with them how important their job is in helping to attract potential employees. Ask them to share the good things you do with your listeners so they can build a stronger connection to the station. Share how the leadership team is always open to having informational interviews so that interested listeners can consider learning about your opportunities.
There may be pressure to hit yearly goals; there could be a last dash to make the month or to finalize 2019 budgets. Regardless, set the tone that the holiday season is one to reflect, to give, and to support each other. Kindness and caring will go a long ways when setting your culture.
Laurie Kahn is the creator and founder of Media Staffing Network. She has worked with media companies since 1993 helping them hire top managers and sellers.
