Hiring Advice for Companies with Distributed Workers

We asked our partners and their clients, “If you could offer a single piece of advice to employers looking to hire right now, what would it be?” Here’s what they said:

Focus on becoming a great place to work as much as you focus on sales and marketing.

— Jack Jostes, Ramblin Jackson

If you don't adjust your compensation structure to be in the range or above the range of the marketplace, you will not attract top talent. The labor market is too tight to think you can pay what you were pre-pandemic.

— Tito Caceres, Bloom Partners Talent Solutions

Is the person you're hiring the right person for the right seat? They may have the qualifications, but does their personality mesh with the company culture? Or, conversely, they may fit well within the culture, but do they have the capacity, the desire, and the drive to learn the skills they'll need for the position? It's much more cost prohibitive to hire the wrong individual for a seat than taking the time or using the technology (like Team Engine) to find the right person for that seat.

— Nicole Henry, CompanyCam

Learn and tell the stories of your current team members. Your next recruits have a lot of the same fears and concerns that they did. Show how your team has created a better life for themselves and it will be inspiring to others.

— Chad Diller, Landscape Leadership

Demonstrate to employees how they are important to the company. I'm surprised at how many employees don't realize they are valuable to their employer.

— Alison Hoffman, The Harvest Group

Start planning now. If you have not conducted a 1, 3, or 5 year strategy meeting with your leadership team, we recommend Organizational Structure Planning and Development be at the top of your agenda.

— Ben Molenda, Best Human Capital & Advisory Group

Hire attitudes and good work ethics. You can train the technical aspects, but you can't train attitudes and good work ethics.

— Ruth King, Profit & Wealth Guru

Find a proven framework, process and/or tool to streamline and accelerate your recruiting process.

— Bahaa Moukadam, SeeMetrics Partners

Listen to your employees and be sure they are being heard and respected.

— Heidi J. Ellsworth, RoofersCoffeeShop

Be countercyclical in your approach to hiring and don't let the economic headwinds guide your behavior. You can pick up some impact players, often at a discount, while everyone else is looking to cut headcount.

— Alex Chausovsky, Miller Resource Group

Have a compelling and authentic story, making sure you are looking at the situation from the candidate’s perspective.

— Loren McIrvin, Allied Landscape

Share your vision and strategy with every candidate—regardless of level—to help them see themselves being a part of your larger future that offers financial security and upward mobility.

— Cullen Talley, Exit Momentum

Change your focus on being the best for your customers and start being the best for your employees. The calls will come if you earn the reputation of being the best place to work. You will not only have people approaching you for work, but customers will respect your business and how it treats its people. The calls will follow.

— Nancy O'Hare-Zika, Yellow Dog Creative

Don't skimp on the interview and onboarding process. Prepare, prepare, prepare. I like the books “Top Grading” and “Who” by father-and-son team Todd and Brad Smart. They are filled with valuable advice.

— Linda Ratner, Ratner Consulting

Raise your prices so you can afford to pay a higher salary than your competitors. Sign-on bonuses create temporary excitement & effort. Begin painting the picture of personal, professional, and financial growth within your organization and you'll get candidates that see the long term value of joining your company over the short term value of $5,000.

— Eric Thomas, Rival Digital

Don't solely look for the perfect fit, and someone that needs limited training. Invest more into your training process, and open your pool of candidates to people that may not have all of the qualifications. Companies with faster and better training processes will win!

— Carla Policastro, Cycle CPA

Don't try to force a hire. I see too many companies approach hiring in one of two ways: those who spend their time recruiting during the interview process and those who act like the possible employee owes them something for considering them. I recommend taking a different approach. I talk to potential employees about a partnership with us as the employer. When an employee is hired, both groups should feel like they won. If we aren't lucky to have you, and you aren't lucky to be here, then one of us got it wrong.

— Derrik Shakespear, busybusy.com

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For a look back, check out these lessons in talent management and acquisition that our partners and their clients picked up in 2022.

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