How do I find good staff? Part 1 - Attraction

Part 1 – Attraction

“How do I find good staff?” is one of the most frequent questions we get asked. There isn’t a simple silver-bullet solution – especially during periods of a tight labour market – but there are some practical steps business leaders can take to improve their chances of attracting a strong pool of candidates to select from.

First, how do you increase the volume and quality of your candidate pool?

1.      Cast the net wide – diversify your advertising channels to maximise your visibility to candidates

2.      Advertise internally – there may be great candidates in your business that are looking for a change or the next step in their career

3.      Offer referral perks – your best marketers can be your own staff. Offer a referral bonus and they will do the searching for you.

4.      Think creatively – could there be other, non-traditional labour markets you could target for the role? This can be especially effective if there is some flexibility in the role – think semi-retirees, students, people seeking part-time work, people seeking a career change

5.      Review the non-negotiables – consider which “must haves” can be changed to “desirables”. This can broaden your candidate pool significantly

6.      Remuneration/conditions flexibility – individualised remuneration packages and tailored working arrangements (eg working from home) are becoming increasingly sought after as people look for benefits beyond the traditional salary components

7.      Make the application process easy – lengthy or clunky online forms turn good people away. Reduce the friction and you’ll get more applications.

8.      Put feelers out within your existing networks – industry associations, supplier relationships, customer contacts and local business groups can all be quiet sources of quality candidates.

9.      Use social proof – share genuine employee stories, photos of the team, or short videos about working at your business. Candidates respond strongly to authentic glimpses of culture.

10.  Partner with training providers or universities – many institutions are keen to place students or recent graduates and can feed you a steady stream of motivated candidates.

Taking these extra steps to attract candidates delivers clear advantages. A wider, higher-quality talent pool shortens time-to-hire, improves the odds of selecting the right person first time, and reduces costly turnover. Businesses that actively broaden their reach and remove unnecessary barriers also strengthen their employer brand, making future recruitment easier and giving them a competitive edge in tight labour markets.

Attracting a strong pool of candidates is only the first step – and arguably the easiest. Once the applications start coming in, the real work of selecting the right person begins – which we’ll cover in Part 2.

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