Why talent gravitates towards strong brands
(4 - 5 minute read)
Everyone dreams of working at Google, Facebook, Apple or Microsoft. But, have you ever wondered why these companies are so appealing over your own? Could it be the work culture, wages, fancy offices or market caps? Well, those things do matter to some extent but the primary reason is that they have strong branding. If you have read the article on why branding goes hand in hand with building business, then you will understand that strong branding is vital for communicating a company’s core mission and vision to the masses. Strong brands are consistent, vocal and clear in their goals.
Where to start?
If there is anything that helps you connect with your target audience, it’s ‘clarity in purpose and laser focus on what you want to achieve’. Most business owners who have recently launched their brands face issues in explaining what their brand actually intends to do. If you’ve ever felt like there are too many ideas on the surface and that you need to explain everything at once when describing your business to someone, relax, it’s natural to feel this way. Most business owners make this mistake at the beginning.
There is a tool called lean model canvas, that you can easily use. This converts your raw ideas into refined strategies. Think of it as a bigger picture or a hawk’s eye view of your brand. Usually this tool is pretty much self-explanatory, however, you can still check out the instructions for a detailed step-by-step explanation.
What next?
This is where things get interesting. You have practiced refining your business idea by knowing for sure how many features you want in your product, how it stands out from the competition and how you will be reaching out to your target audience. The next big problem will be talent acquisition, i.e. hiring employees or finding people who are passionate about what you do and are willing to work for you.
How to attract talent?
Before you even go into hiring mode and start advertising new roles, there is a systematic checklist which you should follow to avoid trouble. Ask yourself the following questions:
Do I possess the top-notch skills in the domain in which I intend to start a business?
What are my weaknesses that may hinder business growth?
How critical is it to fulfill those weakness?
What will an ideal candidate look like who can fulfill those weaknesses?
Where will I find him/her?
How long do I need that resource for?
Do I have enough budget to sustain the resource?
We encourage you to answer them systematically and spend around one to two hours thinking about them. Write down the answers on a piece of paper or on your mobile, tablet or laptop, whichever suits you! Use your answers to prepare a detailed job description. This will help you develop realistic expectations from the talent you are hiring. Strong brands are well aware of their weaknesses and strengths. Hence, finding talent is not much of an issue for them.
What talent expects from a brand?
Assuming you now have everything in place and you’re ready to start hiring it makes sense to advertise your job roles and hold interviews. However, this doesn’t mean your interviewees will necessarily show up. Unfortunately many may not and this could be due to a variety of reasons including: a bad website, poor design/photography, error-full copy, an inactive presence on social media… etc. Believe it or not the best employees build the best products which then drive exponential growth in your business and they demand perfection in every aspect of their working life. Here are the top three things which they look for;
Excellence
They are highly skilled and they love to be surrounded by people who are operating at the top of their game. They won’t settle for anything less than that!
Action item: Assess whether your brand’s digital presence is good enough to impress a highly-skilled employee who will make you a million-dollar company.
Stability
People often work because they want to settle down and plan their future and families. A strong brand guarantees rewards and has a clear growth plan which motivates employees to work diligently.
Action item: Does your brand possess a clear three-year road map and a scaling strategy? If your answer is no, then you need to go back to the drawing board and redo the lean model canvas activity to clear your vision.
Challenging
The top-notch talent wants to work on cutting-edge technologies or the most pressing of the world’s challenges. Is your brand giving them an opportunity to challenge themselves? Is your mission and vision statement that daring?
Action item: Ask yourself: Are you, yet another brand who is trying to reinvent the wheel OR are you seriously leveraging the resources at hand and thinking outside of the box to tackle a problem? Will your employees feel proud if you solve that problem? Remember that at the end of the day, everyone needs a story to tell! Is your brand’s story worth telling?
If your brand hits all these points then rest assured talent will gravitate towards you. If you manage them well, they will not only stay but will help you beat your competition. Your customers will be happy and if you keep your pace constant then you might even hit a home run like Amazon!
