Attracting top talent has a lot to do with how your business and its corporate culture are viewed by an educated workforce in relationship to other companies that may be hiring. How do you differentiate?

Your attack should focus on selling your vision and what you bring to the table for the employee. Talent will naturally seek responsibility, rewards and a socially balanced lifestyle, so provide a compelling reason why the candidate should work on your team. What’s in it for them? Make your business a great place to work.

In The Great Workplace the authors suggest there are five dimensions to working for a great company: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. The first three combine to form trust between you and your employee. Your employee has to know and trust you to do the right thing for them.

If you are a two-person retail shop, consider mentoring the new hire to be the best in relationship selling. Your offering might include cash rewards toward higher education and textbook subsidies for university students. Your interface with the new hire should produce measurable results and could form the basis of a valuable reference for their next-level job. You provide a reason for why they should come to work.

On the other hand, if you manage a 100-person office you need to sell the candidate on where they fit into the organization and what opportunities await them. Is it fun, is the compensation fair, and do you give them a chance to grow and manage projects they can take ownership of?

Attracting top talent is as simple as giving the candidate a reason to come on board.