How To Find Qualified Team Members

If you’ve looked to hire a qualified team member recently, you know something. You know finding qualified team members to be a difficult task.

Unemployment numbers have been at record lows. The current jobless rates show unemployment to be hovering around the three percent mark.

THAT IS LOW.

Man holding two apples in his hands, trying to choose the best apple

Photo by Raquel Martinez

The low unemployment rate also presents a unique challenge to employers and the leaders who must look for qualified candidates. The applicant pool is almost non-existent. This means finding a qualified person to join your team is difficult.

Difficult… But not impossible. If you do the right things, you can find qualified people for your team.

How To Find Qualified Team Members

To find qualified team members, you have to do the right thing. But what is the right thing in this job climate?

Leaders looking to hire qualified people will have to:

Pony up extra money:

Money isn’t everything to qualified people. However, qualified people also know their worth.

If you’re willing to pay minimum wage for a technical position, you won’t find quality people. You will find people who are desperate for a job.

Stop being cheap. Find ways to increase the wages you’re willing (or able) to pay.

To bring in qualified people, you will have to pay them well.

Offer a challenge:

Qualified people are always looking to test their skills. This means qualified people will need a challenge in their day to work.

Look for ways you can offer up challenges to your team members. This can include:

  • Encouraging them to take on additional responsibilities (along with the appropriate compensation)
  • Allowing team members to solve an issue with their own ideas
  • Sharing issues the organization is having and letting people solve the problem

As potential qualified team members look at your organizations, they will see your place as a place they can grow. They will see positive challenges they can tackle.

On the opposite side, make sure you’re not creating artificial challenges for your team. What are artificial challenges? They are

  • Old or aging technology
  • No training
  • Inappropriate office behavior

Make sure you’re offering the correct challenges to team members.

Create a flexible working environment:

Offices that allow for a flexible working environment often attract higher-quality candidates. This is due to the fact team members don’t want to be tied to a desk or a specific office.

Many qualified candidates desire the ability to work from home, bring their pet into the office, or flexible working hours.

These may seem odd to the old-school leader. However, these are things millennials and Gen Next are looking for. They desire to work when and how they want.

Don’t be the leader that restricts the way people work. You will discover qualified team members are able to work how they like.

Ask for referrals:

Ahhh… The age-old way of finding qualified candidates still works. To find the best candidates for your position, look for referrals.

Referrals can come from a multitude of places. Some places you might find referrals are:

  • The local college
  • A former employee who left on good terms
  • An employee at a sister company
  • A current employee
  • Friends
  • Family
  • Church

Referrals tend to get you qualified candidates for one specific reason. The people referring a candidate wants to leave a good impression on you. They don’t want to hurt their relationship with you.

Referrals aren’t dead. They’re actually a great way to find a qualified candidate.

Question: What are you doing to find qualified candidates? Have you tried any of the above suggestions? How did they work out for you? Share your experience in the comment section below.

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