March 07, 2018

How to Recruit the Best Employees for a Woman-Owned Business

In this post, we’ll share actionable tips for finding valuable team members that will help contribute to your woman-owned business’s success. Let’s get started!

6 Tips for Hiring Employees for Your Woman-Owned Business

1. Present Clear Expectations

Before interviewing candidates, craft a list of skills, experience, and personality traits that you’re looking for. You might find a great potential employee, but if they don’t meet your requirements, it likely won’t work out. Ideally, you should recruit new employees who can become long-term staff members. If you have a high turnover rate, this could be a waste  your business’s money. When you’re ready to start the hiring process, post a comprehensive job description that prospective candidates can review. By doing this, you’ll lessen the chances that you hire anyone who isn’t qualified!

2. Tap into Your Network

With women’s networking groups becoming more prevalent, both online and in-person, it’s easier than ever to connect with smart, talented women in your industry. Those connections will be valuable when you need to recruit new employees. Reach out to women’s business associations that you’re a member of, and ask for suggestions of strong candidates. There will likely be members who are looking for job opportunities, or they’ll know someone who could be a great fit!

3. Use Social Media

Utilizing social media allows small businesses to contact job candidates, as well as a way for job seekers to learn about new positions. Build your social media following, and maintain your accounts effectively to attract top talent. If you’re in need of new employees, post job openings on your pages, and contact social media users that have the right qualifications. With the ability to quickly and easily share posts, your message can spread to a huge audience. From LinkedIn to Facebook to Instagram, you never know where you might find your next employee.

4. Ask Current Employees to Be Part of the Process

Who better to sing the praises of your company than the people who are already working there? Talented people want to work with other talented people. Show off the skills and experience of your team to potential new hires so they can see what they could be a part of if they accepted an offer. Include testimonials from your staff on your business’s website, share photos from team building events on your social media pages, and encourage employees to recommend individuals from their own networks who could be a great addition to your staff.

5. Build a Work Environment that Attracts Talent

There’s more to a dream job than an impressive title and salary. The best potential employees will look for the total package, and likely compare your business with other companies that they’re interviewing with. To stand out, determine what sets your small business apart from competitors. Be sure to highlight your benefits package, work life balance, PTO policy, and anything else that makes your business a top choice for job seekers.

6. Ask the Right Questions

As you narrow down your search to a group of potential employees, you must determine how you’ll choose who will move on to the next step of the hiring process. The interview is obviously a crucial step, and a time when you’ll learn about who each candidate is and what they can offer. To successfully select the right candidates, develop your interview skills to be sure you’re asking the right questions. In the end, you should know how each candidate would perform in the role, as well as whether they would be a good fit in your company’s culture.

Next Steps

Finding and hiring new talent can be a difficult task for a women-owned business. You’ll need to find individuals who can add to your business’s success, and hopefully remain employees for a long time. However, with the tools and resources available today, the process can be easier than ever before. Do you have any tips for women business owners who are seeking new employees? Let us know in the comment section below.