Attracting the best talent

It's important to know the difference between job descriptions and job announcements. 

A job description explains the job duties and skills needed for the position. This includes experience needed, such as “must have two years of experience in child care,” or education, “must have a CDA.” Sometimes, there are physical requirements for the job, like “employees must be able to lift 40 pounds.” Job descriptions make expectations clear.  

A job announcement tells people, "Here's why you should come work for us." It talks about the job and explains why people should want to work for you. Think of it like trying to sell the job to an individual. To attract top talent, it's worth the effort to take the time to create a high-quality job announcement. 

A three-part job announcement includes three main sections: "why," "what," and "how.”

Part 1: why 

Include basic business information such as your location. Explain why someone should choose to work at your business in about five or six sentences. Explain the following "why's": 

• Why is your business a good place to work? 
• Why are you different from other employers? 
• Why do you and your current employees like working there? 

Part 2: what

Explain the skills that are needed for success in the job. Keep this section to seven or eight of the most important skills. You might think that listing many skills will help you find the best person, but research shows the more skills you include, the less likely somebody is to apply for the job because they begin to see all the things they can't do rather than the ones they can. 

Part 3: how 

Explain how people apply for the job, including: 

• Information you need from them
• Copies of any documents such as their license or certificate
• If they need to fill out a job application 

You can look at online job sites to review what other child care providers are including in their job descriptions and announcements. Once you’ve created your job announcement, ask others for their opinions. They can give you feedback on if the job announcement clear, makes sense, and if it's appealing. 

Now that you have your job announcement, how do you get it out to job seekers? Start with posting the job announcement online or on local job boards. You can also use state and national professional groups to spread the word. 

Active talent search 

These are a good first steps but assumes people you want to hire are looking for a job and will find your announcement. Research shows that more active methods of searching for talent are more effective than passive approaches. You can take additional steps to make sure your job announcement reaches the two most important audiences: candidates and connecters. 

Candidates and connectors 

Candidates are people who apply for the job. Connectors help spread the word and reach more candidates. 

One of the easiest ways find connectors is to reach out to the people who you already know: your friends, current employees, and the families you serve. Let these people know you're hiring and ask them to think about people they know who might be interested. They can share your announcement to help get the word out. Consider offering an incentive to families or employees if you hire somebody they refer. 

Another group of connectors are other professionals in the child care field. You can share your announcement with other child care providers. It can be as simple as a sending a message with the announcement and saying, "If you know anyone, let us know!" 

Social media is another useful tool. Post announcements in local online groups or a local parents’ or neighborhood group. 

Consider offering bonuses or incentives for new hires but require them to pay it back if they leave in less than 6 months. You can also offer slightly higher pay for a short time, like the first three months, to attract talent.

Don't forget about your current employees. You don't want to have wage compression, which happens when you start hiring new people at a higher rate of pay because there's so much competition in the labor market. This can leave your existing employees feeling like they're making much less than incoming employees. Consider offering employee retention incentives to people who remain with your organization, such as temporary bonuses or temporary wage increases. 

Disclaimer 

The information contained here is for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal, tax, or financial advice.