We talk a lot about top talent – how these workers make up just 20% of the IT talent pool, how they are more productive they are (200% more than average workers) and innovative, and how difficult they can be to find – especially those professionals with high-demand skills.

It would be great if we could identify all top talent, put them in a “one size fits all” box and assign them to companies as required. But it’s not that easy. Top talent means different things to different organizations. Company culture plays a large part in defining what top talent actually looks like. For example, a hiring manager may be excited about a candidate who has strong technical skills,  but once the interview is over, the manager realizes that the candidate would not fit in to the company's culture. Next!  

And therein lies the challenge – finding the right IT professional who possesses the necessary skills to do the job successfully, while also being a good fit with the company's culture.

Culture can be characterized by attitudes, experiences, beliefs, and values of an entire organization.  The attributes of an organization’s culture can be tangible, such as dress code, or intangible, such as shared values. In order to find your “top talent” it is important to think through all the attributes of your organization’s culture before launching a job search. Ask yourself and other members involved in the hiring process these questions:

• What are the values of the company? How do you know?
• How important is it that employees are highly committed to the organization’s mission? How do individual members contribute to the advancement of our mission?
• Is leadership a core value of the organization? How are decisions made and problems solved?
• What does the organization chart look like? Is your organization hierarchical or flat?
• What is the physical work environment like? Do you have offices, cubicles, or open workspaces? Are there common areas such as reception, a kitchen, or a lunch room?
• Is diversity of backgrounds, experiences, or beliefs important to your organization?
• How does the organization acknowledge personal successes and other milestones?
• What’s the work/life balance for staff?

Based on your answers to the above, determine the following:

• How do you define top talent? What does the perfect employee look like, and why do you believe this?
• How will you know when you’ve found top talent? What areas of that definition are subjective, and what does this tell you about the values and beliefs of the organization?
• How does the hiring process reinforce the behaviors of your values?
• How will you measure the success of recruiting top talent in the short-term and in the long-term?

Now that you know what top talent means in your organization, be sure to communicate your culture throughout the hiring process so that you will always attract and recruit the RIGHT people. A good way to start communicating company culture is in the actual job posting (this will also help recruiters reinforce the information to candidates during the qualification and selection process):

• Include your full mission statement within the posting.
• Offer an explicit description of the organization’s culture and values, such as “We work in a collaborative, team-based environment.”
• When listing job requirements, use language that mirrors specific values, such as “Collaborate with …” or “Produce results on. …”
• When listing candidate qualifications, include specific values such as “entrepreneurial” or “team player.”
• If diversity is an attribute of your culture, make sure to include this information. At the very least, include your organization’s “equal opportunity employer” statement.

What does top talent look like in your organization? What are some successful ways you’ve been able to attract and recruit top talent? If you need help finding top talent, contact a reputable IT staffing firm like Agile – we’ll be happy to speed your time to top talent!