Business in Vancouver, Featuring Talent Lab

What an honour it was for Tess and I to join Business In Vancouver’s podcast with host Tyler Ortin and discuss a topic so close to our hearts - how to attract and retain talent amongst many common obstacles businesses are facing today. Its no secret that Vancouver remains high on the list of most expensive cities to live in, and with technology advantages threatening work forces many businesses are struggling with attracting the right talent and knowing how to retain the good ones.

Here are my thoughts:

Attracting Talent - While businesses spend a lot of time developing their brand and marketing their external value to customers or clients they need to be spending an equal amount of time thinking about their value proposition to the employees. You can then market this through developing your employer brand voice to showcase your business to prospective talent and really set your self apart in this candidate driven market. *Hint - think beyond ping pong tables and beer on tap, candidates want to know how you are going to support them in their career development and how your company is contributing to a greater purpose or supporting the community around them.

Retaining Talent - Don’t forget about the amazing people you already have! One of the most requested perks from existing employees actually has little to no effect on your bottom line - employees are looking for flexibility in the workplace. With technological advances the idea of a 9-5 job is dead. Employees are always “on” and there is often an underlying expectation to be responsive in their off hours. So what employees are looking for in return is the ability to create their own schedule. That could be working remotely or it could be flexible work hours. This kind of autonomy allows your workforce to live their lives, drive their schedules and establishes a loyalty to their company and job. Stop living in fear that your employee is not actually working when they are enjoying the freedom to have a work from home day, you will notice as it will show up in their work. Do you really want someone on your team you cannot trust anyways?

Listen to the full podcast below! Business in Vancouver also wrote an article along the same topic you can read below.

Alisha Adams

Co-Founder, Talent Lab