Using Your Blog to Attract Employees that Fit Your Small Business

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Do you feel like you’re rolling the dice when it comes to hiring new employees for your small business?  You try your best to judge an applicant’s qualifications, but in the end you just don’t have the resources to do much more than use your gut instinct to determine if they’ll be a good fit. Your blog can be a great tool to attract well-informed employees that already love what you’re doing.

Many small business owners make the mistake of thinking online marketing is only for generating sales leads.  It’s one of the reasons I reversed the term on this blog. Marketing online is much more than just sales – it’s attracting people towards us.

The most important people we can attract are those who become our employees.  If we don’t attract, and hire, great employees, the others don’t matter much as they won’t likely be sticking around for very long.

What Makes a Great Employee?

The obvious question is,  ”What makes a great employee?”  Each entrepreneur has a different take, but I like how Robyn Henderson answered this question on LinkedIn.

A great employee is someone who works with you to achieve your vision and company goals – while at the same time having the confidence to make suggestions on improvements and better ways to do things.  They are loyal, a good communicator, great with clients, good phone manner, flexible and committed to get the job done.  They understand that you are human and from time to time will lose it, make mistakes and have a bad day – but they know not to take it personally as you will back them to the hilt.  They don’t abuse your generosity and you know you can trust them.  They are honest, flexible and focused.  They may not work for you forever – but because of what they do do, the employment door will always be open to them.

I think most of us would be happy to have this type of employee working for us.  It’s not the typical textbook answer, but sounds like it comes from years of experience in managing employees in a realistic work environment.

Turn Your “For Employees” Page into a Full-Time Recruiter

Defining what makes a great employee is the easy part.  How do you attract them to your small business?  First, you need to go beyond what the typical company does.

It’s not uncommon for a company to have a “For Employees” page on their site.  You’ll find a listing of the basic benefits, a few generic paragraphs about why you should work there, and perhaps a link to an online application.

That’s fine for the average employee, but you’re not after average.  You want your “For Employees” page to work as a full-time recruiter seeking out those employees that will really fit into your company’s culture.  They’ll need much more information about you.

If you’re using your blog to train your employees and reinforce your brand, then potential employees will have a great idea of what to expect while performing their job duties.  That’s a great start, but what’s it really like to work for you?

Turn Your Great Working Environment into Sales Leads

It may not seem like it at first, but blogging about all of the great benefits you provide your employees can generate sales.  Think about it.  When you read about all of the perks that Google provides its employees do you think their employees are jazzed to work there?  You bet they are, and happy employees equal better customer service.

Sprinkle in posts about how you treat your employees on your blog.  Highlight those employees that are doing great things in the community, or have gone above and beyond providing service to your customer.

Do you receive compliments about your employees?  Collect them and write a post including all the great things your customers are saying about your employees.  Put a name and face on what it means to do business with you.

Your customers want to read about how great your employees are, and what you’re doing to make sure that these employees are sticking around to provide them great service.  Potential employees want to see that you’ll value their service, too.

Turn Your Blog into an Hiring Filter

One of the hardest tasks that many small business owners experience when trying to hire someone is filtering through all of the resumes.  This is especially true when the economy is in a downturn and people are desperate for a job.

Here’s where your blog can really help you out.  Create a post explaining your hiring process.  Include a list of those pillar posts about working for your company.  Make sure you link to this post on your “For Employees” page.

Whenever you schedule an interview, ask the applicant if they’ve read your “For Employees” page.  Give them the web address and let them know that you strongly encourage them to check it out.

Your first interview question should be, “Which of the posts listed under our hiring process did you find the most helpful, and why did it make you think working here would be a great fit for you?”

If they didn’t bother to check it out, end the interview.  Don’t roll the dice.  Chances are not high that the person sitting across from you is going to be a great employee.

Do you blog about what it’s like to work for your small business?  Is your “For Employees” page working as a full-time recruiter?  How are you using your blog to attract employees that fit your small business?

Related posts:

1. Using Your Blog to Train Employees and Reinforce Your Brand
2. Why Your Small Business Needs a Blog