Transform Your Hiring Game & Attract Top Talent “HI, NICE BIZ!”

How to Scale from Consultant to Agency Owner

Part 1 of 3

It’s finally common knowledge now that losing an employee is expensive. Really expensive. High turnover rates can damage a company’s bottom line, wipe out your savings, or lower morale all around. Most employees actually become more valuable over time as they learn more, contribute better results, and become trusted representatives of your company. It makes sense to me that most people find recruiting and hiring stressful.

I’d like to remove some of that stress for you and help you transform your hiring game and attract top-tier talent.

I recently created an acronym to explain how I attract, retain, and rely on top talent using applied decolonization in my business. Here it is: “HI, NICE BIZ!” Each letter represents a tactical tool you can use to improve your organization.

But, what is applied decolonization? It’s the idea that we can run wildly successful businesses without being extractive or contributing to trauma. To get a little deeper on this, read this blog post.

Let’s get to the acronym!

The first part, “HI” is how we attract top talent. H is for Human, and I is for Impact.

Employees are more than numbers.

One of the reasons I ended up running my business using the principles of Applied Decolonization is because at one point in my career, I was employee number 806641. And wow, did I hate it. I felt dehumanized, extracted, devalued, and like I didn't matter at my workplace. No employee deserves to feel like that, so, I recommend putting yourself in the shoes of your team members, and look at how you can support them as humans first. Let me explain…

What does humanizing your HR look like in action? Consider:

Do you provide accessibility accommodations for people with disabilities or people from marginalized identities? These are important parts of running a human-first business. Research shows that organizations with diverse teams perform better - Inclusive teams are over 35% more productive – so look at attracting diverse skill sets. If you intend to create a diverse team and attract people from marginalized identities to your workforce, you will need to state in your job descriptions that your organization supports DEI. This statement needs to be made explicitly, especially given today's political climate. And you can’t just state it and forget it - you also have to build accommodations into the work environment and culture. Make sure to offer remote options for people. Let's face it: most people can work remotely, but working in an office isn’t a feasible option for everyone.

Next up is the “I”, for Impact.

It’s pretty much common knowledge now: more and more of us want to do work that truly matters. We want to spend our work life doing something that makes some kind of positive impact on the world. So, what greater good does your organization contribute to? Get clear on the ways you make a difference, big or small, and write them down. Build this information into your job descriptions, put it on your website, and mention it occasionally on social media. Stories about your organization’s impact results will attract intelligent, talented, and driven people.

How to create mission and vision statements:

Don't have a mission or vision statement? Not sure which values you and your organization live by? I recommend looking up the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and seeing if your business aligns with any of the 17 goals. From there, you can come up with your own goals and mission and include them on your website, to catch the eyes and minds of the passionate and talented people you’re trying to recruit.