Jenna Beard is the senior aviation recruitment specialist of global technical recruitment consultancy VHR who provides technical and engineering recruitment services across 52 countries. We ask Jenna to give us 3 tips on how to find a supportive business team.
Employer Brand
A positive employer brand is crucial to attracting the best talent. The external perception of your business can make or break your chances of winning new recruits ahead of your competitors. Show how your organisation is a great place to work by promoting the company’s most relevant perks across websites and digital channels, and showcasing the voices of individual employees so that potential candidates can imagine themselves within the team. Build a picture of the type of candidates you want to engage, and tailor your employer brand and recruitment strategy to their motivations, interests and preferred channels.
Inclusive employer brands also help to attract talent from minority groups and those who are often overlooked for other roles. Diverse teams help give businesses the competitive edge, not only by attracting more diverse staff into the business but by bringing fresh knowledge, experience and perspectives. McKinsey report that gender-diverse companies are 15% more financially successful than their competitors, with ethnic-diverse companies outperforming their competitors by a phenomenal 35%. Diverse teams are more creative and more likely to foster collaboration and support, and diverse businesses are better at understanding and serving their customer base.
Long-Term Thinking
When searching for your team, keep in mind a long-term plan for each potential employee, their role within the organisation and how they would fit within their team. The best leaders understand that they cannot do everything and be everywhere at once: they need to empower their teams to be the experts in their field, who can then act and advise with competence.
Learning & development is crucial to a supportive team. For employees across functions, in start-ups or global leaders, each employee can benefit from their own Personal Development Plan. Create this plan in partnership with your workers: ask them what they want to achieve in the next 6-12 months, what they will need to get there and how their goals will be measured. Balance the PDP between the individual’s career plan and the business needs, to ensure employees can see their future at the company in the next few years and retain your top talent.
Staff who continually upskill will not only be better equipped to perform their roles as the company grows, but also knowledgeable and confident enough to play a crucial role in supporting their leaders with expertise in major business change or decisions. Employees can play an integral role in sharing their skills with colleagues to continually upskill the team.
Culture
Supportive teams need supportive leaders, and communication is the root of all collaboration. Lead by example to create a positive culture: be honest, open and direct with your employees as much as possible.
A positive culture based on transparency, respect and equality will attract individuals who behave in the same way and foster the same positive environment for supportive teams. Individuals must feel comfortable raising questions, communicating ideas and challenging decisions. From realists and idealists to introverts and extroverts, all team members will need to be equally valued and respected to support each other and the business.
