Attracting the Best for Entry-Level Roles (Sabrina Starling on Small Business)

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Do you have entry-level positions that you struggle to keep filled?

Many small-business owners find it challenging to fill these roles. There is much competition for labor for unskilled positions, often leaving small-business owners feeling pressure to compete with wages paid by larger employers. It’s time to consider other perks when maxing out on the wages you can afford to pay an entry-level employee and remain profitable.

Small businesses possess a distinct advantage over corporate employers, a fact that is often overlooked. This advantage lies in the rapid career advancement opportunities that a great employee can experience in a small business, far exceeding what they could achieve in a larger corporation.

Many businesses advertise the “opportunity for advancement.” Yet very few small-business owners consider what this truly means. Even fewer have articulated a clear path of advancement from an entry-level position through the company’s ranks.

It’s crucial to remember that the best employees are always looking to advance their careers. As a small-business owner, you risk losing your top talent when they are unclear about their career progression within your company.

The next time you are hiring an entry-level employee, here are some questions to consider:

► What is the next promotion for this employee?

► What is the pay increase for that promotion?

► What criteria must that employee meet to receive a promotion?

► What personality strengths are needed to perform the duties of that next position exceptionally well?

► What skills are needed?

► Will you provide the training needed to acquire those skills? If not, how will you support that employee in developing the necessary training?

Keep asking yourself this same set of questions for each promotion as an entry-level employee advances in your company. Once you have answered these questions, you can tell an applicant about real career opportunities with you.

Consider the difference between telling an applicant, “We start you at $15 an hour and you have the opportunity to advance with us,” versus telling an applicant, “We start you at $15 an hour. Apply yourself to meet our clearly defined goals. Over the next five years, we’ll support you in moving into a management-level position, with the opportunity to earn $70,000 or more annually.” The second scenario will be attractive to a career-minded applicant, making it much more likely that you will attract and retain an A player employee for your entry-level position.

Tip: Make the first promotion easily achievable for an employee who is a go-getter. This is psychologically motivating and will increase your odds of retaining that employee over time.

Sabrina Starling, Ph.D., PCC, BCC, is the bestselling author of “How to Hire the Best” and “The 4 Week Vacation.” Founder of tapthepotential.com and host of the “Profit by Design” podcast, she and her team coach entrepreneurs to take their lives back from their businesses. They are on a mission to send 10,000 entrepreneurs on a four-week vacation in 10 years.