The job market has changed a lot over the past few years and what was once an employer’s market is now an employee’s market. With tech job openings quickly surpassing the number of employees who possess the necessary skills, business owners are often frustrated at the lack of talent available to them. Instead of spending excessive amounts of time and money searching through vast pools of underwhelming talent, there is an alternative…

As a business owner, your people are your biggest asset. When you can’t get the right people to apply to your job—or if the right people don’t really even exist—consider taking matters into you own hands and train your own employees. If you can’t find what you need, create what you need.

Building an effective training program is a creative way to help you attract smart, hardworking candidates who may not have found fulfillment in their initial careers. Many people flounder in college and either don’t end up graduating or they graduate with a degree in a field that doesn’t have a direct path to a job. People like this, who never found a career niche they are passionate about, are a great option because they often have a desire to break into a new field but find the prospect of doing so either intimidating or too expensive. By creating a training program that caters to smart, enthusiastic people who are willing to start out at the entry-level, you can tap into a new group of potential employees who would not typically consider a career with your company an option.

Research has shown that people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. The best way to retain top employees is to show them they matter to you. Having a leadership team that actively works to create an environment that makes employees feel secure and valued is a great way to keep them around—especially if you trained them in the first place! Is there a risk that you’ll train people and they’ll leave you to go to a competitor? Yes. However, you always have this risk whether you realize it or not.

Ask us your hiring and training questions via the online chat tool in the lower left-hand corner of your screen. We love talking about hiring and all things HR related. And if you need help figuring out how to attract smart entry-level candidates, we’d love to talk to you!