Five months ago, I received an offer for a major promotion with relocation to a warmer climate and the promise of franchise ownership within three years.
 Leah Scofield
In today’s market, talented people certainly attract big opportunities such as this.
How can you, as a smaller company, compete against the big players with their benefits packages, upward mobility potential and talent scout teams looking to swoop in and scoop up all the good employees?
Companies that win the war for talent do so in part because they have a solid employee-value proposition and they know how to match their values with the values of the candidates.
Flying home from South Carolina, I knew I could not relocate there. I turned down the big opportunity. The small company that hired me here recognized my values and proceeded to show me how other values I held for my career matched those held by their company. The company did not include a benefits package, but it had a winning employee-value proposition.
According to “The War for Talent” by Ed Michaels, a winning employee- value proposition will include at least four key areas:
• Exciting work. Guide your company in a direction that excites people. Elevate your organization’s mission to something that inspires passion. As a small company, you can avoid all the corporate red tape everyone complains about and innovate faster, create challenges, give employees autonomy and create cross-functional job responsibilities.
• A great company. Beyond the actual work they are doing, people want to be a part of a great company. They want to like the culture and values, feel like they are a part of a well-managed company with leaders who inspire them. Smaller companies often feel more like a family and nearly all people look to work in an open, trusting environment.
• Opportunities to develop. Talented people are drawn to companies that help them develop new skills, knowledge and experiences. Smaller companies have an advantage of “wearing many hats.” Opportunities to develop do not always present themselves as newer, fancy titles.
• Attractive compensation. The price of talent is going up. However, it is not always money that attracts and keeps the best people. The key for a small business is to find out what drives the candidate. A smaller compensation or benefits package might not be a detriment to a person who is looking for more flexibility, personal reward, independence or challenge.
A few more perks, chances for fancy titles or a more generous health insurance plan won’t make the difference to a talented person looking for a career change. The key is strengthening the value your company brings to the table and effectively communicating and matching that value to your potential employees.
The proof: I am happy to write this column from my home office in South Dakota and not a corporate cubby in South Carolina.
Scofield is a consultant with Great Plains Consulting
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