As the demand for design talent continues to rise, businesses in design are faced with the ongoing challenge of acquiring such talent. Designers themselves sit with choice like never before. Why will they choose to work for your business over others? And no, these creatives are not easily swayed by compensation alone. Those businesses in design who understand and cater for what matters most to the creative talent of today, will not only acquire the best talent - they’ll keep them for longer!
With demand high and competition rife, your talent acquisition (and retention) strategy deserves more attention than ever. Be sure to include these essentials:
How have you catered for Design Growth?
Designers are craftsmen/women and invest deeply into honing their craft. If you don't have a tailored and specific designer growth framework to inspire them in how they build their career in your business, you’ll see their creative flame dim over time.
How are you Evangelizing design?
By the very nature of being a designer, having to create ‘newness’ is a constant and being inspired is a prerequisite. Design community and growth support initiatives that foster sharing, collaboration and learning can provide ongoing inspiration.
What is your Design Positioning?
Your businesses internal and external positioning displayed through your point of view, structure, thought leadership, etc are key draw cards for the talented designer who doesn't want to be part of “just another design firm”. They want to be part of a business that believes what they believe when it comes to design, and this will weigh heavily in their decision to even accept an interview. What makes your design firm unique?
How have you designed your EX (Employee Experience)?
Given that designers are in the profession of creating experiences, they will be highly sensitive to the experience created for them as the user. The value of designing a carefully and well thought out employee experience cannot be underestimated - designers move in small professional circles, your designers should be your greatest advocates for the new talent being brought in tomorrow.
These are some of the many potential ways to ultimately open the door for good design talent to be attracted to your business, stay with you over time, and actively contribute to the design team and overall business growth. Make your talent acquisition and retention strategy a priority, design business is booming, prepare to be the business where the talent chooses to go.
Advisory for creatives: “Solving niche challenges design businesses face”.
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