7 HR Pros Share Strategies for Attracting Top Talent

"HR Professionals: How do you attract top talent and build a strong, motivated team that drives business growth?" Here is what 7 thought leaders have to say.

Build a Compelling Employer Brand

Attracting top talent and building a strong, motivated team that drives business growth requires a strategic mix of employer branding, targeted hiring, and a culture of engagement and development. The best candidates don't just look for a job—they seek a company where they can thrive, contribute, and grow.

1. Build a Compelling Employer Brand

Top talent is drawn to companies that clearly communicate their mission, values, and career growth opportunities.

Authenticity matters - Showcase real employee stories and company culture on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and other platforms.

Transparent job descriptions - Clearly define role expectations and what success looks like in the first 6-12 months.

Career progression - Highlight opportunities for growth within the company.

2. Attract the Right Candidates with a Targeted Hiring Approach

Move beyond job boards - Proactively engage passive talent through networking, employee referrals, and LinkedIn sourcing.

Data-driven hiring - Use structured interviews and skills assessments to ensure alignment with company needs.

Fast, engaging process - Talented candidates won't wait—streamline interview rounds and provide quick, personalized feedback.

3. Prioritize Retention Through Career Growth & Engagement

Offer continuous learning - Provide mentorship, leadership training, and access to industry development.

Recognize and reward contributions - A culture of appreciation boosts morale and motivation.

Ensure strong leadership - Train managers to provide meaningful feedback and align employees with company goals.

4. Foster a Culture That Drives Business Growth

Encourage collaboration - Employees engaged in cross-functional work see greater impact and satisfaction.

Emphasize purpose-driven work - People are more motivated when they understand how their efforts contribute to company success.

Flexibility & well-being - Companies that support work-life balance and employee well-being experience higher productivity and retention.

A strong employer brand + targeted hiring + growth-focused culture = long-term success. By attracting the right people and investing in their development, companies don't just fill roles—they build high-performing teams that drive innovation, engagement, and business growth.

Margaret Buj, Interview Coach and Talent Acquisition Manager, Mixmax

Create Comprehensive Job Descriptions

Attracting top talent to build a strong, motivated team requires that business leaders take a step back and consider how they have designed each position. In order to ensure that you attract the right candidates, a well-thought-out, comprehensive job description is an important first step. I know, this isn't a very "fun" answer - but it works - and here are three reasons why ... A comprehensive job description includes: essential job duties, soft skills, technical skills, supervisory responsibilities, work experience and education requirements, safety requirements, etc. Leaders should not be shy about including all of these sections (and more) in their job descriptions. Once a great job description has been created, a proper compensation analysis can be conducted. In addition, with good job descriptions across the company, it is clear how each job supports one another, and the overall goals of the organization. Beyond providing clarity into the organizational structure, great job descriptions can be revised into magnetic job postings that help applicants get a clear, accurate idea of what the job entails. And, lastly, to keep your team motivated and effective, clear expectations about job duties is an absolute requirement. Great job descriptions can be used to facilitate conversations about performance, growth, and identify areas for improvement.

Niki Ramirez, Founder & Principal Consultant, HRAnswers.org

Communicate Mission and Career Path

It's important for employers to effectively and consistently communicate their mission to prospective candidates. The impact of what an organization does and how the work of an individual will contribute to that mission is important to establish from the onset. This helps give employees a sense of meaningfulness to the work that they are doing. It's also important for employers to show a career path to candidates. Top talent continually wants to learn & develop their skills and with that comes a wanting to expand their role and responsibilities. Thus, it's vital for employers to help their employees establish both short-term and long-term goals and assist their employees in seeing how those goals fit into their professional journey.

Mayank Singh, Director of Human Resources, Coordinated Family Care

Focus on Retention-Based Culture

It starts with a consistent focus on your retention-based culture from the top. Executive leaders, along with all people leaders, must live the organizational core values, vision, mission, and culture. Your reputation creates your ability to attract top talent. Creating a people-first work environment with a focus on retention and employee engagement will set you apart.

Next, your talent attraction and talent acquisition must be highly engaged, positive, and consistent in their candidate experience, followed closely by an established 90-day onboarding program that invites every new hire to meet key players and learn how to perform at a high level.

Lastly, invest in professional development, leadership development, and employee engagement programs that recognize, challenge, teach, and appreciate every team member.

Mark Krajnik, LSSGB, CPC, CEO, Performance Mindset Associates

Maintain an Awesome Employer Brand

In order to attract top talent, you must build and maintain an awesome employer brand. Your company's website and every job ad should clearly communicate the value proposition for working with your organization. You should also closely monitor and manage employee reviews on websites like Glassdoor.com. Once you've hired your ideal candidates, it's important to roll out the red carpet and give them a next-level onboarding experience. Then invite happy employees to share their experiences on your career page. By branding your organization as an employer of choice, you'll continue to receive interest from the most desirable candidates. You'll hire top talent and grow your business.

Susan Snipes, Head of People, Remote People

Foster an Inclusive Environment

The key to both attracting top talent and building a strong, motivated team is culture. Creating an inclusive environment-where employees continuously learn, share ideas and feedback, and feel valued by leadership and the organization-helps attract and retain top professionals.

When employees feel supported and recognized, they are less likely to burn out and more motivated to deliver their best work every day. A team that feels engaged and empowered is also more likely to drive business growth, as each member contributes their unique ideas and expertise.

Steve Faulkner, Founder & Chief Recruiter, Spencer James Group

Ensure Strong Leadership and Infrastructure

The key areas in today's market to attract top talent and build a strong motivated team that drives growth is to first ensure you have the right leaders in place and that the infrastructure is just as strong as the people. Having these two things in place will allow greatness to happen within an organization. Overall to help cultivate a certain level of talent, internal drive and motivate a team, there requires a combination of strategic employer branding, people-first culture, competitive offering and a true insertion of authenticity. Authenticity should lead the list and everything else should follow suit and be based in act of being authentic.

Heather A.C. Patterson, PHR, SHRM-CP, HR Consultant and Partner, The HR Suite LLC