TribeHR

Attracting Staff to Rural Businesses

How to get star candidates to move to smaller towns

You’ve got a nice little business, but it’s not in New York City, Los Angeles or Chicago. It’s also not in Milwaukee, Sacramento or Tampa. Heck, it’s not even in Akron, Albany or Anchorage.

You’re in rural America—exactly where you want to be, and you’re not alone. About one out of five non-farm businesses are located outside of metropolitan areas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But even though you’ve chosen to be off the beaten path, that doesn’t mean you don’t want to employ the best of the best. So how do you recruit great employees to work and live in Mayberry?

Here are six steps to help you find and hire employees who will thrive at your small-town business:

1. Know what your employees like.
What attracted your existing employees to your company in the first place, and what has caused your long-time employees to stay? Those attributes, whatever they may be, are likely to be the same things that will attract and retain others.

Pepper graders at a 50+ employee food packaging plant in Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. flickr/USDA

2. Find the right types of people.
Who are they? They might be locals who grew up where your business is located and don’t need anyone to convince them that your town is a good place to be.  They might be people who went to small colleges in small towns and love that atmosphere. Or they might just be the kind of people who like to be a big fish in a small pond, and see your company as a great opportunity to be that big fish.

3. Accentuate the positive.
What does your company have going for it? Flexible work schedules? Great salaries? Lots of vacation? Company cars? Profit sharing? Job security? Whatever it is, play it up.

That goes for the city where you’re located, too. Is it a beautiful place to live with friendly people? Does it have good public schools and very little crime? How about the cost of living? Very often workers can earn a smaller salary in a small town and come out ahead.

Median household income in rural places is about 78 percent of income in metro areas, though the lower cost of living in non-metro areas usually narrows or closes the gap, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. Be sure to make that case convincingly to job candidates who mention that they’re being offered more money elsewhere.

4. Highlight cultural opportunities.
Employees who like big cities very often like them because of the cultural opportunities they offer. Play up your area’s cultural offerings, whatever they may be. Rural areas often have excellent regional museums, great summer-stock theater, and unique festivals.

5. Court the most coveted job candidates.
Make candidates feel like they’re the girlfriend or boyfriend who you want to be with for a long time. If you find out during their interview that they like wine, send them a gift basket with a couple of bottles of wine. If you know they like going to movies, mail them movie tickets. Do whatever it takes. And, yes, flattery often works, especially with younger people. Just make sure your flattery is honest and sincere.

6. Be patient.
Don’t hire good people who won’t be a good fit for your company. Your employees cost you a lot of money—an average of $20.91/hour for wages and $9.21/hour for benefits, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics—so you don’t want to make hiring mistakes.

Companies in rural areas may have to work harder to find and keep good employees, but that hard work often pays off with a loyal and stable workforce. Whatever you do, don’t try to avoid that hard work. If you do, you may have to install the only revolving door in town.

TribeHR’s tools make it easy for smaller businesses to recruit and retain star employees. Get started today.