--- title: Artisan Talent - How to Win the Talent War description: "- Winning the talent war when it comes to hiring and keeping the best is getting increasingly difficult. Here's how to retain the best and win the war in 2016." image: https://creative.artisantalent.com/hs-fs/file-4083057674-jpg/blog-files/how-to-win-the-talent-war-in-2016-1024x747.jpg --- ![](https://creative.artisantalent.com/hs-fs/file-4083057674-jpg/blog-files/how-to-win-the-talent-war-in-2016-1024x747.jpg?width=380&name=how-to-win-the-talent-war-in-2016-1024x747.jpg) Dec 29, 2015 # How to Win the Talent War ## Win the Talent War There's a bit of a war for winning talent these days. Finding the best in creative talent takes creativity, smarts, lots of money, and a snazzy office with purple shag carpet. Seriously, how can a small business compete with big firms when it comes to attracting the best in industry talent? [Forbes.com ](https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2015/01/07/how-to-win-the-war-for-talent-in-2015/)says: > As the US approaches full employment and Millennials become the largest cohort in the workforce the basis of competition has shifted from managing with a small, core group of employees and outsourcing as much as possible to building and maintaining an advantageous employee base. Hence the need for a renewed emphasis on and new ways of recruiting, onboarding and retaining top talent. The* [Wall Street Journal ](https://www.wsj.com/articles/extreme-makeover-mitt-edition) *suggests that it's the size of the company itself that could be an attractant. Small business can mean big perks for the creative employee seeking the freedom of less corporate control. ## Small Business = Great Environment Small business owners can make their company even more attractive to the new hire by adopting a "color outside the lines" attitude. Many times a small business mentality allows [employees to wear several different hats.](https://artisantalent.com/job-trends-for-2016/) When you find a creative staffer that loves a new challenge this just might be the spark that keeps their job fresh. If you hire a [content writer](https://artisantalent.com/i-am-a-copywriter/) that has a penchant for[ graphic design](https://artisantalent.com/i-am-a-graphic-designer/), then letting them have the creative freedom to mix it up a bit, might be the perk that makes them take a role with your company -- over a more rigid competitor. If you have a solid marketing executive that would love to take classes in video production, then give them the opportunity to expand their reach. Being able to support this kind of cross training will go a long way with a creative candidate. ## Play Up Your Assets For the ambitious creative team member, the opportunity to make a greater impact on a small firm instead of just being a cog in the wheel of a big company, might be attractive. Knowing that their creative input will have a huge impact on your business is a heady and exciting benefit for the right personality type. If you're a small company perhaps one of your biggest assets is the ability to make up the rules as you go along. Work from home options and other flexible scheduling arrangements are a huge benefit that you simply may not find in a more corporate environment. See other ideas of [perks employees love here.](https://artisantalent.com/employee-benefits-2/) ## Embrace Transparency Embrace transparency by creating a partnership between upper management and all employees. Having a partnership will make for more success in [retaining employees](https://artisantalent.com/how-to-retain-employees/). “Partners have the same goals…build together…share in success" says Nfrastructure’s CEO, Dan Pickett to [Forbes.](https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2015/01/07/how-to-win-the-war-for-talent-in-2015/) "Merge your goals and theirs with complete, open leadership. Help them advance their own skillsets. Provide a path to executive management. Help them solidify their own reputations as thought leaders." The more invested your employees feel, the less likely they are to leave. ## Ready To Win the War? [Artisan Talent ](https://artisantalent.com/about-artisan/)not only has a ready pool of top talent waiting in the wings for your next creative project; we have the tips to help you play up your strengths in order to attract and retain the very best. 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