Simple strategies for finding employees

With hiring and recruiting employees rising to the top among challenges facing employers, the Quad Cities Chamber has compiled an easy-to-use list of resources for conducting your job search:

1. Contact IowaWORKS or the Illinois Department of Employment Security to post your position or hold a job fair for you. 
2. Contact a staffing employment agency for temp, temp-to-hire or permanent placement solutions.
3. Post on job boards at the Quad Cities’ colleges, technical schools and universities. Also, post jobs at youth sports facilities at local high schools for adults and youth to see.
4. Offer a referral bonus to any existing employee who refers someone to your company. Coach employees on the value of promoting the company to neighbors, friends and family.
5. Promote “returnships” to people who left the workforce to care for children or other family members during COVID-19 and want to be trained in skilled occupations.
6. Identify “high potential employees” and invest in training them to take on more responsibility.
7. Promote jobs to people with transferable skills. (For example, a retail manager would bring transferable leadership skills to a manufacturing company).
8. Consider unique benefits such as providing options for transportation (bus tokens and ride-share incentives) and childcare support by either partnering with a local childcare provider for discounts or offering financial support for employees.
9. Become involved in work-based learning programs – school presentations, job shadows, internships, and apprenticeships. For more information, contact the Quad Cities Chamber Vice President/Talent & Administration. 
10. Try a job share program. Parents who have been home during COVID-19 may only want to return to work part-time. Coordinate a job share partnership or look for freelancers.
11. Join one of the Quad Cities Chamber's HR or Senior Leadership Peer Roundtable groups to share best practices and learn from others what has and hasn’t worked for them. 
12. Get involved in our community, raising your brand awareness so people know about your business when seeing career opportunities.