Do you feel like you are on the never-ending recruitment cycle? Are you finding it difficult to find standout candidates who are a great fit for your business? It could be as simple as changing certain aspects of your recruitment strategy. Recruitment can be a timely and frustrating process for managers, particularly if a business is having difficulty retaining or finding suitable employees. Below we will discuss a numbers of recruitment issues and how your recruitment strategy can be improved to help you find standout candidates, where you are spoilt for choice!
Tick a box recruitment
It is easy to fall into the pattern of hiring someone because you need to fill a position and picking ‘the best of a bad bunch’. If you find yourself in this situation, consider past experiences of hiring someone to fill a seat if you don’t think they will succeed in the job or their personality or values do not align with the businesses.
Recruitment should not be a reactive process when someone resigns. It should always be on your radar, so when a position does become available you have several options to consider.
Attract attention with your job ad
Your job ad should create a sense of inspiration for potential candidates and help them picture themself in the role. Make sure you focus on what skills, qualifications and qualities are essential for the job and avoid listing too many ‘nice to haves’. To much information on what is needed for the role can be off putting for potential candidates.
Be creative with your job ad and tailor it to the type of person you want to attract. You don’t want a generic job ad that is like other jobs ads. You want to grab people’s attention and motivate them to apply with your job.
It can be helpful to engage existing employees in the recruitment process by creating testimonial videos, help create job ads and be engaged in the interview process if appropriate.
Pay-per hire trap
If you are looking to outsource the job of recruiting be careful how you go about this. Recruitment agencies often take short cuts and do not put in the effort required to find the right candidates for your business. If you intend to outsource recruitment to an external agency make sure you establish a positive relationship with the agency and that they understand your business, its needs, culture and values. This will help instil a sense of investment in a positive outcome from the external agency.
Be upfront about the role
It is important to accurately project what the job entails and what to expect from the business, including workplace culture. Let candidates know what to expect from the job, include the good parts of the job and the more challenging aspects. Letting candidates know about the challenges helps prepare them for the job and gives them a greater understanding of what the job entails. The last thing you want is a successful candidate quitting because ‘the job wasn’t what I expected’.
Focus on business branding
The reputation and branding of a business plays a role in determining the quality and quantity of job applications a business receives. It is important to reiterate what employees can expect working for the business and outline the workplace culture and values. Let candidates know why they should choose your business to work for and set out expectations.
A businesses branding is broader than the service they provide and extends to the culture of the business. Establishing the business as a good place to work helps attract high quality candidates. Existing employees can be engaged to help get a sense of what it is like working for the business.
Make interviews meaningful
Use the interview as a chance to get to know potential candidates by creating a safe and confortable environment that fosters open conversations. It should be an opportunity for both the business and candidate to find out if it is a good fit for both sides.
Try to make interview questions meaningful, rather than resorting to generic questions where it is likely you will get a baseline scripted response.
Slow down
There is often pressure to get a chair filled when someone resigns. However, it can me more costly to have the wrong candidate in the job than an empty chair. Consider other options to fill the gap until a suitable candidate is found. Consider providing opportunities for existing employees to step into the vacant role, this can help with career progression and skill development for existing employees.
Even if you think you have found the ideal candidate for the position, make sure all pre-employment checks are completed. If you miss this step before an employee commences working, you can create a whole lot of issues if they don’t end up passing these checks.
Invest in pre and onboarding
It is important to give the successful candidate a positive experience leading up to commencing the new job and in the initial phase of commencing employment. It is the early days of accepting a new job that people may continue to receive other job offers that make them reconsider their position with you.
Engage with the successful candidate before they commence work by sending out contracts and employment packages that are meaningful. Their first day and week should be planned out, including ensuring they have the equipment and space they need to complete their job, such as computer access and office space. Remember, first impressions last!
There is often a high amount of pressure to replace an employee as quickly as possible after a resignation. This proves to be a stressful time for a business and its leadership. A well-developed recruitment strategy helps establishes a solid baseline to ease recruitment pressure and help attract competitive candidates for a vacate position.
To refine your recruitment strategy and to recruit standout employees contact HRTAS today.
