Are you looking for a more fruitful recruitment experience for your company?
Recruiting can be a harrowing experience for any business, regardless of size. You may find yourself flooded with applications or even none at all. It all boils down to your company’s strategy in hiring new talents.
Finding a skilled employee you can count on isn’t easy. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to simplify the process. That’s why we’ve created this recruitment tip guide.
Here are some hiring tips to help you build an effective employee recruitment strategy. From writing the job description to outsourcing, find out how to hire good employees.
Story Stages
Pay Attention to the Job Description
Every potential candidate starts with an interest in a job description. Keep in mind that there’s a lot of competition when it comes to hiring elite candidates. Job boards often have thousands of openings, so how do you help yours stand out?
The best way to do this is by writing specific and clear job descriptions. Quality job descriptions outline what the job entails. You don’t want to end up with candidates who thought they were getting into something else.
A clear job description ensures that you don’t waste your or a candidate’s time. It also helps to include some details on what you’re looking for in an employee.
Keep in mind to use brief and concise outlines so as not to overwhelm or bore potential candidates. On the other hand, an opening that is jam-packed with information may end up scaring away your prospects.
A quality job description must also be reasonable for both parties. You can’t have an entry-level job application with a minimum requirement of 2 years of experience. It’s all about finding the balance between writing too little and too much.
Be fair to potential candidates, but don’t sell yourself short either.
Maximize Employee Referrals
Your network is often the best place to find great candidates for a team. This means looking into internal sources, like your current employees. People on your team can even help you fill your vacancies by spreading the word on social media.
Utilizing your inner circle gives you access to a whole new web of networks. Ask your employees if they can refer to someone they think is a good fit for your position. Chances are, your team already consists of people you trust.
So, you can rest assured that their referrals have the potential to do great work. If your employee recommends a friend or colleague, there’s more certainty to their work ethic. A great way to encourage employee referrals is with a referral bonus program.
Referral bonus programs involve monetary compensation to the employee who brought a candidate to you. They will only receive this value if their referral gets hired for the position. This gives your employees the incentive to recommend quality candidates.
Utilizing employee referrals is a great way to fill your vacancies fast. More often than not, you’ll find yourself with a quality candidate.
Be Open to Work from Home Arrangements
The pandemic has been a key factor in changing work culture in the past two years. However, it’s also proven that employees are capable of working from home. So, why go against the current?
We already have access to tons of great collaboration and communication technology. As the world begins to reopen, consider becoming more open to work-from-home arrangements. This job feature can also give you access to a wider pool of talented and skilled individuals.
It makes your job description much more attractive and that you care for your team. However, some candidates may have certain circumstances limiting them from working daily in a co-located office.
Remote work also benefits companies themselves. You can worry less about infrastructure costs that come with working in an office.
However, if you decide to pursue a remote work structure, you need to have a plan. Many companies fail to establish an effective structure for remote workers. This can lead to a waste of resources and a lot of miscommunication with employees.
Hire on Freelance or Trial Basis
What better way to test a candidate’s skill and work ethic than on the field? Hiring on a freelance or trial basis involves candidates in projects with your team. If the candidate does well on your team, you may then extend a full-time job offer.
Seeing how a candidate does as a worker can give you more confidence in a final decision. You can also get input from your team about not only their skills but their attitude. Talent and prowess are important, but you also want new hires to get along with the rest of the team.
This structure requires a clear set of rules and proper business etiquette. If you bring a candidate in for a project, you must offer monetary compensation regardless of the results. Assign them only to small projects.
The duration of work-related tests may vary between fields, but most follow a one-hour cutoff. This path is also beneficial to potential hires as they get a better look at what they’re getting into. Allowing them to join the workflow can also serve as an introduction to the onboarding process.
Offer Better Job Perks
When hiring employees, it helps to think as if you’re marketing your brand to them. Attractive job offers are only as good as the company behind them. If your company has a bad rep, you may lose potential talents.
Your brand message must be present across all company-related material. Just as you want customers to believe you offer great service, you want employees to believe your company is a great place to work. Involve your team in creating testimonials about what it’s like to work in your company.
You can present this in both video and written form. Another great way to market your brand is by offering relevant perks. Supporting remote work, as mentioned prior, is a great start.
Work-life balance and health insurance packages also appeal to the applicant pool. Great workers know what they deserve. If your employees are the best, then they deserve nothing less.
Studies show that over 70% of millennials left their jobs or considered it because of the lack of flexible work options. This is the same with half of the older generation. If you can afford it, offer benefits that are above your industry standard.
Also, keep in mind to educate your employees about their benefits. This shows how much you care and look out for them as the employer.
Take Advantage of Job Sites
Websites like Monster and LinkedIn are popular choices to post job listings. However, there is a high chance that your post may get lost in the number of openings. To get the best results, consider posting on niche job sites instead.
This doesn’t eliminate the competition, but it does help narrow them down. Niche job boards are also the best avenues for small to medium-sized businesses. There’s less competition with big-name brands, so you have a better chance at standing out.
You also get the chance to highlight what makes your company so special. Finding the right job board for your business will depend on your recruiting strategy and industry.
Suppose job boards aren’t giving you the desired results; you can work with recruitment companies to help narrow your search. Whether you are looking for specialty-trained employees such as nurses, accountants, or experienced realtors, or you need to do an executive search, using the proper recruitment company can assist you with your search.
…But Don’t Neglect Print Media
With the rapid digitization of businesses, it can be easy to neglect print media. However, there is power in ink, and it might be what your business needs. Print media like newspapers are a great way to reach local talent in your area.
Smaller businesses can also take advantage of print media to advertise open positions. For starters, you can be simple or extravagant as you want with your ad. If you have a tighter budget, you can keep the size and placement to a minimum.
A few bullet points and contact information can be all you need to find great talent. If you have a bigger budget, you can include photos in your ad. You can also list a variety of positions to attract more candidates.
Digital media, without a doubt, covers a vast majority of the applicant pool. However, it never hurts to fill in those gaps with print ads. Newspaper ads also remain one of the most trusted sources of information, especially if your target is the older generation.
Streamline the Recruitment Process With HR Software
Streamlining the recruitment process has never been easier. Nowadays, there are apps and online tools for every need. A simple tracking system can help you stay in line and organize data.
Furthermore, transitioning from a basic tracking system to a more comprehensive HR software can make a notable difference in your recruitment strategy. Unlike simple tracking systems, HR software provides many features that cater to various aspects of recruitment, from managing candidate pipelines to automated communications and interview scheduling. The HR software not only organizes data but also provides insightful analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of your recruitment campaigns. Plus, with integrated tools like digital document sharing, time and attendance tracking, and mobile accessibility, HR software can significantly streamline not only recruitment but various other HR admin tasks.
Chances are that you’ve had to make several changes in your recruitment strategy. Find out which practices got you the best results and scrap ideas that didn’t work. Tracking progress and failure can help you make a bulletproof recruitment plan for the future.
You can also automate some parts of the process, like pre-screening candidates. An online survey can help you narrow down the applicant pool. Frame the survey around the knowledge, experience, and skills you need.
You may also add questions related to company culture to see if a candidate will fit in with the team. Automating the pre-screening process helps you save time and effort. If you’re a small business, check out WorkBright for the best HR tools to help you get started.
Have Clear and Realistic Timelines
Any new business can be eager to fill in open positions. However, it’s crucial to remember that finding great talent takes time. Even with a solid employee recruitment plan, it can take much longer than one may like.
It also helps to keep in mind that recruiting is not only hard for the employer. Finding a new job can be a challenge for even the best candidate in the job market. Be kind to your candidates, whether you believe they are viable for the position or not.
Genuine empathy and understanding will reap more rewards than you think. A humanistic approach can help you connect with great people and get better results. Poor candidate experience can also hurt your company’s image.
If you opt to give a candidate a trial project or assignment, give them enough time to complete it. Communication is also vital during the hiring process. Let applicants know how much of their time you need and when you plan on giving a final decision.
A great candidate may also give up on the recruitment process if you take too long to respond. Likewise, it wouldn’t take long for them to accept another offer from a competitor. Don’t make reckless decisions, but also avoid making candidates wait.
Be More Inclusive
A diverse group can widely improve your applicant pool. A diversity-centric program means pulling applicants from all backgrounds, beliefs, and experience levels. This means accepting fresh graduates, people with disabilities, and incarcerated workers.
Make your workplace more accessible to people with both mental and physical disabilities. You can find job boards that target this specific market. You can also look into creating a veteran-friendly workplace.
Fresh graduates, despite their lack of experience, can offer the most potential. Many fresh graduates are eager to get into the job market. The same goes for formerly incarcerated workers and caregivers.
It helps to remember that these people are only for good and honest work. Don’t deprive them of the opportunity.
The Recruitment Tip Guide to Help You Find Quality Talent
Hiring great talent can be a challenging experience. However, that shouldn’t stop you from building a great team. This recruitment tip guide covers everything you need to know to solidify your strategy.
Now you know how to recruit good employees, but why stop there? Want more hiring and recruitment tips? Check out our other blog posts to find more guides to gathering a team you can be proud of.
