People are the driving force of your business. Recruiting and hiring new talent can be daunting for you, as well as an exciting exercise. Making the wrong hiring decision can cost you, not only in finding the replacement but results in a loss in revenue, while the vacancy still exists. Making the right hiring decision is thus a critical skill for all levels of Management and Business Owners that need to expand their team or business in both the short and long term.
An effective recruitment process takes into consideration the company’s objectives in attracting the right talent at the right time, whilst being cognizant of the needs and expectations of the prospective hire during this process. Here are 7 practical tips to follow to further assist you.
1. Strategy Alignment
During your strategic planning and company budgeting process, including workforce planning. Set a recruitment budget for the year, in advance. Set a hiring forecast and make a provision for salary costs for your new hires. This should be linked to you meeting your sales targets and company objectives and goals. Include, replacement hires in your hiring forecast. Factor in possible labor turnover that you will experience in your business, during the upcoming year based on historical labor turnover data and sales projections.
Set timelines for when you intend to fill each vacancy and plan accordingly. Some positions take longer to fill than others, which makes it critical for you to plan ahead so that you can fill your vacancy within the desired timeline.
2. Follow a Systematic Recruitment process
This would entail a number of phases, from planning your recruitment activities to preparation, interviewing, shortlisting including vetting checks, making the offer, and the on-boarding phase.
3. Know what your Company has to Offer
Do a salary benchmark exercise, by reviewing what the market is offering. Know what you have to offer, not only financially. If you cannot afford to pay the highest salaries on the market, think about other ways, you can attract the best talent. If you are a small business, you may be able to offer better learning opportunities or flexibility than in a larger firm, for example.
4. Share your Value Proposition to the prospective hire
Candidates always have the option to turn your job opportunity down. You need to impress your candidates, just as much as the prospective hire needs to meet your expectations. Share how the prospective hire, can benefit from joining your company. Be honest and friendly.
5. Honour your Commitments
Do not make false or doubtful promises to candidates, especially regarding the career prospects, the job profile, and salary structure. Make sure to foster transparency throughout the process without rushing unnecessarily.
6. Embrace a Digitally Enabled working environment
Foster a culture that enables technology, to drive your business forward. This includes a digital recruitment process. This may be a competitive advantage for your business as it can possibly help you attract talent to your business that is seeking to be employed in a digitally enabled working environment.
A digital recruitment experience is designed to streamline an efficient and effective hiring process for both the candidate and the company. Candidates may want to work for a digitally-enabled company and having this first-hand digital recruitment experience may further enhance your company brand and capability to attract top talent.
7. Share Feedback
Take the time to send a basic thank you email, and let the other candidates know you have filled the position. In this case, an email is fine. Even if they do not have all the skills you need now, you could ask the candidate for consent to retain their details on file, should another suitable opportunity arise in the future. This could save you time later, when you do need someone with their experience.
Although recruitment techniques can be learned, it is a skill that is not developed overnight but with time through practice and following a systematic process. If you are new to the process, then find an HR professional or Recruitment specialist that is able to support you along the way. They are trained professionals that can save you both time and money to reduce the risk of making bad hiring decisions and you need to weigh up your options of when to bring them on to support you.
A positive and productive recruitment process/experience not only drives employee longevity and loyalty but also enhances the company’s brand image to the world. Hence, it is worth the investment in honing in and mastering this skill and using technology to further enhance a positive recruitment experience in your company.
Good Luck!
