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January 18, 2022
Recruitment can be a difficult task, but there are steps you can take to make your life easier. Implementing simple processes and creating a sturdy framework for recruitment will serve you well for years to come.
It’s very common for companies to only switch on the recruitment engine when they need to fill a role, but taking the time to set up systems and processes that can run without much intervention from your team could actually help you to keep the recruitment ball rolling. So, when the time comes to fill a role, you’re already a few steps into the process.
If you’re thinking about how you can streamline and prioritise recruitment in your business, read on to learn some top tips from the recruitment experts.
Your existing employees could be your best recruitment tool. By making it simple for existing employees to refer their friends, family and former colleagues, you could be tapping into an endless stream of new hires without ever having to lift a finger.
Working from referrals also makes life easier as the individuals will be pre-vetted by the people you trust. You could create an employee referral portal that offers incentives for successful placements. Cash rewards, bonuses or vouchers would be an ideal choice to help tempt people to encourage their friends to apply for roles.
This will also guarantee that your employees are talking about your business in a positive context outside of work. After all, if they have anything negative to say, their friends won’t be so quick to jump on their recommendation.
Candidates will also have the insider scoop on your business, so you can be sure they are really interested in working for you, and they aren’t just looking for any old role.
How you conduct yourself during every stage of the recruitment process matters. With many companies struggling to fill roles, the candidate is very much in control of the situation. It’s time to make it clear that recruitment is a two-sided interaction by creating a smooth candidate journey.
At every step of the way, the candidate should be informed about the next steps. Leaving candidates in the dark will likely lead to the best candidates being snapped up by other companies. Communication is key but also making it clear what candidates can expect at every stage in the process.
For example, never ask for free work samples, always be clear if there will be an interview task, and don’t extend the interview process without letting candidates know about it first. Candidates also appreciate honest and constructive feedback after the interview process. Many of them will use this information to refine their approach for their next opportunity.
Technology is on your side, but only if you know how to make it work for you. Making the most of the latest advancements in recruitment can streamline the recruitment process and make it easier to select the right candidates.
Psychometric testing can help you to get to grips with the types of candidates you are dealing with. It’s easy enough to lie in an interview and tell the hiring manager what you think they want to hear, but it’s much harder to lie in a psychometric test.
You can also make the most of recruitment portals to streamline the hiring process. This will make it easier to keep candidates informed of their progress and gather any required information.
Once you decide to take a candidate onboard, this portal will also act as an onboarding tool. They will already be familiar with the platform and it can help to share vital information with them ahead of their first day of work.
Departments should work together to get the most out of their employees, and this all starts with collaborative hiring. Asking for input from multiple people in your company at different levels of seniority will help to encourage more balance and fairness in the interviewing process.
It’s very easy to slip into the habit of allowing individuals to hire someone who looks and thinks exactly like them. When a department is struggling, the department head assumes that another version of them will help to lighten the load. But this can lead to issues when teams lack diversity.
Instead, encourage departments to collaborate in the recruitment process and also allow individuals with different levels of seniority to sit in on the interview. This makes the interview process a lot more engaging for the candidate, as they can ask the people they will be working alongside questions.
Good recruitment starts with a good job description. Attempting to be broad or left field in your job description will only turn away the best candidates. You don’t want to be casting a wide net, you want to be hyper-specific about exactly who you are looking to hire.
Candidates use job descriptions to shape their cover letter and CV, so if you want a more accurate view of how an individual will fit into your team, you want to be specific in your job descriptions.
If you want to cast a wide net, then be broad about where the job could lead, but never neglect the importance of defining the role that you are hiring for.
Your company should have a standard for creating job descriptions that include vital information about the organisation. Every job description should be an advertisement for the perks of working with your company.
Candidates are looking for more than just a paycheque. They want a meaningful relationship with their work that allows them to find a sense of value in what they do. This all starts with finding a company that matches their values.
Defining and communicating your company culture might not be easy, but once you have achieved this important step, you can begin to market yourself as a place to build a career and not just a place to collect a payslip.
When you know what you are offering, you can create a section of your website dedicated to recruitment. On this important portal, you can share how you are helping individuals to shape their careers.
It’s no longer enough to assume that candidates are falling over themselves to work for you because they need a job, you need to be able to show why you are worthy of their attention.
The job interview process should be a two-way conversation. Candidates shouldn’t leave feeling that they have been grilled. They should leave feeling that they got to ask you some difficult questions, too.
Giving candidates the time to ask questions in an interview is vital to show that you value their input. By taking the time to answer their questions and make sure that they believe this is the right role for them, you can increase staff retention and reduce employee turnover.
When you allow candidates to ask questions, you can identify the ones that are looking for a long-term opportunity and not just a stopgap role to plug a gap in their CV.
While candidates are more likely to hop between roles these days – and there is certainly nothing wrong with this approach – by selling your company effectively, you might tempt them to stick around while they develop the skills they need for the next step in their career.
Hiring managers often fall back on the tried and tested interview questions because they are afraid to miss something important. If you know that a candidate has the technical aptitude to fill a role, then all you are really looking for is a sense of their motivation and personality.
So, instead of focusing on technical questions, ask about where they want to take their career and who they admire. You learn a lot about candidates when you move away from the standard interview questions.
Using a standard interview matrix to assess every candidate will allow you to make sure you cover all of the essentials, even if you decide to go off-script with the interview questions. This simple step can provide some reassurance to those who prefer a traditional interview setup.
Free fruit in the break room and lunchtime yoga might be commonplace at the moment, but do any of your employees actually want these perks? Many of them might be more interested in flexible hours, the option to work from home, and the opportunity to purchase more holiday days.
Ask your existing employees what would improve their lives before you start introducing any new schemes. And once you have implemented any schemes, hold regular reviews to determine if it is having the desired effect on your employees.
When you offer perks that staff members actually want, and then adjust these as new individuals join your company, this can become a strong selling point for new potential hires. Knowing that their feedback matters and they will have an active role in shaping company policy can be a perk in itself.
A lack of diversity can damage your business. You need people with different experiences and different approaches to problems in order to allow teams to function correctly. By neglecting diversity in your business, you are placing limits on your own success.
There is also the risk that you could be accused of discrimination if you do not address diversity problems in your company. Hiring a wide range of individuals from all backgrounds is not enough; you also need to promote them.
It’s true that you cannot be what you cannot see, so it’s vital to have diversity at every level of your business, right up to the board room. Unconscious bias can lead companies to focus on hiring individuals that look and think like them.
It’s easy to assume that the way you do things is the right way to do things. But this approach could exclude individuals that will challenge you. Challenging your approach to problems is the only way to create a place where true innovation can happen.
The best candidates won’t wait around to hear from you. They likely have interviews lined up with your biggest competitors and they won’t be afraid to listen to other offers if they haven’t heard from you.
Set a realistic timescale for your recruitment process, and make sure candidates know when this is likely to happen. This will help to avoid leaving candidates in the dark and leaving them with a bad impression of your company.
If a candidate has interviewed with you on the basis of a recommendation, then this could be even more damaging. Not only could you offend a potential candidate, but the person who referred them may also be left red in the face.
It’s also important to never hit pause on the hiring process. Candidates simply won’t wait around, so there is little sense in hitting pause and expecting to be able to pick up conversations further down the line. If you hit a delay, end the process and start it up again when you are ready.
You will often find yourself in a position where you have two highly qualified candidates and only one role to offer. When this happens, don’t let the unsuccessful candidate leave without letting them know you’d like to stay in touch. If they are serious about working for your company, they won’t mind being contacted again in the future if a similar job crops up.
By taking a long-term approach to recruitment, you could stay one step ahead of the competition by building a vast network of interested candidates. They might have found a new role by the time you are ready to reach out again, but they might be tempted to have a conversation if you can offer them a compelling package.
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