Recruiting is not for the faint of heart and if you have tried hiring recently, you know just how true that is. It’s a bit of a grind staying up on marketing trends and recruitment tools, all the while paying due diligence to the company’s branding and legal obligations. With that in mind, we’ve identified three recruiting strategies that could make a significant impact on bringing in the skilled talent your job descriptions have captured (which we wrote about last week)!
Standing out in the crowd
- Improve the candidate experience above all else (eg simplify it!). If you think recruiting is daunting, try being a candidate in the search for a new opportunity. Scrolling through endless job description but not gaining much insight into the job, creating accounts in order to submit an inquiry, customizing cover letters, and after all that hearing crickets in response. Don’t let this happen:
- Invite job seekers to ask questions before starting the application process.
- Make it easy to apply.
- Respond to every candidate in some way (think beyond the automated email).
- Build a referral network. A very common mistake is for recruiters to look out before looking in for fresh talent. Is there an individual on the current team looking to take on new projects? You might already have your next great employee on staff! At the very least, advertise all open positions within your team first and encourage them to spread the word. You could start a referral program, but you may find you don’t need one if you’ve established a positive company culture. After all, the most important component of a company’s success is people wanting to work for it!
- Outsource recruiting. While doing the hiring yourself can feel overwhelming as a small business owner, finding someone to do it for you may feel more so. BUT it could really be a great move as long as you’ve taken care to not only explain the position(s) in detail but also provided insight on what the company culture is. Namely, what it’s like to work there.
Lastly, a reminder: your HR department is an excellent tool for establishing creative and competitive hiring solutions. Are you acting as your own HR dept and ready to relinquish that responsibility? Eos HR is here for you! If you’re looking for an HR department that can meet the demands of the modern workplace, give us a call. We’re a team of HR professionals helping small businesses succeed in this exciting, yet challenging professional environment. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more.