Even though we have open vacancies, we often find ourselves so involved with day-to- day operations that we struggle to find time to recruit effectively. This can lead to rushed hiring decisions instead of putting in the effort to hire quality candidates. An efficient and organized recruitment process will save considerable organizational time in the long run without taking up much more time, if any during the hiring phase.
With the job market being so hot, there are ample opportunities out there for job seekers. Ideally, an organization wants to fill the role quickly with the right candidate without compromising the integrity of the recruiting process. With candidates often having their pick of job opportunities, it’s imperative that you stay one step ahead and create a positive candidate experience from the first moment they see your job posting.
Techniques to improve your recruiting efficiency:
Update and Upgrade your Recruitment Toolkit:
Better organization of your toolkit will save you time and money. Ensure everything you need is structured and current to recruit strong candidates into your business. This should cover all of the various steps involved, as well as a host of documents and templates to help you navigate every stage.
Essential items to include in your recruitment toolkit:
- Clear job postings that are jargon-free and only include critical job requirements
- Prepare a comprehensive list of job posting sites including social media, job boards and free local job posting sites
- Develop template letters that can be easily personalized for each applicant
- Develop interview guides specifically for the different roles in your organization
- Prepare telephone screening questions to identify candidates that are strongly aligned with your needs and culture, and help rule out those who you’re certain won’t make the final cut
- Create reference check questions to help you identify if the candidate is the right fit.
Leverage Effective Methods of Hiring:
Your traditional methods of postings jobs may not be enough today. HR personnel should embrace different, creative ways of recruiting candidates.
Most people spend a great deal of time on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Familiarize yourself with all of these social media platforms as this is where you should direct your recruiting efforts to attract both active and passive candidates. LinkedIn for example is a professional network with almost 740 million members and can be used to post jobs and content. The benefit of reaching out to a passive candidate is that since they are not looking for a job opportunity, chances are they are not interviewing with anyone else. If your posting was noticed and the candidate responds, you will have focused attention and less competition.
Consider advertising at various University Recruitment Boards as these may also prove valuable to your recruitment strategy. These may be useful and effective in targeting specific demographics.
Generally, anyone hired from your employee referrals tend to be great hires and stay long with the company. Consider offering referral fees as an incentive to hire high quality candidates within a shorter hiring period.
Improve employer branding – advertisements, why work for us, benefits, etc.
Building and maintaining a strong employer brand is crucial in attracting and hiring the best talent. The younger generation of workers want to know why they should consider working at your organization.
Significant thought should go into building the hiring message to stand out and gain a competitive edge on other recruiting companies. Focus on your company’s values and purpose and be sure to highlight great perks and benefits in your advertising. For example, include important points about your corporate responsibility, the volunteering days your offer your staff, the awards your company has received, and/or testimonials from tenured staff members at all levels in the organization.
Creating a positive employer image will boost your recruitment efforts by increasing the pool of applicants, as well as reducing recruitment costs and time spent on filling a vacancy. In today’s increasingly competitive market, it is essential to have a positive employer brand and to be active spreading the word within the talent marketplace.
Make the job posting easy to apply for:
Applying for jobs can be exhausting especially when asked to fill in all the details that are already included in your resume. Once the applicant has added a cover letter and uploaded their resume, they are ready to click “Apply Now” and submit. The absolute last thing they want to do is have to duplicate or re-enter job details. This is time consuming, frustrating and inefficient which can lead to candidates dropping out of the application process before completing it.
Another common way of discouraging applicants is by forcing them to log in to your system in order to apply. This requires them to enter a password which often comes with strict kryptonite and can lead to the applicants giving up. LinkedIn is a great alternative option as the recruiter can set up the “easy apply” option.
Don’t ask a dozen questions that are ‘required’ if this is not necessary. It can be a waste of the candidate’s time and if it’s not going to help you shortlist a candidate then don’t make the application process harder than it should be. Regardless of the application method and questioning approach you use, make sure the overall process is simple, easy and gets right to the point.
Improve your response time to responding to applicants:
Today we have a candidate’s market where they can choose from multiple job offers. The best and fastest companies to respond to the candidate’s application are gaining a competitive edge with a consistent timing advantage. Good candidates in your pipeline are valuable. It is critical to make time to acknowledge and respond to your pool of candidates in a timely manner.
A good candidate experience will boost your employer brand as it helps draw attention to the company and certainly helps aid your recruitment process. It says a lot about your organization if you are following up with every candidate who applies to your company whether you are going to hire them or not. It’s respectful and the candidate will appreciate the time you took to get back to them. The worse feeling for an applicant is uncertainty when applying for a job and it is incredibly frustrating to be left hanging for an unreasonable time frame waiting to hear back from a job interview. Even more damaging, is when a candidate is ghosted after an interview leading to a very unpleasant experience.
Provide candidates with a positive interview experience:
Send candidates a calendar invite for their upcoming interview and provide as much information as possible about who they will be meeting with, the duration, where to park, how to check in as a visitor, what covid screening protocol to follow, etc. All of this should be summarized in your toolkit for consistency in the process.
Ensure you have booked a meeting room in advance and that you have informed the person at reception of your visitor. Avoid booking candidates too closely together and allow them ample time to ask questions.
Help show your potential new hire what it’s like to work at your organization by taking them on a tour of the company. It’s an ideal opportunity for the individual to learn more about the company culture and work environment. Even better, as candidates progress further through the recruitment process, arrange for them to job shadow an employee and perform some of the basic tasks. This can help them experience the ins and outs of the job while also allowing for the you to determine whether they have the basic technical skills required and learn how they interact with others.
Set up your new hire for success:
Provide your new hires with a thorough orientation in order to ensure the new employee is equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to become more effective. It helps bring them onboard with regards to company culture, understanding their job function, and to establishes a key initial feeling of being valued and accepted.
Structuring your recruitment process, diversifying your candidate funnel and optimizing the employee experience throughout your hiring process will increase your chances of hiring the best employees successfully integrating them into the company quickly and for the long term.
Contact Bridge Legal and HR Solutions if you need help in developing or improving your Recruitment Strategy. For more information contact (647) 794-5442 or at admin@bridgelegalhr.ca
