“Hiring is the most important people function you have, and most of us aren’t as good at it as we think. Refocusing your resources on hiring better will have a higher return than almost any training program you can develop.” – Laszlo Bock
The ongoing pressure to fill positions while setting new goals for the upcoming year can certainly dampen your New Year’s celebrations.
The never-ending cyclical nature of different professions requires recruiters to apply some novel solutions. There are many obstacles to overcome from not meeting the candidates’ expected remuneration to juggling with the long notice periods.
On top of all that, taking weeks to complete the in-person interviews makes the recruitment process tediously long. The best companies develop a world-class talent acquisition process with a high degree of professionalism and a clear set of protocols.
Let’s take a look at some of these smart recruitment hacks:
1 – Brand yourself – The simple concept is if you don’t let people know your story, they will make it for you. Before the candidates make a story of your business, take the lead and narrate one. The whole idea is to give candidates an insight into your professionalism and position in the marketplace. This is somewhat similar to representing yourself as a leading brand in your domain. Having an intuitive website’s career page was the approach taken around a decade ago. Now, it’s about taking the initiative and sharing your business profile and corporate videos with the candidates to give them a clear idea about your business.
2 – Make the process transparent – You need to keep the candidate engaged and confident in the recruitment process. This can be done by joining hands with an IT recruitment firm like sourced.nz or others. This way, you can keep an intermediate between two parties (you and the candidate), making communication swift and smooth for both. The best part is that the recruitment process does not hamper your overall operational proficiency.
3 – Develop networks – The ultimate key to recruiting the best talent is to develop a solid and widespread network in relevant markets. This happens when you scale up your networking skills and learn to create new relationships in the industry. One of the easiest ways is to create and join communities. There are several online communities on social networking channels. Such networks become a great source to let candidates know about your company, background, and other valuable insights. Of course, this also helps build a never-ending pipeline of candidates to consider whenever required.
4 – Set recruitment bars and process – When it comes to setting a detailed recruitment process, you need to consider having a word with different organisation segments. Here, we are talking about a detailed discussion among the department heads, management team, and the talent acquisition department in the office. This is an ideal approach to meeting everyone’s expectations without compromising their convenience and workflow. One of the biggest examples is – HRs (human resources) sending assignments to candidates. This lets the candidate have ample time to give the best shot without getting in the way of employer’s time and work.
5 – Learn the art of predictive analytics – In this regard, Peter Weddle, CEO of TAtech.org, says, “Employers have to be able to assess the probable yield of a recruitment ad in a certain location, among a certain demographic or at one salary point vs. another, and then instantaneously measure the results and make changes to that ad placement and content on the fly”
The talent acquisition team should consider framing a series of HR metrics to decide the credibility of candidates. This can be done on the basis of parameters like salary expectations, experience, niche, project-handled history, industry type, previous employers’ and much more. The idea is to put multiple filters and keep the recruitment process short and effective for all (candidates, management, and recruiters).
6 – The personal touch – Technology has given us many tech-driven methods and approaches to facilitate the overall recruitment process. But there is nothing better than a personal touch that facilitates a sense of trust and confidence between both parties. Above all, don’t forget that the market is overloaded with different opportunities. Minor negligence can result in losing a potential candidate forever.
7 – Simplify the job application process – Online applications are the first interaction that potential candidates have with a future employer. If you believe in creating a positive first impression, make everything as engaging and simple as possible for your potential applicants.
