Implement these 10 Critical Strategies for Your Hiring Success
Companies are struggling with sourcing talent and to be honest… It’s not getting any better. Evidence shows that there’s a whole bunch of turnover coming in the near future.
One of the largest problems I see employers struggling with is the lack of embracing change. What you did to find applicants last year is not going to work. The application hiring technology advancements have impacted how candidates apply. Staying with the old-school methods and paper-driven processes is a turn-off to applicants. Hiring managers don’t realize that this is drastically harming their applicant flow. Let’s look at some easy steps you can take now to impact your hiring success.
1. Pre-Attract your Talent.
Drive candidates to your organization before you have the hiring need. Ever seen a surfer just sit in the ocean and watch the shoreline to catch a wave? Well, not a good Surfer anyway! You need to paddle straight to the wave of talent if you want to catch the ride. Your recruiting strategy and talent marketing content must encompass your job postings, social media, cultural reputation, and networking. Build your own curated pool of talented candidates with prospects you have already engaged with in the past. With this pool, you can now quickly re-engage for a faster hiring process. Is your employment reputation a turn-off to candidates? Read our article to get fresh ideas for improvement.
2. Create Partnerships.
Be Proactive and not reactive. Get relationships and agreements in place with Staffing agencies/ Recruiting firms to prepare for an influx in labor demands. Have them proactively recruit for you. It is important to know the expertise area of your agency partners. They are not a one-size-fits-all hiring needs. Make sure to check out their google ratings and how they treat their candidates. You will be shocked to see that some of the largest staffing agencies (the household names) have 3-star ratings. If you are doing all of your recruiting in-house, this valuable partnership can provide you a safety net to ensure you can meet hiring demands.
3. College Mentorship programs.
Engagement with local college organizations, career services departments, and offering education programs is a great component to your future recruiting process. Your company can offer guidance and deepen the positive employment brand. And it’s a win-win: Students learn from your experienced employees, and, in return, they offer fresh energy and viewpoint for company leaders.
4. Referral Programs.
Reward your employees to refer great people from their network for future hiring needs. Many companies have an employee referral program in place but fail to advertise it. Sound familiar? You just need to get creative and consistent in your reminders. Here are a few ideas: Remind them in company emails, notices, posters, meetings, and special events. Set up contests to make it even more fun! Plus, internal marketing works wonders for employee engagement, retention, and employment branding.
5. Flexibility.
Employees have positively responded to work-from-home options. Many extroverts are thrilled to be back in the office but still loved the option to also work from home when family demands come calling. Do you expect staff to be available around the clock? A healthy work-life balance is essential to job satisfaction. People need to know their managers understand they have lives outside of work. In addition, flexible schedules, low-traffic commutes, and relaxed attire have increased morale.
6. Retention Strategies.
Your competitors and their Recruiting partners will seek to poach your talent. So, now’s the time to confirm your business is doing the right things to drive job satisfaction and, ultimately, employee retention and job satisfaction. Your competition will be seeking to lure your talent away with pay increases and hiring incentives. Make them so happy in their jobs that they don’t look up other jobs or post their resumes.
7. Expand your reach.
Programs such as the “second chance act” can help you tap into a talent pool that is often overlooked. Here are 4 best practices for implementing a Second chance program. Veteran and Military hiring programs are often free and can be a great resource! Consider hiring people with wonderful abilities, that also have a disability. Incredible programs are available to tap into this incredible talent pool. Commit to inclusion and identify ways in which your company can create opportunities for job seekers with autism, intellectual and/or developmental differences.
8. Employee compensation.
Companies need to offer competitive compensation. Therefore, you need to evaluate and adjust salaries regularly. Even if your business isn’t able to increase pay right now, consider hiring bonuses and increased paid time off. Expect that the Supply and demand changes in the next few months will be impacting the market rates. Recruiters are always researching compensation ranges and can be a great source of information for Executives.
9. Increase Diversity.
Companies with increasingly specific skills need to find new ways to close the inequity gaps that exist at the intersection of race, gender, education, and economic status. Find candidates that might not have been able to attend colleges or trade schools but are wanting to be trained. Explore ways to pre-skill, upskill and reskill for in-demand roles to create a better workplace where everyone can have a more equitable share of prosperity. Check out the article Hire for attitude and train for skills.
10. Condense the Hiring Process.
Ever notice how many applicants start but don’t finish the application process? They see your well-worded job posting and have expressed an interest. But unfortunately, with the redundant questions and cumbersome forms, they lose interest mid-way. You made them work too hard! Learn ways to have a SMART hiring process. Now is the time to discover 1) shortened trends in application processes (that would support getting rid of the 2 or 3 step hiring process), 2) why reducing applicant labor is important, and/or 3) anything about your application processes that is a turn-off. Hiring steps might need to be more backloaded rather than frontloaded to lock in engagement.