The start of a new year is traditionally the busiest time of year for job hopping. Many employees will return to work following the festive season with a desire for new opportunities. Add to this the economy showing promising signs of recovery post-COVID-19, and it’s likely that companies will look at resuming their recruitment efforts after a long period of financial uncertainty.
Tapping into top talent is always a high priority for HR and recruiters, but not every person assigned to the task knows how to secure the right candidates. Even in large companies, management can be tasked with sorting through applications, screening candidates and planning interviews, adding to HR’s already busy workload before a candidate has even walked through the door. While recruitment companies can ease this burden, not all businesses have the desire – or the funds – to outsource the recruitment process.
Conveying company culture via multiple touchpoints throughout the candidate experience can be an opportunity to communicate and advertise your employer brand. Well-meaning managers can forget that just as an employer assesses a candidate’s suitability during the recruitment phase, candidates, too, are evaluating role suitability, company culture and growth opportunities. It’s not uncommon for a potential employee to be prospected by multiple employers at the same time if they are looking to move roles – and this is likely to be the case as businesses resume recruitment after a sustained hiring freeze. Therefore, refining your HR processes through demonstrating an epic company culture will help you on your way to attracting that grade A talent.
Write a killer advertisement
Writing a job ad shouldn’t be a case of simply listing the position description and sprinkling in a few awards the company has won. The job ad is the first interaction a candidate has with your company – and as we know, first impressions are critical. Is this a company they want to work for? Is it a role they could see themselves in? What are the employee benefits? Is the written content and messaging free of bias (particularly gender stereotyping)? According to internet job site SEEK, the layout can also have a huge impact on capturing attention. They recommend using dot points for listing each key selling point. Simple formatting was often cited as one of the best ways to improve candidate reach because it makes job ads easier to scan through. Check out how we at HROnboard advertise for one of our roles.
Implement an employee referral program
Reaching out to your network on LinkedIn is increasingly one of the best ways to find candidate referrals. Even reaching out to available candidates via LinkedIn direct messaging can be a great way to align a position with a qualified candidate. According to LinkedIn, up to 90% of professionals are open to new opportunities if presented with the right role. Asking employees to promote the position to their network can be a fantastic resource in any industry. We are all advocates for the business at HROnboard, an ELMO company, because we all genuinely enjoy coming to work.
The early bird gets the worm
There is much debate about the length of time it should take to recruit a new hire. Research says it takes an average 40.2 days to fill a position. At HROnboard, an ELMO company, we believe in hiring slow. Each candidate has a trial day prior to the offer of employment. This gives us a chance to see if the candidate has the skills while being the right fit with the team.
Going quickly from a verbal offer to a formal one shows you’re organised and care about the candidate – two important attributes that will reinforce a potential hire’s decision to take the job. Sending the formal offer out quickly locks in your candidate, lessening the chance of them accepting alternative job offers.
Extending the recruitment process unnecessarily can open an employer up to missing out on their best candidate. Top talent is available for an average of ten days before they accept an offer. This means that waiting to action the recruitment process for several weeks could cost you the best person for the position.
Treat candidates like customers
Prospective employees are savvy. They’re actively researching a company’s website and social presence, employees and connections on LinkedIn and reviews on what it’s like to work there. Before candidates walk through the door, they know (or should know) a great deal about an employer. So, while some candidates may not be successful in their interview, they might be a future employee, colleague or even customer. It’s therefore good practice to thank them for their time and let them know they were unsuccessful. It might seem like an insignificant gesture to some hiring managers, but the impression that a candidate is left with can determine how they feel about the company as a whole.
Discover what one of our amazing customers, Spendless Shoes, do to create an award-winning culture.
HROnboard, an ELMO company, offers a best-in-class software solution that reduces the amount of time HR teams and leaders spend securing the best candidates and undertaking the critical onboarding process for new hires. Our solution also helps manage internal employee role changes and can create a smooth and seamless process for exiting employees. To find out more, reach us here.
ELMO Cloud HR & Payroll offers end-to-end solutions for the entire employee lifecycle, from ‘hire to retire’. This includes recruitment, learning, performance management, payroll, rostering / time & attendance, and more. For further information, contact us.