Recruitment: a plus or a minus
One of the important functions of a solid business is the Human Resources department. It deals with aspects such as compensation, benefits, new employees, recruiting, training, organizational development, and culture. It is also meant to act as an adviser to senior staff, providing clarity regarding the impact of their operational, financial and performance planning on people. However, the topic of recruitment attracts considerable attention in most organizations. It is estimated that U.S employers spent in recent years no less than an average of $140 billion annually on recruitment activities. The recruiting process has a direct impact on an organization’s bottom line. Those organizations that excel at it, experience 3.5 times more revenue growth and twice the profit margin as opposed to all other employers who will rather see recruitment as an expense due to the lack of return on investment.
Recruitment is about one common objective
We know that hiring the right employee for the right job isn’t easy and hiring them at the right time can be even more challenging. Employers have the power to decide which type of people they want to hire and what strategic message they’re sending to reach the targeted professionals. Done poorly, an organization’s recruitment efforts will generate job applicants that are unqualified and will miss the highly qualified ones because they were unaware of a job opening. Whether we talk about an organization’s senior management, hiring managers, or recruiters, they all have different expectations when they think about recruiting. Senior management thinks in terms of strategy, growth, and bottom line. Hiring managers will focus on tactics and short to mid-term projects goals. Recruiters will think in terms of identifying possible candidates, assessing their skills, behavioral and cultural fit, as well as making the tight deadlines that come with growth. Despite their apparently different expectations, all stakeholders active in their organization’s recruitment process have one objective: getting the right people on board.
Do your homework
Among the most important factors influencing the recruiting process is the hiring manager’s perception of the candidates that are being presented by the recruiter. Even within the same organization, the hiring managers are the recruiter’s clients. This is why an evaluation of how well recruiters serve the hiring managers’ interests and needs is required.
Here are a few reasons that will lead to the failure of the recruiting process:
a) Recruiters don’t have a good understanding of the type of candidate that hiring managers require;
b) The recruitment process takes too long;
c) Recruiters forget to keep hiring managers updated on the status of the recruitment process;
d) The intense use of the e-mail by the recruiter;
e) No interaction with the hiring manager and lack of proactivity.
Some of these might be the result of poor communications between hiring managers and recruiters. Others may be caused by the fact that hiring managers are unclear about what they need in a new hire. A slow process can be caused by not acting quickly when it comes to reviewing job applications and scheduling interviews. To avoid all these obstacles, recruiters must work directly and closely with the hiring managers to develop a list with realistic expectations for each job opening. The recruiter should take time to understand what the hiring manager appreciates most about the people who are currently doing well in their team. Looking at the current team members and what made them a good fit is useful to determine both tangible and intangible factors influencing the recruitment and hiring processes.
Communication is key
It’s estimated that 80% of recruiters think they understand the requirements of the jobs for which they recruit, and only 39% of hiring managers agree with it. Such a disconnect is detrimental to all parties involved in the recruitment process and can lead to a loss of time and money.
Recruiters are responsible to educate the hiring managers on whether expectations are realistic when correlated with the labor market.
Recruiters should always keep the hiring manager updated about how things are progressing throughout the process and ask for information rather than wait for the hiring manager to contact them. On the contrary, recruiters ought to focus on creating a collaborative process in which all parties are aware of the hiring status, and can at any time connect to the company’s applicant tracking system for most recent updates. Technology has made communication much more accessible and streamlined through smart recruiting software applications that are synchronized across all available platforms.
Recruitment strategies and processes
By communicating the right values in your job advertisements to properly on-board candidates, the recruitment strategies you use can make or break the hiring process. Here are some that you should try.
Your brand is important
Probably the most important element in attracting, hiring and retaining talent is Branding, and it’s the most difficult. In fact, 72% of recruiting leaders around the world agree that branding has a significant impact on employment.
Having a strong employer brand is a great way to attract great applicants. However, it is not easy, it requires a significant investment of time and money.
Introducing an employee recommendation system
Unlike employer branding, starting a program that helps identify potential new hires does not cost you much and can get you results pretty quickly. Here are some benefits that come with this kind of initiative: lower recruitment costs, reach professionals that otherwise might not have applied for your openings, shorter timeframes to fill positions, and in essence less money spent on hiring.
Don’t neglect the passive candidates
Passive candidates can be a real treasure if you take the right approach to reach out to them. Note that most of them don’t have an updated resume or aren’t motivated to apply. The good news is that an estimated 85% of the workforce would gladly change their job for better opportunities. It’s all about portraying them in a way that’s transparent and detailed enough to determine a response.
Focus on publishing an accurate job description
Make sure your job ads are proofread, double-checked and accurate. If you are trying to find the right candidates for your job offer, It’s important that their first impression of your organization and digital presence is a good one.
Improve your job interview
According to LinkedIn research, 83% of candidates had a negative experience during an interview and most wouldn’t have applied for the job had they known. To avoid bad interview experiences ensure that your candidates receive all the information they need about the role, that they’re asked meaningful questions, and that interviewers show genuine interest in understanding their career.
Conclusion
We all are aware of the fact that the world of recruiting is growing rapidly, and while these strategies are helpful this year, it’s very probable that in the years to come these might not be trending anymore. Keep learning, researching and adopting new ways to attract the best talent in the market, since people are key to a company’s ability to thrive among competitors! At the same time, not all these recruitment strategies will work the same for all companies. Our advice, in order to advance your hiring process, try, improve and customize them, and adjust them to your organization’s needs.
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