Spending time doing recruitment right is one of the best investments you can make in your business. Recruitment is one of the eight key components to a solid Talent Management Program.

The last few years recruiting was incredibly challenging with unemployment at an all-time low. Then 2020 happened. Many people found themselves looking for a new job and employers had more choices when recruiting.

More people in the market looking for a new job does not mean that recruiting is easier. You just have more people to sort through. You still need to find the right fit for the role, the team, and your company.

Recruiting for skills

Take the time to understand what skills you need in the role and what you are willing to teach. Develop a job description that clearly outlines what the person would do in the position and what skills they need to be successful. This will help candidates self-select if they have the talent you need. Some skills can be taught on the job, others cannot.

Recruiting for culture fit

Then think about what type of personality you need on the team. You could hire the most talented person on the planet, but if they aren’t a good culture fit it could do more harm than good and cost your business time and money.

Think about who will flourish in the role, what personality would fit on the team? Do you need a driver, a doer, a challenger, an innovator? You can find critical skills in many different types of people.

Not sure, ask the team? While you’re at it, take note of what the team is like too so you can communicate that with the candidate during the recruitment process. You want to be clear on what the culture is like so they know before starting the job. You don’t want them to quit once they get there because they thought it would be different.

Recruit where candidates are looking

Different types of candidates look for jobs in different places. Take the time to figure out where the candidate you want to hire is looking. Is it on Indeed or LinkedIn? Is there a job board in your community or industry? Build a recruitment plan to attract talent from different places.

Once you understand where your potential new employees are looking for a job you can start recruiting. Most companies post job descriptions that are long and boring on job boards. Consider creating a job ad that you can post that attracts the employee’s attention and stands out from the other jobs. Jobs ads should be short, descriptive of the role and attention grabbing. Paint a picture of what they can expect when working at the company. You can share the job description on your website or as part of the interview process once you have a candidate that interests you.

Outsource recruiting or do recruitment on your own?

Now that you know what you are looking for and where you are looking it is time to start selecting candidates to interview. You can select candidates that apply to your job posts or you can outsource recruiting to a professional. Recruiters often have a pool of candidates and can help you find the right fist faster.

Good recruiters cost money and offer their services in a variety of ways. Some will require a service fee up front and spend dedicated time looking for a candidate. Others will charge you a percentage of the salary you hire a candidate for but if you don’t hire a candidate the recruiter suggests you don’t pay a fee. Most recruiters have a set fee but often times you can negotiate if you have multiple jobs or higher salaries. Make sure to ask.

There are a lot of recruiters that offer services. Make sure to pick a recruiter or two that specialize in the area you are hiring. If you are hiring a specialized-leader, you may need to work with a recruiter to find that specialized skill set. If you are hiring manual labor that may not be internet savvy, you may need to work with a staffing agency.

You can also recruit on your own which will save you money but will cost you time. You will need to take the time to review resumes, select candidates to interview and coordinate with whoever will be interviewing the candidates.

Interviewing candidates

Whether you do the recruiting or a recruiter does you will need to determine how many rounds of interviews you will do with candidates and who will be interviewing. Make sure everyone is on the same page for what skill set and values you are hiring. This will make the decision process easier.

Making the job offer

There are many requirements determined by individual states on what needs to be a in a job offer. Make sure you know what these are and create a template you can use for all hires. When you are ready to make an offer, make sure you have already talked to the candidates about expectations. Prior to making the offer ask them about salary requirements, PTO expectations, and start date. Having a conversation about this up front and aligning expectations on what they need and what the company can provide makes getting a job offer accepted easier. If the candidate is top talent, they likely have opportunities elsewhere so you will want to be able to move quickly once you find your ideal candidate.

Provide ample communication

Throughout the process you want to make sure to connect with all candidates and let them know where they stand in the process. Even if you decide not to move forward with the candidate, let them know. They have put a lot of work into the process to and deserve the courtesy. Plus, if you don’t hire them now, you may want to in the future so you don’t want to leave a bad impression with them if you don’t select them this time.

Doing a good job in the recruitment process will help you find the person with the skills your company needs along with fit for culture. This is key for retention. You want to be as honest and upfront as possible so the employee’s expectations are clear when they start and they don’t regret joining your company.

Happy Recruiting!