Hiring the right employees can be a drain. It takes current staff away from other duties, and the administrative and productivity costs of seeking applicants, conducting interviews and on-boarding new people adds up fast.
With planning, you can make the hiring process more effective, so new employees are integrated faster and you can focus on the important issues of retaining staff and growing your business. Have a look at these five tips to speed up your own recruitment.
Be clear with job descriptions
Make sure you know what you need someone to achieve in the role you’re recruiting for. You’ll want to list the essential qualifications or experience required, but it’s even more important to clearly state what the job is about, beyond a list of duties and tasks.
Specify the skills and attributes someone will need to possess in order to succeed in your business, and don’t forget to promote the benefits of working for your company. Make the role attractive!
It’s also good to include any relevant information about the location and unusual hours or travel requirements in a job advertisement.
Tell your networks you’re hiring
This is often overlooked in favour of public advertising, but if you need a new staff member it’s logical to start with your own circle. Circulate the job description to your staff and business networks. If you’re active on LinkedIn, post it there and ask your contacts to share. And if it’s appropriate, tell your clients or customers you’re hiring.
Your next brilliant employee could be a current customer, a friend of a friend or a staff member looking for a move within the business.
Bring in the professionals
If your networks don’t yield any great candidates and you don’t have time to vet applicants via job sites, consider using a recruitment company with experience hiring for your industry. The time and effort a great recruiter will save you is well worth the fee, because they’ll be able to bring in a pool of high-quality candidates you might not otherwise have access to.
Don’t hide the money
Know how much you’re willing to pay for a position and be clear about it early in the recruitment process. You may not wish to advertise a salary figure in an initial job posting, but you should provide a range during the first screening or interview with a candidate. This saves everyone’s time if a candidate’s expectations and yours aren’t a match financially.
If you’re willing to negotiate a salary package for the right employee, have an idea of what the market rates are for the role and be open about your flexibility with salary arrangements.
Be flexible
In the ever-growing “gig economy”, where people move around frequently and often work on fixed term contracts or as freelancers, some roles are more attractive if they’re offered on a flexible or project basis.
Keep in mind what the outcome of a role should be. Just because the person who previously did the job was a full-time staff member in your office doesn’t always mean that’s the only way. Hiring a freelancer or temporary staff member on a project basis could be faster and more cost effective if you need someone to start immediately, and it leaves the door open for permanent employment later.
Matthew Gribble, Regional Managing Director – Australia & New Zealand, PageGroup
