Whilst most clients understand the need for marketing and sales strategies that generate revenue, many employers seem to neglect such techniques when creating a candidate attraction strategy for their companies.
HR Consultancy considers recruitment to be a two way process, employers must sell the vacancy to prospective employees in the same way companies expect candidates to sell them their skills and achievements when applying for positions. With ever increasing levels of information online, individuals are constantly getting more mobile and savvy in the job market.
Candidates have more choices and improved access to the best jobs on the market through multiple job boards and ever improving company websites. The average span an employee spends working for any one employer is now less than two years in the UK and it is therefore paramount to attract and retain the best staff when recruiting.
Firstly, as an employer you should look at improving employee satisfaction (which is another article in itself)
Secondly, you should make sure that you are doing a better job than your competition at marketing and selling your company and vacancies. The information below should give you ideas on how you can you improve your candidate attraction strategy in order to engage with the best talent available in the market?
1. Identify the target market. You must profile the types of candidate ideal for your business and in doing so, consider what would attract them? What are they being offered by competitors in terms of earnings, wages, and personal development? It would be a good idea to ask your current employees what they enjoy about the business and articulate this in your communication with candidates. This would also involve your current workforce, making them feel part of the process.
2. Design your message. In the same way you would tailor your message to prospective customers, you need to identify your unique selling points for your business. Once you have identified these key attractions you can effectively communicate them to potential employees.
3. Use testimonials. Customer testimonials give your message credibility and establish the value of the service or product in the minds of consumers. In the same sense, employee testimonials add weight to the message that working for your business would enhance the quality of the working lives of prospective employees. There is nowhere to hide on-line and you should ensure that all of your staff has appropriate material regarding your business on sites such as Linked In. Pictures and videos on your website are also useful ‘selling’ tools when attracting top talent.
4. Look at what competitors are doing. If your competitors are taking your best talent, then have a look at what they are doing to engage your staff and build on that to offer better! It may simply be that your competitors have built a better profile and have been able to promote their business more successfully than you. They may not be offering any more than you do but may be selling the benefits in a more proactive way. Keep in mind that employee benefits have a higher value/cost yield to employees than salaries. HR Consultancy spends a great deal of time looking at the benefits structures of all of our clients to ensure that we can promote the roles to our candidates.
5. Where does your target market spend time online? Make sure that vacancies are visible on these sites and platforms, or at the very least, have a presence there in order to get your company name in front of the right people. HR Consultancy uses targeted advertising and extensive contact networks to source the best candidates for your positions.
6. Ask for referrals. As part of the sales process, you would naturally ask for referrals when you have delivered excellent services. Recruitment is no different. When a candidate has had a great experience with your business, they are more likely to refer suitable candidates for similar roles, potentially from their own previous employer. Employee referrals are proven to generate better quality and more loyal employees and HR Consultancy actively uses employee references when generating candidates.
Essentially, recruitment strategies should mirror sales and marketing strategies. The outcomes may not be immediately tangible in the form of increased revenue but with the recruitment and retention of great staff, your business will thrive and grow on a long-term basis.
Attracting the right candidate Hiring the right candidate is crucial to any successful business. This article offers a series of tips you can implement to ensure that you select the best individual for your job.
1. Fully explain the job.
Should the candidate’s perception of the job not match reality, it is probable that the employee will become disillusioned and leave soon after becoming employed. This is ultimately costly and time consuming as you will have to redo the entire process. As employers, you should be careful to fully explain the job to the candidate during the interview and verify that they have understood both the role and your expectations. Remember that interviewing is not just about selecting excellent staff; it is also about making sure people really want to do the job that you are interviewing for.
2. Develop a proper job description
The first step to helping the candidate understand the roles and responsibilities of the job is to develop an effective job description. Often, employers neglect carefully tailoring job descriptions to the roles and responsibilities of the position. In many cases this is bad practice because a candidates’ decision may be based solely on the responsibilities detailed and how the position is communicated or ‘sold’. Simply put, if the job description is too vague, it will fail to attract the right candidate. Also, careful attention should be paid to the job title, keeping it simple and in accordance with salary and job description i.e. ‘Cleaner’ rather than ‘Hygiene technician’
3. Selecting the interviewing team
A set of experienced employees should be involved in the interviewing and decision making process and in many cases this can even include people who will actually be working with the selected candidate. Current employees who serve in a similar / same position will be able to relate to the prospective candidate so please encourage them to contribute to your decision regarding his/her compatibility. This will be invaluable to ensuring your existing staffs feel motivated and involved.
4. Fully prepare for the interview
It is essential that you determine the right selection process and assessment criteria to be used for each role you are recruiting for before you begin meeting candidates. Essential elements such as interview structure and communications are paramount at this stage of the process to avoid discrimination. The interview questions should be based on the job requirements and should not discriminate on grounds of sex or race.
5. Conduct a professional interview
There are many interview strategies available and with a little research you will be able to identify the correct format for your role. In most interviews you should apply the 75/25 rule; this means that you should try to encourage the candidate to talk during 75% of the interview. You as the interviewer should try to talk for roughly a quarter of the interview guiding the interviewee through key points that are crucial to the role. Ensure that your interview starts on time and that you have prepared adequately for the interview, such as reading the candidates CV prior to the meeting.
6. Communication
One of the biggest frustrations felt by candidates is lack of communication. You must consider that every applicant to your role is forming a first impression of your company. Make sure that you communicate with applicants throughout the process and at the earliest opportunity. Inform both the candidates that you have selected as well as the candidates that have not been Successful. Give feedback to unsuccessful candidates to help them in their job search. They will be disappointed that they have not been successful but if your feedback is constructive then they will view the experience in a positive way.
7. Employ caution when short listing
Employers should avoid being overly harsh when short listing. You should have your selection criteria in place which will not shortlist people who are obviously not suitable but will also allow candidates that ‘tick most of the boxes’ through the initial screening. If your shortlist is too small you may find yourself in a situation where you end up with only one or two candidates and, should one of them prove suitable, or refuse the job, it will limit your options in the final stage. Provided you have conducted a broad advertising campaign, you should always have at least three candidates for the final interview.
8. Undertake structured inductions
Having selected the best candidate, provide him or her with a detailed induction to ensure there is enough information to be productive. Do not expect new employees to become great performers on day one. On average it takes over 3 months for them to become fully effective.
9. Start a probation period
All of your new staff should start under a probation period. This helps the manager / business with a period of ‘grace’ in which the candidates skills can be tested to ensure that the abilities highlighted at interview stage are at the required standard. The Probation Period can give both parties an easy way out should the employee fail to deliver in the expected way or the job fail to live up to the candidates expectations. Probation periods vary in lengths but are usually between 3 and 6 months. You may want to start employees on a lower rate of pay or hold off giving full benefits before they have successfully passed the probation period.
10. Follow up
Once the employee has accepted the position, follow up promptly with the required paperwork. When following up, it is important to discuss any possibly contentious issues during the last stages of the interviews so the candidate has no unexpected surprises. Salary, probation periods, benefits, should all be discussed throughout the recruitment process. Some examples of simple things that are often left vague at this final stage are start time and dress code for day one.
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