You’ve hired a new employee, and you’re feeling great about it. You’re confident you’ve found an excellent addition to your team. But you also admit your elation is due partly to relief. It took a long time to find, vet and secure this new hire, and you’re very glad to be done with the recruiting and hiring process.
Here’s a question to consider before you need to launch another candidate search: What can you do to make the hiring process more efficient in the future? The answer is to maintain your recruiting momentum. That means moving away from a “start-stop” approach and instead applying a continuous focus to recruiting talent. Here are three ways to make this transition:
1. Write ‘standing’ job descriptions
Which roles in your organization would be the most difficult to hire for if they were suddenly open? Write standing job descriptions for these positions, outlining the desired skill set and experience needed to succeed in those roles. Then, stay on the alert for candidates who have these skills, even if you’re not currently hiring for these positions.
In particular, look for individuals who have potential — professionals you might be able to hire now for another role and could train up over time. (Consider people already in your organization, as well, who would be ideal candidates for upskilling and succession planning.) In this competitive hiring market, some companies are even going so far as to create new roles in their organization, so they can hire candidates with in-demand skills and experience they know will benefit their firm.
2. Keep an ‘always on’ recruiting focus
Creating a list of to-dos can help you maintain an “always-on” recruiting focus. For example, consider setting monthly or quarterly goals to reach out to colleges and universities, industry groups, company alumni, and others in your industry or professional network who may have news and insights about potential hires.
Regular outreach and conversations with reputable and trusted contacts can help you uncover highly skilled individuals before they enter the open market. You can proactively reach out to these individuals about possible career opportunities at your company. And, as you stay focused on identifying potential hires early and often, your network of leads will continue to expand — along with your talent pipeline.
Recruiting employees who will thrive at your company is within reach. See this post for more information.
3. Make recruiting a shared responsibility
Take stock of which individuals at your firm are typically responsible for talent recruiting responsibilities. Do you leave all or most of the work to your human resources staff or business line managers, for example? Recruiting is a function that your entire team could contribute to in some way, so consider involving more people in the process.
Top-performing team members are your biggest advocates, and they can usually help identify individuals who will likely thrive in your unique corporate culture. Your MVPs may know people who are interested in making a move but want to feel confident they would be joining a company that is an employer of choice. Your top performers can give these individuals the reassurance they seek, along with the details that will get them excited about the opportunity to work for you.
If it’s been more than six months since your referral incentives were updated, evaluate them carefully and share the revisions across the organization. Referral incentives can be a powerful motivator for engaging your team in the recruiting process. Also, talk about recruiting in your standing meetings and involve the team in reviewing job descriptions. That will ensure those all-important descriptions stay up to date and make key requirements top of mind for your staff as they help scan the horizon for promising candidates.
Maintaining your recruiting momentum takes work. However, if you make it a high priority, it will become a more natural process for your organization over time. Plus, when committing to an “always-on” recruiting focus, your talent pipeline and network will continue to grow. The results will include less scrambling when you need to post a job opening and hire a new employee, and more opportunities to identify outstanding hires for your team before the competition can snap them up.
Working with a talent solutions firm like Robert Half can also help you keep up your recruiting momentum. Learn more about how our specialized recruiters can help your business connect with in-demand talent for on-site or remote positions.
