How sticking to tried and true strategies can lead to above average recruiting performance.
One thing I have learned in the many years I have spent in intensive industries that required intensive hourly recruitment, is that there is no one magic bullet to solve your staffing needs. If there was, we all would not be losing as much sleep about where to find talent for our hiring managers. We all know that our ability to attract and retain key talent is perhaps our most important responsibility as HR professionals. It can make or break our success.
Being effective in this space requires diligent and ongoing efforts to build candidate pipelines, and a recruiting strategy that reaches both traditional and non-traditional candidate sources. In a tight labor market, the easiest short-term solution is not always the best long-term solution to build great talent resources for the future.
In the current labor market, many are finding themselves limiting how they are approaching recruiting and sticking to only what they know. DON’T! Here’s what you can DO beyond what you are already achieving:
- Don’t Limit Yourself – Train
- Don’t Over-rely on Job Boards – Source
- Don’t Overlook Employees – Engage Them
- Don’t Turn Away Apprentices – Embrace Them
- Don’t Overlook Opportunities – Promote Communities
- Don’t limit yourself to experienced candidates for expedience.
Do be willing to train for the right attitude and for someone who can grow with you. Someone who is being given an opportunity can be very loyal to the investment you are making and in the current climate, there are many displaced workers it would be a mistake to overlook. - Don’t over-rely on job boards-There is a reason this strategy is referred to as “Posting and Praying” if you don’t have any alternate strategies or know how to maximize them!
Do use them to spotlight positions (the extra expense is well worth it) and resume data bases can be great search tools. - Don’t overlook your employees as a great recruiting resource.
Do have a referral program that incentivizes your team members to refer people with the attributes to be successful working for your organization. They also have a vested interest in who they work alongside of! - Don’t turn down opportunities to work with apprentices or students from High School training programs because of the extra work.
Do partner with high schools with students that may be receiving vocational training in your industry. It requires some effort on the part of your team, but it can turn out some great future team members very early in their careers. It also helps to fulfill our responsibility to grow future talent in the industries we are committed to! - Don’t overlook all of the opportunities available to work with veterans, individuals with disabilities and/or various outreach programs.
Do your research and know the communities you recruit within and familiarize yourself with any agencies, outreach programs, and other resources that help may help to train individuals or provide placement assistance.
My best advice? Don’t take your foot off the gas just because your current openings are filled. Do recruit both when you need people but also when you don’t. Having an active candidate pipeline will help you to reduce your hiring cycle time now and in the future. The work you put into this every day, not just when you need someone (now), will help you and your organization to build a proactive and lasting talent strategy.