5 Proven Recruiting Strategies for Hiring Great Employees

As anyone running or hiring for an organisation will be able to tell you, employees can make or break a business. They can shape the culture, the customer service and the products or services you offer. So how can you ensure your recruitment process is effective and results in the best person for each role? Read on for five proven recruiting strategies that should be considered in every recruitment strategy plan.

1. Nailing the job description and persona criteria

An accurate job description keeps both the organisation and candidates on the same page, and it also helps you to clarify exactly what you’re looking for in your new team member. Outlining the job requirements and expectations clearly should be the first step in any worthwhile recruitment strategy. It’s also helpful to create a candidate persona so when the right person is sitting in front of you with the right experience, you’ll recognise them! Be sure to consult the wider team while developing both your job descriptions and candidate personas, to gain a full picture of which capabilities and characteristics to look for.

2. Using your network to good use

Most organisations will have a network which might include customers, suppliers, industry partners and others who have interacted with the business. It can be a great idea to reach out to this network  when searching for the right person to fill a role. Using your network can have a double effect: not only can you find great candidates who are already engaged with the organisation, but it also demonstrates the high calibre of your staff to your customers, clients or consumers. Social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn can be powerful recruitment tools, with either organic posting or paid ads.

3. Considering an employee referral program

If you already have amazing staff, why not make the most of the people they know? Your team will have an inherent understanding of who might be a good fit within the organisation, and an employee referral program can help to motivate both the employee and their contacts to reach out. This type of incentive can also encourage both the current and new employee to make the hire a success. While an employee referral program might not be right for everyone’s human resource strategy, it’s certainly worth considering.

4. Mastering the job interview process

You might employ creative recruitment strategies like Google or you might have a strict list of criteria for candidates to meet, but either way the job interview is the time to get to know and understand the candidate. It’s simply not a time to just ‘wing it’, even if you do have great intuition. The interviewer should be informed and equipped with a list of questions ahead of each interview, and understand which behavioural queues and ways of thinking will indicate a good fit for the organisation. Ask the same questions of each candidate so you can compare apples to apples, and remember to promote your organisation as an employer of choice. Check out these four questions you should ask during your recruitment process to gain some useful insights.

5. Maintaining communication with candidates

Clear communication benefits everyone throughout the recruitment process. You can maintain engagement with the strongest candidates, and even unsuccessful candidates can have a positive experience and gain something out of their application. Candidates really appreciate being notified and informed about these various stages of the process:

• When their resume is received
• When they can expect to be contacted
• When and where any job interviews will take place, and what the process will involve. In fact, providing specific details or instructions ahead of the interview can quickly tell you who actually takes the time to thoroughly read an email!
• Information about any additional rounds of interviews
• If they’re no longer being considered, and
• If the position has been filled.

If you feel a little overwhelmed by the thought of developing your recruitment strategy in detail, you’re not alone. Contact performHR and we can help you develop a tailored HR strategy and provide support, to help you ace the recruitment process every time.