What is the most important business resource that you have at your disposal? It is not money, or tools, or a great building to work out of. It is people. Every brand relies on people to obtain success, and that is never going to change, despite what recent innovations in AI may allude to. There will always be a heavy reliance on people to run a company effectively and strategize for the future.
Since people are so important for the potential of a brand, it follows that you should prioritize finding the right people to fit within the company culture. It is not just about matching all the qualifications for a position, but having the right mindset and goals can lead to a perfect fit.
The problem with many organizations is that they have subpar hiring practices that result in long hiring periods and potentially recruiting the wrong people. This can lead to a waste of other resources like time and money. Acquiring better talent means investing in your hiring practices, so here are a few ways to improve them.
Craft an Interview Process
A lack of clarity can lead to confusion and a disjointed hiring process. This can turn potential employees off from the position while confusing your team about the steps for hiring. It is important to sit down and lay out a specific plan for hiring new people that includes how many interviews occur, any tests that will be given, and who is responsible for which stages of the process. Clarity with your interview process will ensure that all parties are on the same page, and you can inform applicants about what to expect going forward.
Attractive Benefits
Workers have more power now than ever before. They have many preferences for the role they want, and they are often unwilling to accept less. If you are looking to fill a position, then incentivizing workers with a great benefits package could be the key. Basics like health insurance and retirement accounts are key for most full-time positions, but other benefits can be a big selling point as well. Consider wellness initiatives such as more days off, home office stipends, gym membership reimbursements, or access to an on-site fitness center. Offer remote positions if you can manage geographically distributed teams. Employees will see that you have a culture of caring for workers and be more likely to apply.
Work with a Staffing Agency
Staffing agencies specialize in helping companies acquire better talent. They are plugged into vast networks of workers and have the resources needed to vet candidates early before passing them on to managers and executives at the company for interviews. For example, a physician staffing agency can help a healthcare practice replace providers much faster than if the practice searched itself. Plus, many applicants in a particular field will reach out to potential employers through these staffing agency channels. To cut down on the time spent on hiring processes for your team, and to secure qualified candidates, consider hiring a staffing consultant firm.
Market Your Brand
Marketing is generally used to introduce customers to a brand and convince them to make a purchase. However, this is not the only reason to market your brand. Hiring good workers also requires that you paint the company in a positive light for applicants. Recruitment marketing is an area often overlooked by organizations that instead rely on outreach or job boards to fill their positions. You can use various marketing tools like SEO, promotional products, and job fairs to promote the company you work for or lead to potential hires. Skipping this step will result in fewer people knowing about the open positions, and a smaller recruitment pool could mean you are missing out on the best candidates.
Write Compelling Job Descriptions
Boilerplate job descriptions do very little to attract an applicant to a workplace. Workers want to know that they are going to be challenged and rewarded well when they accept new positions. Writing a job description takes more skill than you might realize, that is if you want it to attract the best possible candidates. Create the parameters for the role and then allow a creative writer to spice up the description with convincing language that will excite applicants about the position.
Invest Now to Benefit From Stronger Workers
Perhaps your brand has a certain way of doing things when it comes to hiring. But accepting things the way they are might mean your company is hiring substandard workers that are slowing down progress. Investing more resources into a refined recruitment strategy will yield stronger candidates that make the company more successful in the future.
Determine which practices from the list above could benefit the hiring process within your organization. Consider a clarified interview process or a more attractive benefits package. Hire a staffing agency or focus on better marketing for the workforce. Consider paying someone to write better job descriptions that are compelling. These tips could make a huge difference in the makeup and strength of your team.
