Recruitment is a key part of any business. It enables your organisation to grow and allows you the opportunity to find suitable new employees when a member of staff decides to leave or is fired.
According to CV library, 54.5% of businesses are planning to increase their level of recruitment in 2020, but their efforts are being impacted by the lack of suitable active candidates.
This is, in part, due to unemployment levels being at an all-time low; great news for workers but a massive challenge for employers who will now have a smaller pool of talent to choose from when compared to previous years.
So, how can you ensure that your vacancies are seen by the right people, that your business stands out from the competition and that you are getting the most out of your recruitment process?
Shout about your benefits and culture
The biggest draw for most candidates these days is a company that has a great workplace culture and attractive benefits.
Some of the most appealing job vacancies are the ones that include flexible or remote working, treat their employees to lunch on payday or additional annual leave, don’t enforce any strict dress codes and encourage socialising outside of work.
Be sure to list all your company benefits in your job advert as this is what will set you apart from competitors.
If you don’t currently have many workplace benefits that you think will appeal to people, then it might be time to think about introducing some to help boost your recruitment efforts.
Make the application process simple yet effective
Application abandonment rates are often as high as 95% due to them being too long, complex or confusing. This could mean that you are losing out on hundreds of amazing candidates, simply because your application process isn’t as smooth as simple as it could be.
The application should be a vehicle, not an obstacle so you should try to make it as easy as possible without neglecting the effectiveness of the application in helping you to narrow down your candidates.
The most common job application process is to request a CV and cover letter to be sent via email (you might ask them to respond to some specific questions in the cover letter) as this should provide you with enough information to pick out the strongest candidates.
You should wait until after you have whittled it down to your final candidates to throw in any further forms or tests.
Look for the potential in your applicants
It’s rare to find a candidate that ticks all the boxes, especially if you have high expectations for the role; from the qualifications and experience to the skills.
We aren’t saying that you need to lower your expectations, but you should be open-minded when sifting through CVs and conducting interviews.
You may have a candidate that doesn’t have the four years’ experience in customer service, but they are outgoing, friendly, personable and willing to learn; hence, they have all the tools needed to do the job well even without the experience.
In cases like this, particularly if you don’t have any stronger applicants, you should give them a chance to prove themselves by setting them up on a trial day or, at the very least, inviting them for an interview.
Invest in the right tools
There are some great tools out there when it comes to recruitment with social media being a fast-growing option. It enables you to reach thousands of people very quickly and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.
Another option that can take a lot of the hard work out of your hands, is to outsource a recruitment expert to manage the process on your behalf.
We provide this service to employers, overseeing every part of the recruitment process from writing up and posting the job advert to vetting all the applicants and selecting those to be interviewed.
Our recruitment partner can even produce the interview questions for you, sit in on the interview and write up an offer letter when you find the right person.
By having our recruitment expert by your side, you can focus on doing what you do best – running your business – and leave all the heavy lifting, when it comes to recruiting, to us, making sure that you find the best person for the role.
What’s more, if a hire doesn’t work out in the first three months of employment, then we will do a free replacement service – no questions asked!
If you would like further information about our recruitment service for employers, along with a quote, then we can provide a free consultation. Call us today on 0845 2626 260 or email enquiries@guardiansupport.co.uk
