Planning Your Employee Recruitment Strategy

Getting top-quality new hires isn’t something that happens by accident. Nor should such a recruitment strategy spring up only when an important position suddenly opens up. The key to assembling a first-rate team of employees is planning ahead of time and being ready to seize opportunities as they arise. Any off-the-cuff approach won’t help with the hiring objectives you want to achieve.

Here are key elements to consider when putting together a plan to significantly boost your recruitment strategy for 2019:

Choose the right job board. As tempting as it may be to splash your job posting across every available online hiring portal, chances are you’ll regret it when tons of unqualified applicants submit their resumes. By all means, check out the “big names” like Monster, Indeed and others. When you find a job board closely aligned with your needs, stick with one or two, at least for starters.

Business 2 Community advises employers to “experiment with niche job portals which specialize in a particular industry or business function.” Such portals “can help you find candidates with specific skills and experience.”

Craft a job description that sets you apart. Cobbling together a generic job description is another non-starter when it comes to recruitment planning. The more detailed your posting, the greater likelihood you’ll see applicants who more closely resemble your “dream hire.” Outline job responsibilities and qualifications as accurately as possible, with also a few words about your company culture. This will hopefully deter unqualified applicants and save you valuable time at the receiving end.

Plan to automate non-essential recruitment activities. Include adopting automated recruitment-related tools wherever possible to streamline the hiring process. Long before a qualified applicant shows up for an interview, you can automate related functions—posting on job boards, tracking submission of resumes, managing interview scheduling, etc.—through the use of automated HR software and systems.

Optimize job postings for mobile use. Remember, the people you seek to attract are most likely those who rely upon their mobile devices in all aspects of their daily lives. Job posting words and graphics should be designed for utmost clarity on a small screen.

The same principle applies to the careers page on your business site. As we’ve noted previously, “Websites must be optimized for mobile users, so the experience of searching through job postings is seamless.”

Leverage social media in your recruitment efforts. With the right planning, social media can be a high-powered tool for employee recruitment. Start tailoring some of your social media content (blog posts, videos, etc.) for this key audience. For example, share updates and images from employee events so applicants can get a sense of your company culture—a key element in spurring candidates to look more closely at what you have to offer. Invite current employees to post brief items on the company’s social media platforms as another way of highlighting the importance you place on input from your workforce.

Make plans to establish a company referral program. Incentivizing employees to refer potential candidates is another proven method for recruitment. Make plans to implement a referral program that rewards team members for referring a friend or prior colleague. With this method, as Forbes notes, “your employees have already started the vetting process for you … [by] indicating that they believe this person has the talent and personality to fit in with the company culture.”

Today’s competitive job market makes it essential to thoroughly plan and execute the hiring strategy that’s best for your business. Learn more by registering for a free TAB white paper, “7 Steps an Effective Hiring Process,” and get a jump on your competitors today.