Recruiting in a Candidate Driven Market
Whether your business is looking to recruit a sales leader, a UI/UX designer or a team of graduate trainees, the challenge is significant due to current market conditions. Whilst talks of a Brexit based meltdown are abundant, the fact is that competition for good talent has never been greater and the sheer number of opportunities available to candidates (and ease of access to them!) makes recruiting great talent tough.
I read this week that the average graduate trainee looking to develop a career within sales is offered 7 different jobs before they make a decision. Put simply, 6 companies are not securing the services of the candidates they offer. Consider the time and effort invested in getting a candidate to an offer stage, only to be unsuccessful in securing them, and you'll quickly calculate that the cost of recruitment is increasing dramatically (not to mention the cost of NOT recruiting!).
The GOOD NEWS is that you can do something about it! By making some simple adjustments to your recruitment process you can remain one step ahead, maximising your chance of securing the best talent for your business.
Move quickly. Simple fact - in the current market most candidates are lost as organisations fail to keep up momentum in the recruitment process. Respond to applications and/or CV's as quickly as possible with an absolute time limit of 24 hours. Keep the gap between interviews as little as possible (ideally 2-4 days) and try to limit the number of times you bring candidates back. If your organisations' process dictates candidates must meet a number of people, ensure they are all available at the same time!
Feedback immediately and avoid indecision. In a competitive recruiting landscape it's essential to give candidates a positive experience and make your interest in them clear. The simplest way to do this is to get feedback to them immediately following any interview - ideally on the same day. Delays in feedback inevitably lead to the candidate doubting your interest and this will result in a lowing of interest in your opportunity.
Sell your company! It may seem amazing in the current climate, but a significant proportion of senior managers are still of the opinion that "if the candidate really wants to work for us they'll understand and wait"! I have some bad news for you......they won't! Regardless of whether this is a reasonable belief to have, the reality is that the companies who are currently successfully recruiting are putting huge efforts into selling the benefits of working for their company. And I don't mean 'benefits' in terms of money/breakfast/leave etc. I'm talking about getting the candidate excited about what it's like to actually work for the company. This includes the culture, training & development, how realistic targets are, access to senior management, clear vision and mission etc. If you help the candidate to visualise themselves being successful in your business, the transition to accepting an offer is a simple one!
Engage and get them started. Currently, somewhere between 25 & 50% of candidates who accept a position are failing to actually start due to counter offers, either with their existing employer or others. There are two simple things you can do to avoid this and ensure your talent is secured. Firstly, get them started! Once they walk through your door they become emotionally connected to your business and are unlikely to consider further offers. Secondly, the second they verbally accept an offer, commence a program of regular contact until the candidate starts with you. Ideally, this will be direct contact with the recruiting manager rather than HR. Speak to them at least a couple of times a week, especially if there is a significant gap between acceptance and start. Talk to them about the exciting projects you have coming up, successes in the team, the training you've booked in etc. If you stop communications the candidate is given time to disengage - don't let this happen!
Well that's it. Four simple pieces of advice you can easily implement within your recruitment process to maximise success. I hope you've found this helpful and if you'd like any further advice or information on how to put together a rock solid recruitment strategy don't hesitate to get in contact.
