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There’s no way to understate how important of a decision hiring can be for managers and recruiters. For all the success stories companies can tell about a new hire, there are plenty of stories out there of the mistakes companies made that proved costly. The U.S. Department of Labor even suggests a bad hiring decision could cost a company up to at least 30% of the hired individual’s first-year earnings.
However, this common dilemma is avoidable if companies strategically think about their hiring process, and that starts with making sure you’re choosing from a selected list of perfect candidates following the final round of interviews. Here are a few ways your company can consistently find the right candidates for any position.
Many companies are guilty of just putting together a simple job description, posting the listing online, and then just wait for the right person to come to them. Don’t simply rely on those who will come to you and those who will apply to the job, widen your prospect pool.
The typical job description is usually a list of requirements, and while that description may excite those looking for a job, it’s also neglecting the passive job seeker. This employee already has a position and maybe isn’t keen on moving to another company, but they are open to discussing the possibility. In order to expand the attention to the passive candidates, your company needs to really ask itself, “why is our company more attractive to the best candidates out there?”
Beyond the typical requirements, maybe there’s a great company culture that will resonate with all candidates or amazing opportunities for career growth or advancement. Perhaps you don’t have the answer to this question, but there’s a simple way to get these answers.
Assuming there are employees at your company who enjoy coming to work every day, it’s beneficial to try to understand why they prefer their current job rather than moving on to another opportunity. You’re not asking your employees ways to improve your mission statement, but rather asking them, “why do you come into work every day?”
With the answers you receive, you’ll start to build a better picture of the type of candidate and description you’re looking for. Use these stories and answers to build compelling pitches for the passive candidates that aren’t easily persuaded by the typical job description. Once you’re engaging with candidates in the interview process, they’re pitching themselves as the perfect candidate for you. When your company is finding the right candidates to hire, you are ultimately pitching yourselves to attract the widest and best pool of candidates as possible.
Another way to involve your current employees in the job search process is to put together a referral program. No one knows what it’s truly like working for your company more than your own employees. A referral program ultimately widens the pool of candidates that you may eventually want to engage with. These are candidates who are being sold on applying for a position by a close contact. These candidates are building trust with your company before even stepping into an interview because of conversations with one of your employees.
What this program also shows is the trust of company leadership in the employees for knowing A) who might be a great candidate for a position’s requirements and B) who would fit well into the company’s culture and values.
The overall message to finding the right candidate is widening the pool of candidates to choose from. If there are resources in the budget, don’t spread your company’s recruiting department thin and invest in an agency or two, even if it’s just on a consulting basis.
Marketing and sales sometimes talk about their departments being a numbers game. A question they ask is, “How can we reach or generate more leads to create opportunities?” This should be the same approach recruiting departments take. Between initial job postings online, employee referral programs, and utilizing agencies, you should see a candidate pool that is generating value for your company and not a bad hire.
If you have any questions or want to learn more, visit enamix.com or contact info@enamix.com to set-up a 30-minute call with one of our senior account managers.
