The pressure to streamline the recruiting process remains strong despite record unemployment for a few key reasons. One, many people either work, or are looking to work, over one job to make ends meet or for extra money. Two people who change jobs frequently command higher salaries if they know when to make the move.
That means hiring managers must stay on top of these ambitious and upwardly mobile candidates if they hope to land the right people at the right time. In the following article, we will show you how to do just that. But first, let’s talk about the unique and competitive challenge you’re facing for keeping your business staffed.
Finding the Right Candidate Is Getting Tougher
Record unemployment has made it more difficult to find qualified candidates to fill existing job openings. That’s a national problem for hiring managers. To make sure your company has the right help, get crafty.
Take a hard look at your current recruiting efforts. From there, think about supplementing or changing it with the following suggestions.
1. Focus on Your Specific Need
Start your hiring steps with a good job description. Don’t overshoot on expectations. The “perfect candidate” is hard to find.
It’s a lot easier to focus on the right person for your current needs. Great employees are not born but nurtured. That’s what later training is for.
2. Eliminate Your Progress Blockers from the Process
It can feel you’re doing the right thing by bringing higher-level personnel into the decision-making process. But be careful. These individuals may not have the time to provide timely input.
If you really want to streamline the process, only include people from your organization who have the bandwidth to focus their time and energy. Getting buy-in from them will produce much quicker and usually more beneficial results.
3. Use Technology
Great candidates, in this environment, are in a higher demand. So while you’re two-hour-long initial application screening process can seem like a great idea to you, it’s actually a turn-off for them. And it’s unnecessary.
Make it easy to apply. Create a mobile-friendly system where it can be done on-the-go. You can always use artificial intelligence programs like PowerHouse Hub to help you quicken the screening process.
4. Be Realistic about the Job
You may think selling the potential of the job is a good idea, and it very well could be. But don’t overdo it.
Stay focused on the specific need and be honest about the organizational chart and the potential for growth and development. Savvy candidates see through sales pitches, and you’ll run more of them off than you’ll ever keep by promising them the moon and stars.
5. Screen to Eliminate the Time Wasters
If you’re worried about getting too many applicants who aren’t right for the role, consider adding a quick but effective minimum skills test to the front end of the job process. This can weed out the time wasters in a hurry and allow you to focus the core of your attention on people who are actually prepared to do the job.
Use Your Noggin to Streamline the Recruitment Process
There are hundreds of other companies out there competing for the same quality candidates so you can’t afford to be complacent. To streamline recruiting efforts, you’ve really got to use your head. And while you’re here, make sure you check out some of our other great posts on hiring an employee.
