Your company’s success is built, moment by moment and decision by decision, by the employees who join your organization. But complicated, confusing or reactive recruiting efforts make it harder for your managers to bring the right talent to your team – and could even scare away top candidates altogether!
Attention to a handful of tried-and-true recruiting and hiring principles will help you develop or refine a strategy that works for HR, managers and candidates. It’s critical for defining the culture and future of your organization.
Here are three pillars on which to build your recruiting strategy.
3. The candidate experience
According to a recent PwC survey, “candidates expect a seamless digital experience when applying for a job,” with 49% of job seekers having turned down an offer due to a poor candidate experience.
Provide consistent communication to keep applicants engaged. Follow-up emails and other messages should be thoughtfully worded and cover any potential questions for the candidate – for example, the amount of time he or she can expect to wait before receiving further communication. If additional questions still arise, answer them in as timely and considerate a manner as possible.
A positive candidate experience leads to correspondingly favorable word of mouth. The alternative – candidates sharing news of a negative experience – can and should be avoided.
In fact, PwC’s study found that 56% of workers who had a poor recruiting experience would dissuade others against applying to that company, harming your employer brand with potential candidates who might otherwise be excellent additions.
2. Collaborative hiring
There is no need to rely on a single point of contact with the candidate to lead the recruiting process. Add as many voices to the interview process as relevant – not just the hiring manager or prospective supervisor, but select representatives of the team or department.
Ensure representation of multiple points on the hierarchy, from employees whose rank are equal to or below the position, to departmental heads or C-suite executives. Candidates will get an opportunity to see your culture more clearly, which may be a differentiating factor in their decision.
Such a collaborative approach to hiring not only gives the candidate a more holistic understanding of the organization; it also makes the organization more likely to make the right choice, thanks to greater diversity of input and perspective.
Your applicant tracking system should make it easy to determine the order of each interviewer in the hiring process, helping to facilitate a multi-step endeavor in an efficient way. That brings us to one pillar of your recruiting strategy that can either needlessly overcomplicate matters – or bring streamlined simplicity to your hiring activity.
1. Recruiting software
Having the right technology in place is no less essential than the human element. Does your organization use recruiting software that seamlessly connects the applicant tracking process to the other digital tools — such as onboarding and background checks — you use to maximize HR efficiency?
Software like Paycom’s Applicant Tracking tool does just that, empowering organizations to present a modern, user-friendly experience for both the candidate and the hiring manager.
And because it’s part of a true single database, candidate information flows seamlessly to every part of the system, including payroll, Paycom Learning, Benefits Administration and others. (This also makes rehiring former employees and facilitating internal moves effortless.)
Learn more about how our comprehensive recruiting software can make recruiting the right candidates – plus hiring, onboarding, developing and promoting them – more manageable for everyone involved.