Cultivating top talent is at the top of any good recruiter’s list, but hiring is merely one piece of the puzzle. A successful recruitment process will transition candidates smoothly from hiring to developing and retaining.
The process is continual and involves attracting talent, cultivating a solid company rapport, fostering positive employee engagement, and nurturing skills through consistent, ongoing training. Ultimately, it’s about building a strong and reliable workforce that can bring added value to your organization.
In particular, there are five steps employers can take that are optimal to redefine the recruitment processes.
1. Be Quick and Be Decisive
In today’s competitive market, there is little to no time to waste, because before you know it, the ideal candidate will be snatched away by the competitor. The very best may be well-known within their industry, so if they ever become available on the job market, word will get out. It might even be that a company isn’t looking to hire, but if the right person is available, a position will be created for him or her. In this dog-eat dog-world, you have to be willing to adapt for the greater good of the company.
2. Control Your Brand
We’re not talking about your corporate brand; we’re referring to your employment brand. Did you know such a thing existed? It does, and chances are, you aren’t facilitating it the way you should.
According to WilsonHCG, a recruitment process provider, an employment brand is how active or passive candidates view your organization. You want to have an appealing employment brand that will capture the attention of quality talent. This requires some legwork on your end, monitoring what’s being said by employees, but also ensuring best practices when marketing your message to potential candidates. The goal is to heighten the overall perception of your employment brand in order to capture the finest talent.
3. Foster Your Talent Pool
According to WilsonHCG, “a well-developed talent community becomes a feeder pool of talent that can draw candidates from both inside and outside the organization.” These communities, if leveraged correctly, can boost employment brand and corporate brand in the same. Here, you have the chance to engage all candidates, including employees in conversations about your organization. You can attract top talent while simultaneously cultivating good rapport and fostering positive employee engagement.
4. Understand the Pipeline
Pipeline management is key to the development of candidates. Having data available, such as performance reviews, can help determine any flaws in the system, what’s working and what’s not, and where expectations are being met, exceeded or neither. This allows organizations to make the appropriate adjustments in order to keep the process running smoothly and candidates happy.
5. Offer Ongoing Training
Training doesn’t end the first week after the new hire arrives; rather, a good recruitment process empowers employees to take ongoing training courses to stay relevant in the marketplace and adds intrinsic motivation to be the best they can be.