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Acquiring the Right Talent for Your Business
Recent U.S. jobs report have been somewhat encouraging lately. Employment rose by 243,000 in January decreasing the unemployment rate by 0.2 percent to 8.3 percent. You may have contributed to January's jobs growth and have plans to hire more this year.
Your recruitment process and sourcing strategy are very important to finding the persons that will add value to strengthen your business. Finding the right person does not begin with writing and posting the job advertisement. It begins with revisiting your business' mission, vision, and values. It also includes looking at the utilization of your existing workforce to establish a business need and confirming that your budget can support the position as well as the recruiting efforts.
In addition, determining who will be assigned the important role of promoting your business brand and selling the job to the right market should be part of your strategy. Most small businesses cannot afford a full-time recruiter and sometimes this crucial work is passed on to an administrative assistant or the over-burdened HR Generalist. Unfortunately, these staff, although quite competent in their areas, may not have the time or the full grasp of the recruiting and sourcing process to be effective in selecting and hiring the talent that you expect.
You may also consider a contract recruiter. However, short-term recruiters sometimes do not have a vested interest in your business to take the time and understand your business' mission, culture, and needs in order to find the right candidates. Another option is contracting with a professional recruitment team that truly understands business and will partner with you for successful hiring outcomes. It is important to select the right team that will deliver top talent without prohibitive financial terms.
Thinking through these scenarios will help you decide if you should use your internal staff, hire a contract recruiter, or outsource part of or the entire process to a professional recruitment team. Whether you develop the overall strategy or work with others, here's what should be included in your staffing and recruiting efforts:
- Plan ahead - develop strategic workforce planning to specify and prepare for future needs.
- Assess your internal workforce.
- Develop a job description that clearly outlines the requirements and qualifications for the job.
- From the job description, create an effective job advertisement (posting) that is appealing to job seekers and raises your business profile, but remains true to your requirements.
- Select the appropriate sources for the type of position.
- Distribute the job in the most timely and cost-effective manner.
- Constantly look for ways to improve the selection process.
- Identify technology and develop tools to expedite the process, while keeping relationships in mind.
- Review resumes, screen for the required qualifications, and consider candidates to pursue.
- Phone screen candidates to determine further consideration in the selection process.
- Administer testing, if required for the position.
- Maintain a pipeline of quality candidates.
- Schedule interviews with hiring managers and receive interview feedback.
- Guide hiring managers throughout the selection process.
- Gather, maintain, and share recruiting activity data as frequently as needed.
- Follow up with candidates and hiring managers in a timely and professional manner.
- Order background report and review with consideration to employment laws and company policy.
- Create offer letter.
- Present and negotiate job offer.
- Close out the process amicably with the candidates not selected.
- Track recruiting costs.
- Conduct all recruiting, selection, and hiring activities with consideration of federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations.
Selecting and hiring great talent for your business requires taking these important steps with professionalism and dedication. Determining if the right person was hired extends beyond the offer acceptance and the new employee's first day on the job; it is proven in the weeks, months, and years ahead that the employee continues to add value to your business. Tracking recruiting metrics helps you make sound decisions for subsequent recruiting and sourcing activities.
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