We need to hire employees, but we’re so busy working in the business to replace the employee(s) who just left that we don’t have time to recruit. Sound familiar?
For many businesses having to recruit means that they are or soon will be short-staffed. In this situation, many small business owners find themselves struggling as they are suddenly drawn back or further into the daily operations of the business while simultaneously trying to run the business and of course, recruit quality candidates for the job.
Establishing and maintaining an effective recruitment process can decrease the amount of time it takes to hire new employees, increase the quality of new hires and increase overall employee productivity. Investing the time to develop an effective recruitment process will ensure that you, your existing employees and your business can realize the benefits that much sooner. Here are 7 tips to get you started:
Develop a job advertising database
Use a spreadsheet to track where and when you advertise/post job openings, numbers of candidate responses, deadlines, effectiveness of posting, etc. The resulting job advertising history makes a great quick reference guide for future positions and increases the effectiveness of recruitment advertising by enabling you to focus on using advertising methods that produce results.
Set time aside to review resumes & interview candidates
When recruiting, make time to review resumes and meet with candidates when you are not working in the daily operations. Choose a time when you can focus and give candidates your undivided attention. This will enable you (and the candidates) to have a more effective interview and increase your ability to effectively assess and select the most qualified candidate for the job.
Use a tracking form to keep track of candidates, qualifications and progress
This is especially useful when hiring for multiple jobs simultaneously to avoid losing track of candidates and to ensure that all candidates are equally considered. Develop and use a template form to keep track of candidate(s), the position(s) they apply for, their qualifications and their progress in the recruitment process. This at-a-glance form will enable you to see where candidates are in the process and can also help you keep resumes organized on file.
Cluster candidate interviews
An effective time management practice is to perform similar tasks together. Applying this method when scheduling candidate interviews will not only enable you to maximize your time and productivity, it also is easier to assess candidates when their interviews are fresh in your memory as opposed to taking place hours or days apart.
Use template letters that can be personalized
Communication is important to job seekers, however writing personalized letters can be very time consuming. Avoid reinventing the wheel by developing template letters that can be easily personalized for each candidate.
Build relationships with candidates
Just because a candidate doesn’t have the required skills, knowledge or abilities for the current job vacancy doesn’t mean that they may not be qualified for future job(s) with your organization. Taking time to thank candidates for applying and to communicate their status in the competition (see tip #5 above) will go a long way towards whether or not they choose to apply for future positions with your company.
Review, Follow up and revise the recruitment process
As with any process, it is important to review your recruitment process on an ongoing basis. How often you need to do this will depend on how often you use the process to hire employees. The goal of review and revisions is to ensure that the process is as effective as possible.
Taking time to proactively develop an effective recruitment process BEFORE you are in a position to recruit will enable you to attract and choose the most qualified candidate for the job. The more qualified the candidate, the less time it will take for them to get up to speed and the more quickly they will make positive contributions towards your team and business. Now isn’t that time well invested?
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