How Employers Should Improve Their Recruiting Process

Employers constantly struggle with recruiting and how to improve the talent acquisition process. In today’s competitive business climate the recruitment and retention of talented employees is top priority for Leadership teams. A creative and productive workforce leads to higher profits but it also contributes to the overall health of your employer brand.

Companies know a strong base of employees is important, but many employers tend to focus more on talent management with their current staff and less on providing a quality recruitment process for potential hires. Unfortunately, this lack of attention to your talent acquisition process and candidate experience will cost your company in the long run.

Improving your talent acquisition process and candidate experience will save your company valuable time and money. CareerBuilder stated “41% of companies say that a bad hire in the last year cost them at least $25,000. Shockingly, 25% of companies said a bad hire in the last year has cost them at least $50,000.” A more efficient and effective talent acquisition process will not only reduce the amount of time it will take to fill a role but will also ensure you choose a hire who is able to quickly catch on to their new role and stay. Leadership will see a rise in retention rates and a decrease in talent acquisition costs due to turnover.

In today’s digital age people are quick to take to social media if they have had a bad experience with your company and that includes job seekers. SparkHire refers to a study of over 5,000 surveyed workers. The results revealed 58 percent of candidates are less likely to buy from a company they applied to if they didn’t get a response to their application; 69 percent are less likely if they had a bad experience during the interview, as are 65 percent if they didn’t hear back after an interview.

Here are a few simple ways you can improve the talent acquisition process, protect your employer brand, and ensure you are snagging the best talent in the business.

Get the Job Description Right

Recruiterbox sourced a study done by the Society of Human Resource Management says that on average it takes about 37 days to fill a position. You can reduce this timeline by simply creating a more effective job posting. Be very strategic about how much detail you include on job descriptions. A posting with too little information will result in mass amounts of applicants adding unnecessary filtering work for your human resources team and increasing the amount of time it will take to fill the position. Likewise, too much information could result in the loss of a qualified candidate.

Invest the time and resources upfront on this piece of the process. Your future candidates will appreciate the balance of detail and openness when it comes time to interview.

Don’t Leave Them Hanging

All too often, once a job seeker starts the process they are left in the dark if they didn’t land the job. This only hurts your employer brand and leaves a bad taste in the mouth of your once interested candidates who may now take to social media.

Craft an automated thank you message that is sent directly to anyone who completes the application process. The message should include your hiring timeline and what to expect in terms of next steps. Your message can also contain a link to frequently asked questions about the company or other important branding items that will get the candidate interested and excited about the company. This simple gesture shows the applicant that you care about the time it took to apply for the position and keeps them in the loop about what to expect.

Conduct A Quality Interview

The interview process can be extremely intimidating. Once you’ve selected who you want to interview it is critical that your staff is trained on conducting an effective and unbiased interview to ensure your candidates are at ease and able to put their best face forward.

Interviews should be consistent from candidate to candidate and should contain a high level of organization. If your staff appears flustered or unprepared, this could be a turn-off for your potential new hires. A bad hire can cost the company lots of money so completing a thorough interview and getting to know the candidate is crucial.

The Interview is a Two Way Street

If you want to hire the best talent, you need several good selling points to attract potential hires. Be sure your candidate has ample time to ask questions. Good candidates have done their homework. They will have additional questions in regards to work-life balance, career development, and company culture.

A recent article by the Huffington Post expressed that Millennials desire meaningful work and career development opportunities. Allow your applicants to interview a panel of your current employees and encourage them to ask questions about life at your company. This gesture will show a genuine concern for your candidates and will increase your chances of landing the new hire.

Get the Offer and Onboarding Process Down

Last but not least, when you select your new hire, take the necessary steps to secure a commitment from them and ensure they have a high level of comfortability with your organization. This means being prompt in delivering the contract, returning any phone calls, and answering any outstanding questions.

Additionally, the first few months with a new hire are crucial to your brand and retention. It’s critical you invest your time and energy making sure they feel welcome and excited about the company. Implement a thorough onboarding process that will get them acclimated to the company’s style and provide them with all the necessary tools to be a productive member of the team.

Clearly, talent management is an important component of any business cycle. Ensure your recruits have a welcoming and positive experience throughout your hiring process. This will increase your chances of recruiting and retaining the best talent possible and elevate your employer brand. You can read more about employer branding in Why CEOs Need to Prioritize Their Employer Brand and How Recruiting Decisions Affect Your Employer Brand.

This article was originally published on October 11, 2016 in The Huffington Post.

At Lucas Select, based in Raleigh, NC, we are passionate about technology startups and about sales and marketing as professions and have built extensive national networks of top-performing executives and managers. Unlike typical staffing agencies and headhunters, our recruiting services ensure that your company maintains a sustained growth model that is supported by strong sales management, talent recruitment at scale balanced by on-going people development while aligning with your Company’s core values.