Even in a challenging economy, when unemployment is high and companies are supposedly in a buyer’s market, good people are still
difficult to find.
That’s what I keep hearing from executives and hiring managers across Northeast Ohio. Regardless of the increased number of people looking for work, organizations still need to exercise well-thought-out recruitment and selection strategies to compete for talent.
Here are some traditional and nontraditional ideas that you may want to consider in your search for good employees.
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What do you really want? Start with a good job description that outlines the key responsibilities and qualifications for the position. Ensure that the description is up-to-date and that everyone affected by the position agrees upon it. Outline the performance expectations for the position. Be ready to discuss the description and expectations during interviews.
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Who do you want? Today, it’s critical to look beyond finding a nice person with a good image to fill your opening. Consider establishing a corporate philosophy of hiring only candidates with a record of high achievement and performance.
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How do I find top performers? If your strategy is to place a classified in the newspaper whenever you have an opening, you might be selling your company short. Have a strategy on who you are trying to reach and how you are going to get their attention. Start by tapping your corporate and professional network. It doesn’t cost anything to reach out to your contacts, and they’ll often refer highly qualified candidates. Electronic job boards such as CareerBoard.com are ideal for broadcasting your opening to a targeted local or national audience. Social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook can also get the word out quickly at no cost. Also consider employee referral programs.
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Enhance your reputation. Work creatively to find ways to make your organization an “employer of choice.” Organizations that are recognized as a great workplace — for instance, in NorthCoast 99 in this issue — often find it easier to hire and keep top people. Study what they do well, from encouraging employee feedback to making schedules more flexible. Once you’ve implemented some of those ideas in your office, look for ways to get the word out.
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Add some sizzle! Look at most advertisements for open jobs and you might fall asleep. Whether it is a print ad or a LinkedIn message, consider including content that will attract your intended audience, not just individuals looking for anything. Eliminate generic wording such as “competitive pay and benefits” — it’s a waste of ad space and money. If you need help with your ad, consider running it by your company’s marketing professionals. I bet they will have some great ideas to help your ad stand out.
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Create an online career center. Whether you are a multinational organization or a 10-employee law firm, having a career center on your website is essential. Top performers will check out your website once they know you are hiring. If you don’t have a career center section on the site, or you have a poor one, it will turn off good candidates, especially the tech-savvy. Your career center should be easily accessible and current, provide testimonials from employees, showcase employee benefits and describe why your company is such a great place to work. A career center is not expensive to put together. The real cost is losing great candidates because of a poorly constructed one.
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Question your questions. Are you still asking the “dirty dozen” interview questions, such as, “What would you like to be in five years?” If so, consider a whole new approach to finding out more about your candidates. Ask open-ended questions about critical performance behaviors required on the job. If others will be interviewing the same candidate, make sure you all agree beforehand on what will be asked and what information you’ll need to make your decisions.
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Tell your story. At the same time you are trying to get to know your top candidates, they are anxious to learn more about their prospective employer. Allot time in the interview process to share key information about your organization. Go well beyond what’s in your brochures and on your website. Share the job description, performance review form and job expectations. Qualified candidates will also appreciate a tour of your facility and the area where they’d work. Don’t sugarcoat anything. Once the candidate becomes an employee, they will know the truth about your organization in about one day. If it’s really different than the picture painted in the interview, you may have a short-term employee on your hands.
There may never be a better time than right now to attract and hire high-quality employees. Attracting top-performing people is a business necessity. Take a hard look at your workplace and your hiring practices. Are you set to get the best, or are you settling for average?