Recruiting isn’t easy. It can be a long, tedious process to find someone that fits the bill. If you’re in crunchtime to hire, you may feel flustered and eager to hire the first person you interview. However, this could eventually lead to more trouble if the person isn’t a great fit. And adding someone subpar to your stellar team certainly isn’t going to boost morale.
Hiring is an ongoing process, no matter the size of your business. If you are just starting out, you’re probably looking for go-getters who can multitask and jump right in. If you’re part of a larger company, you may be looking to fill specific roles from employees that recently departed. Regardless, finding top talent in today’s world can be a challenge. Candidates today are expecting more from their employers, often asking for more flexibility and work-life balance.
While scouring job sites may seem productive, it can be a time waster if you aren’t sourcing top-notch talent. If you’re spinning your wheels trying to hire, look no further. This article will explain three places to find top talent.
1. Utilize Recruiting Agencies
The hiring world is rough out there, particularly with The Great Resignation and current market climate. Individuals seeking work are demanding more from their workplace. With this, they’re being more selective in their job decisions. This wave started with the pandemic and is continuing more than two years later.
With this in mind, you and your recruiters shouldn’t feel like you have to take on the hiring process alone. There are numerous agencies designed to help fill the empty chairs in your office. While you may think tapping into these resources are just an added expense, you need to consider the cost-benefit analysis. Your recruiters are likely spending hours upon hours trying to fill roles, and niche jobs can be harder to fill. Additionally, your current team is suffering, as they’re doing the work that should be done by another employee.
Utilizing recruiting agencies can save you precious time and lead to excellent hires. If you’re looking for knowledgeable engineers, engineering staffing agencies, for instance, can be your gateway to the right pool of talent. These partners typically represent both the individuals looking for a job as well as your company. They want to find the perfect match and are aware of both parties’ specific needs. This can result in faster, first-rate hires.
2. Create a Referral Program
You already know the best hard workers in the business — they’re on your team! Well these very same people likely know great employees too. Your employees had previous job experience before landing on your team. With these experiences, they’ve likely come in contact with countless individuals with varied, desirable skills. They could be former coworkers or even classmates from graduate or undergraduate studies.
In order to tap into this resource, it’s beneficial to create an internal referral program. With this program, your current employees are incentivized to recruit their talented friends for open roles. It ends up being a win-win scenario: You’re able to hire great talent and the current employee is compensated too. The incentive is up to your company, but it’s typically an added monetary bonus or more vacation days.
There are a few things to keep in mind when creating a referral program. First, the process should be as easy as possible. You don’t want your employees wasting a lot of time with referrals, as it will only feel like additional work. Also, you want to frequently talk about the program, ensuring it’s top of mind for everyone. This will boost referrals and lead to more hires.
3. Make Your Company Known
Another way to find great talent is to have the great talent come to you. Making your company known means having an online presence. You want people — including your current employees — talking about your company positively. The more talk there is about your company, the more likely interested candidates will seek out job opportunities outright.
If you have a PR team, this may mean creating buzz around new product launches or big corporate initiatives. Even without a PR team, you can generate buzz yourself by publishing consistent updates on your company. These posts can be posted on your corporate site and then distributed widely to places such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor. And don’t forget social media; you want to also have a social presence that represents your brand and values.
With these posts, it’s important to talk about relevant updates, but also about your company’s principles and values. As mentioned, today’s potential candidates are expecting a lot from their places of work. Talking about sustainability or diversity and inclusion initiatives, for example, can help you stand out from other similar corporations.
Takeaways
Hiring is hard, but it doesn’t have to be impossible — even with all the challenges in today’s job world. Remember that hiring is never over. It’s an ongoing process, so recruiting should be treated the same. Always be on the lookout for great talent, and keep a list of potential candidates that could be great fits down the road. Even if they aren’t hired today, they could be the perfect match for an opening tomorrow.
