Our clients often talk to us about the difficulties of recruiting in a ‘candidate driven’ market. It certainly is competitive out there at the moment. The internet has made job hunting easier than ever and the skills shortage is hitting the engineering and manufacturing sectors harder than most.
That means businesses are competing for the best talent, which means a strong recruitment strategy is even more important than ever.
That doesn’t mean that businesses should be settling for second best, in fact just the opposite. Here are our five tips for effective recruitment in a candidate driven market:
Focus on finding the right person for your organisation: When you are hiring in a competitive market your focus should be on finding someone who is committed to the organisation in the long term. We work with our clients to find out about their values, their culture and what they want from an employee. We also discuss their approach to training, development and career progression. That makes it easier for us to find the person who not only meets their needs today but will continue to do so for many years to come.
And we are equally committed to finding out what makes each candidate tick. We don’t just match skills with a job spec, we look at the big picture.
Be open-minded about what the ‘right’ candidate looks like: The right person doesn’t always have to tick all the boxes on the job spec. We encourage our clients to consider candidates that may need some additional training and support in the short term, because we know that they are the best investment in the long term. Don’t get too bogged down about finding someone with experience in a particular sector. In our experience, finding someone with values that match those of the business and the ability to do the job is more important than the skills they bring with them.
Have a clear employer brand: Having a strong ‘brand’ as an employer is vital when hiring in a competitive market. It gives prospective employees a clear understanding of the values of a business, how they operate and most importantly how they treat their employees.
Recruitment starts at home: Keeping your current employees happy and motivated is a key part of that too. The best talent will be aware of who has a good reputation in their sector and who doesn’t, so a great recruitment strategy should also include a commitment to supporting and developing the needs of the current workforce.
Commit to making sure the recruitment process goes smoothly: We know that recruitment can be time consuming and we do all we can to ease the load for our clients. Making the process from initial interview, through to managing the offer and on-boarding process as smooth as possible is vital to attracting the best talent. That means making sure there is room in diaries for interviews, sticking to timescales for second interviews and final decisions, and most importantly providing feedback. It’s not just about impressing the person you want for the job this time, it’s also about making sure that even unsuccessful candidates leave with a positive impression of the business.
