11 tips for successful recruiting

With more jobs than employees, finding a new team member with the right skill set is more challenging now than ever before. The high costs of recruitment mixed with the increased emphasis on ensuring that the right recruitment decisions are made make the thought of hiring a new employee a daunting task.

We have put together some tips to help you run an effective recruitment process, fill vacancies more quickly and effectively, and most importantly recruit the right person for the role.

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Hard skills vs soft skills

Hard skills refer to employee qualifications and job-related knowledge required for the role, whereas soft skills are the personal qualities that enable employees to really excel in the workplace.

Consider what is more important to the role you are recruiting for, if the role requires someone who has excellent communication skills, empathy, patience, positive attitude, and great listening skill adapt your recruitment process to test for such skills. Train your hiring managers on the importance of soft skills so they know what attributes they should or shouldn’t be looking for during the recruitment process.  

Use social media

Social media is a fantastic tool for attracting candidates. It allows you to share the job advert quickly with a wide audience. Even if the people you initially reach aren’t interested in the role for which you’re hiring, it’s likely they may know someone who is a good fit. Sharing photos and videos that highlight the culture within your organisation will grab the attention of those who are interested in working in environments on this type.

Think long term

Recruitment should be an ongoing process rather than starting it at the point you need to hire someone. Continually build your pool of applicants so you can jump straight into them if someone resigns suddenly.

Have a succession plan in place to replace managers and key roles when they leave, get promoted, or move to another area of the business. That way, you already have someone trained and ready to go if a position become available.

Include peers in the process

The person who knows the skills required for the role are often those already working in the same or similar role. Getting peers involved in the process allows them to explain the day to day tasks involved in the role to the candidate, verify whether they have the skills and experience needed to do the job well and help make a judgement on if they would be a good fit for the team.

Implement an Employee Referral Program

Employees usually surround themselves with other highly capable professionals. A well-developed employee referral program encourages employees to share vaccinees within such social circles. If an employee is willing to recommend someone, this candidate is likely to be reliable and qualified for the position.

The onboarding process

Don’t fall at the last hurdle and undo all the good work put into the recruitment procedure by not following it through to the onboarding process. This is the first time a candidate gets to see how your organisation works, so it’s important to continue to make a good impression.

Ensure a fair process that doesn’t discriminate

One of the biggest dangers in recruitment is the risk of discrimination.    Candidates have the right to raise a tribunal case against the organisation if they feel they have been treated unfairly during the recruitment process.

When evaluating candidates, you shouldn’t compare them with each other.  The scoring must be based on how they perform against the set criteria. Make a record of the criteria used and how each candidate scored to ensure you can provide feedback that justifies why you choose one candidate over another. You should also avoid any discriminatory language, for example do not use words such as young, experience, mature, handyman, waitress etc.

Data protection

Only ask candidates for the information that is essential to know. For example do not ask for a date of birth on an application form unless the role requires the employee to be a certain age to do the job, e.g. selling alcohol.

Offer reasonable adjustments

It is good practice to ask all employees if they require any reasonable adjustments. Be prepared to adjust the process to accommodate any requests i.e a visually impaired employee may require a job application to be provided in Braille.