In an economy that offers millions more jobs than there are available workers (according to the U.S. Department of Labor), experts are extolling the virtues of having a plan of attack to find good recruits for job openings.
That’s the situation 91% of the participants in an educational webinar that was a key component of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For 2022 Illuminate Business Summit found themselves in.
The four-day virtual summit featured a discussion on “The Guide to the Value and Benefits of the Elite Community,” which focused on the power of the Best and Brightest community.
The summit also honored the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in several regions, including Boston, San Francisco, Charlotte, Denver, Metro Detroit, Miami, Nashville, New York and the Pacific Northwest.
Also honored were national Best and Brightest winners, along with the Best and Brightest in Wellness in the nation.
The recruitment webinar, moderated by Jacquie Hughes, vice president of human resources for California-based TRI-AD, a consultant for health and wellness programs, proved to be popular, drawing nearly 100 participants.
During the hour-long discussion, titled “Branding and Organizing Your Recruiting Campaign,” (find the webinar in its entirety here) Hughes offered a variety of tips and discussion demonstrating how companies can formulate successful recruiting plans.
“Over the years I’ve pulled bits and pieces together that have worked and developed them with our teams for our recruiting efforts,” Hughes said. “With these principles we’ve been able to consistently find the talent we need, even through these challenging times.
“We’ve actually been pretty successful with recruiting, and we’ve been able to attribute it to these principles,” she added.
Among those principles:
- What’s your objective, what’s your recruiting goal, who are you trying to recruit? “Knowing your audience is important,” Hughes said.
- Thoroughness – being thorough, getting details in advance.
- Thoughtfulness – How are you treating candidates?
- Process and design – what does your campaign look like and how does it transfer to candidates?
- Efficiency – “We’re all very busy,” she said, “so how do we get from A to B the fastest while maintaining quality?”
- Culture – “It’s a big word these days, so that’s very important to have during your campaign.”
- Follow-through
Hughes noted that, when open positions come up, hiring managers often like to rush to get the position filled. But she doesn’t believe rushing is a good idea.
There are factors to consider. How many candidates are needed? What kind of budget is available? What’s a realistic timeline?
“When an open position comes up, it’s really important not to just say, ‘OK, someone has left, now we have to fill the position,’” she said. “It’s important to take a step back and take a moment to assess the department’s current structure and potential needs.Taking a quick beat to just talk with them and really look at the question, ‘Do we really need to fill the position?’
“It’s good to gather that information up front so you have a baseline that helps better guide your search,” she added. “You’re starting off with a good strong structure.”
She recommended taking the time to break down what’s needed to avoid any second-guessing. She also said TRI-AD developed a template for an information sheet to answer those questions.
She also cautioned adding such a step – if the company doesn’t already have them – can rankle some managers.
“These steps aren’t always welcome at first with hiring managers,” Hughes acknowledged. “Sometimes they’re viewed as extra time kind of bottle-necking the system, and they sometimes feel it’s a waste of time. But honestly, once you gather the information, it is a time-saver for everybody involved.
“As you build a culture of expectancy that this is our process, managers begin to appreciate it,” she added. “Hiring managers aren’t just trying to ‘fill a spot,’ they’re actually partnering with you to find the very best (candidate), someone who is going to stay for the long haul.”
Thoughtfulness is another key component of the search process, according to Hughes, and it relies on a pretty simple thought: Basic human principles.
TRI-AD, she said, is “all about making candidates feel comfortable,” acknowledging that some candidates don’t interview well because of nerves or other factors.
“We’ve all been in a position of looking for work … it’s not fun, it’s exhausting,” Hughes said. “You want to treat people the way you’d want to be treated. My team always considers that in this process.
“A lot of candidates don’t intreview well, but they’d be really great candidates for your position,” she added. “And frankly, none of us knows when we’re going to be on the other side of that desk.”
As the poll at the start of the webinar showed, businesses often find themselves in a position of having to recruit talent.
“A lot of you are always looking for open positions,” she said. “Having a consistent process is very helpful, and it’s been very successful.”
