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Building a Recruiting Strategy for the Year
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In the coming months, many recruiters will take advantage of the cyclical nature of our industry and begin to assess their existing recruiting strategy and plan for the coming year. The simplest approach to this undertaking is to break down the recruitment life cycle and evaluate each of its phases, asking key questions along the way. Following are some suggestions for getting started. Planning and Needs Identification Start with Planning and Needs Identification. As you evaluate and evolve your recruitment strategy, make sure that you consider your company’s business strategy and growth plans. The goal here is to look at overall strategy, gain an understanding of upcoming hiring needs, evaluate the success of current processes, and identify areas to improve. Key questions to ask at this stage include:
Sourcing The next phase in the recruitment life cycle is Sourcing. Once you know the types of candidates you are after, you can begin to define a plan to locate those candidates. Remember, though, that there is no silver bullet for hiring; so taking a multimedia approach will broaden your reach and increase your chances for success. As you plan your sourcing strategy, put your marketing hat on and consider the following questions:
Screening and Selection With your sourcing plan in place, it’s time to assess your Screening and Selection process. At this point, you want to evaluate whether or not you are employing fair hiring practices, and look at the best approach for screening candidates. Ask yourself the following questions:
Offer and Close The next phase to assess in the recruitment life cycle is the Offer and Close. Closing a candidate begins during the first contact. When assessing your current closing process, consider each contact you have with a candidate and the impact that contact will have on the outcome.
Assimilation The final phase, Assimilation, sets the tone for bringing the new hire into the fold. Assimilation not only plays a role in ensuring that the new hire starts after acceptance, it shapes the employment experience. The key question to ask here is: What strategies can be used to ensure that the assimilation is successful? At one time in my career I worked with a company that prided itself in having a diverse culture, with employees representing 18 different countries of origin. Upon arriving for the first day, all new employees received a “passport” with a list of tasks to complete that included learning about the company and various cultures represented. This is just one approach to fostering a diverse work environment; you may be able to come up with ideas of your own. Metrics Finally, don’t forget Metrics. It can be argued that the recruitment life cycle begins and ends with metrics. When evaluating current efforts, metrics should always play a critical role. Reviewing data is also important as you move through your strategy to continuously improve your efforts. Finally, at the end of the cycle, reviewing metrics can help determine what was successful and where changes may be necessary. Remember that evaluating data over time (trend data) is more effective than looking at point data. When establishing metrics consider the following:
Whether evaluating an existing recruitment strategy or building a new one from scratch, breaking it down into phases can turn this daunting chore into a manageable task. It is important to take a holistic approach and make sure that your recruitment plan mirrors the overall business. Most importantly, when you have your recruitment strategy in place, don’t just file it away until next year. Use it as a road map, taking stock along the way to make sure you are on course.