It may seem something of a paradox, but challenging times can be the perfect opportunity for recruiting talent. With a wealth of candidates on the market - many of whom would not ordinarily be available - forward-thinking managers are taking the opportunity to build their talent pool in preparation for more prosperous times.
In this guide, we offer some practical tips for recruiting intelligently and attracting the best talent to your door.
Don’t compromise
It’s vital to find the right person, rather than the available person; otherwise, it’s wasted time, effort and money. A survey from the Equal Opportunities Commission estimates that it costs a business anything between £1,000 and £28,000 if they make the wrong hire. Add to that the impact on existing colleagues of having the wrong person in post, the potential decrease in productivity, and the damage to your reputation as a hiring manager, and it’s a costly business.
One of the best things about recruiting when times are hard is that if a person is willing to leave their current job to join you now, they’re a lot more likely to stay with you when times are good – as long as you treat them well.
Look for genuine enthusiasm
There are plenty of people who need a job and will fight hard to get one, but do they have a genuine desire to work for your organisation? Ask them about their long-held aspirations and make sure they fit with your organisation. To ensure you make the right hire, look beyond the great CV and polished interview technique, and find the person who sees you as part of their career path.
In the long run, hiring someone with genuine enthusiasm will hold you in good stead for the future. Someone who has singled out your organisation as their next ideal career step is likely to have a higher level of engagement, productivity, and commitment.
Position well
It’s no good battening down the hatches and hoping the economic storm will spit the best talent in your direction by chance: you need to position your organisation as a more interesting prospect than your competitors. Understand your brand and what is has to offer, then capitalise on that. Some of your budget should be used for maintaining your brand visibility, but spend it wisely. Think carefully about where you need to be seen and who you want to be seen by.
Communicate your vision and the kind of people you need to achieve it, but make your messages clear and concise – essential if you are to stand out in an already noisy market.
But a word of caution: be authentic. Don’t be tempted to oversell either your organisation or what it can offer to new recruits; otherwise, employees will be left feeling disillusioned and far less engaged.
Look beyond the tried and tested
In times of high unemployment, many people reassess their career options and often consider careers in sectors that they might have previously overlooked. These candidates can potentially bring with them a wealth of new skills, experience and ideas that will benefit your organisation, both now and in the future.
Tracy Robbins, HRD for Intercontinental Hotels Group advises: “If you can become a magnet for talent, you’ll attract strong performers from other organisations that are either not doing so well, or at least not looking after their employers quite as well.”
Build relationships
If you are not in a position to recruit immediately, you can still use this time to your benefit – build relationships now and when opportunities do arise, you will be well positioned to get the best talent quickly. And remember, the people that you want for your organisation may be sitting tight for their own security, so carefully consider how you can best engage them at this crucial stage.
Draw on the expertise of recruitment agencies
A trusted recruitment partner that really understands your business will make sure that you only see candidates that are truly up to the job and are genuinely interested in working for your organisation. They’ll be adept at promoting the unique merits of your employer brand, and able to dispel false assumptions. An agency that truly understands your needs will be able to help you identify and deliver the right talent for now and the future.
But make sure you give your agency a thorough understanding of your business and its requirements, as a little time invested at the start of your relationship will ultimately save you time during the rest of the recruitment process.
Look to the future
It’s reasonably straightforward to fill the current skills and staffing gaps in your organisation, but what about the future? Have you considered what opportunities will exist in your business next year, or even five years down the line?
Consider your company’s vision: where do you want to be in the future? And have you already got the skills and talent onboard to achieve these goals?
According to leadership expert Judith Leary-Joyce, businesses should go beyond simply “developing the round peg for today’s round hole”. She advises companies to understand what their business will need to overcome the downturn, and then identify future opportunities and the kind of talent needed to challenge your competitors. “Look at people’s core talent – their innate expertise – and recruit those who can both accomplish the present role and have the potential to enhance your organisation, perhaps in a number of different roles, going forward”.