How to Improve Your Recruitment Strategy to Hire the Best Talent?

Even in a tight market, a good recruitment strategy is a fantastic opportunity for your company’s branding, but it should always be considered and fair.

To help you try and avoid as many pitfalls as possible we’ve compiled some tips based on client experiences which we hope will help you improve your recruitment processes.

Before You Start Recruiting:

Don’t just replace like for like:

When you have a resignation, don’t just immediately try to replicate the exact role focusing on the skills and background of the person you are replacing. Look at the makeup of your team. This could be a great time to restructure.

Have you thought about hiring outside of your industry? Successful hires can include people from so many different places who are able to demonstrate the drive and inspiration to learn and ultimately become superstars. Think about how you could attract a diverse talent pool.

Review your employee pay and terms:

Review your employee bonus payments, salary levels, right to purchase holiday, remote working and especially flexible working. Do this regularly. Are you fair and competitive? Do you offer flexible, or remote job and if so could you improve on these? Updating your policies may not break the bank, but could definitely appeal and attract some of the best people to your company.

Optimize your career page and job postings:

Make sure your career page is easy to find and navigate. Job postings should be clear, concise, and highlight the most important qualifications and responsibilities. You can also use a variety of sourcing channels to reach qualified candidates, such as job boards, social media, and industry events.

Equal Opportunities:

When you write your job description and person specification, make sure you are not being discriminatory in any way.

As employers we are all responsible for ensuring that what we do now and in future builds a culture of equality and anti discrimination. If you have a diversity and discrimination policy what does that actually mean and how does this translate when you recruit?

In practical terms, when you are compiling a job description for a new hire, focus on “competency” and not “fit and even better would be to set yourself targets to attract BAME applicants.

Using the term “fit “ to assess whether or not a candidate will suit an organisation’s culture carries connotations of race and gender bias. This means that instead of judging a candidate on their experience and qualifications, recruiters are making decisions based on stereotypical assumptions that often stem from their gender, ethnicity or nationality”.

If you want to check your own implicit bias, you can take this further, by completing a free online test such as the one created by from Harvard University. It only takes about 15 minutes but is well worth the time.

Review internal resources before you recruit externally:

Make sure that you have considered all your internal options. Ask yourself the following questions:

Have you advertised the position internally to identify any suitable applicants? How easy is it for any frustrated employees to apply for an internal move without worrying about upsetting their line manager or jeopardising their current situation?

Is there anyone internally who might have been potentially overlooked for this position and if so why?

Could any of the job responsibilities be split and shared to other existing employees?

Where are the skills gaps in your existing workforce?

Have you carried out an internal audit of pay, employment terms, promotions and BAME representations? Is your current workforce diverse across all levels (age, gender, race)?

A diverse workforce connects companies to an increasingly multicultural marketplace and studies have shown that multicultural work forces can be more successful and more profitable. Now is not the time to be complacent about diversity and inclusion.

The Interview: Dos and Don’ts:

There are so many ways to interview candidates. More and more companies are using Zoom, and Microsoft Teams for remote interviews. All methods work but the principals for interviewing are the same.

Use an applicant tracking system (ATS):

Applicant Tracking System will help you streamline the application process, track candidates, and improve communication.

Do involve several people in the interview wherever possible:

Meeting several people is a great way to showcase the diverse range of people you work with and will give the applicant a sense of your community and company values.

Don’t cancel or postpone the interview at short notice:

Never cancel or postpone the interview unless there are strong mitigating circumstances. Delaying the interview can create even more delays at a later date. A very busy hiring manager may always be difficult to pin down so wherever possible try and stick to the original agreed timetable.

Don’t be too slow in your decision making:

Manage expectations and set out clear time frames for each stage of the process. A laboriously slow process could make the applicant question whether the company is able to make decisions and changes which will get things done.

Set aside reasonable time:

Do set aside at least 45 minutes to an hour for your first interview with the applicant. It’s important to give yourself and applicants time to get to know each other. Avoid making hasty decisions and make sure any judgements are qualified, considered and fair. Don’t waste candidates’ time with lengthy interview processes. Make sure your interviews are focused and informative.

Develop a strong employer brand:

Job seekers will want to understand your USP as an employer, how you compare to your competitors, why they should join you. This is your company’s reputation as a workplace. Showcase your company culture, values, and what it’s like to work there. Understanding how working with you will affect their future and knowing what it is that makes you different from competitors will help an applicant decide whether you are the right choice for them.

Talk about the market, and economics, and how you deal with any challenges?

You may be asked, inevitably, about how your company dealt with all these challenges, or your thoughts on impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on workforce and how AI will change job roles, for example, so be prepared to discuss these topics in detail. A strong but honest message about how you deal with these challenges inspires confidence and security.

Review and Feedback:

Give constructive feedback to unsuccessful applicants too. Feedback should be thorough and timely. If you have asked someone to meet with you then you need to show respect for that time they have spent with you. Even if a candidate is not selected for the position, thank them for their time and interest. This is so important. Keep candidates informed about the status of their application throughout the process. This will improve their experience and make your company look more professional.

Tell them why you chose the person you did and highlight any skills that were missing they might decide to learn those skills and come back to you one day in the future for work, or even as a client. They might even have a friend or relative to recommend to you and they may even end up working for one of your clients. If anything, being helpful will guarantee that the last experience they have with you is a positive one.

Author Note:

Hope these tips will help you! Kindly share this article with your friends or family who are into the recruitment process.