Top Tips for improving your recruitment strategy
Whether you are a small local company or a large blue chip organisation, the current economic climate means there has never been a more important time to look closely at your recruitment strategy, how effective it is and most importantly, how you can save money.
According to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), businesses across the UK waste £1 million a day on poor recruitment. With £26 billion spent annually on recruiting staff at all levels, this means billions more is being lost through poor recruitment practices. This includes ineffective job advertisements, interviewing candidates not suitable for the job or placing workers in inappropriate roles for their skills.
It is clear then that businesses need to get their recruitment strategies right first time. This will enable them to employ the talent they need to fight this recession head-on and grow their business.
The difficulty though, especially for smaller businesses, is finding the time and resources to search for the talent they need. Ultimately, there are many ways to recruit, whether it be through an agency, advertising in the local or trade press or by using the internet to name but a few. However, which one is going to be the most cost-effective for you?
The good news is because of the current climate, there is a wide pool of potential candidates to choose from. This can make the recruitment process much more time intensive though, making the assessment of applicants even more important.
Another issue is because the recruitment industry is such a highly competitive marketplace, service is often compromised for price, with many quality operators unable to differentiate themselves from the crowd. This begs the question – how can I ensure I am getting the best service possible?
If you are looking for a graduate, and this doesn’t just mean those that have recently completed their studies, it can be any degree graduate regardless of their previous work experience, then you need to look no further than Grad Central.
Not only is our service free of charge for your first graduate recruit, but our dedicated consultants work with you every step of the way and arrange everything to guide you through the process and ensure it’s as smooth as possible. To complement this, we have access to a diverse range of graduate talent to match your business needs.
For those that aren’t looking for degree level skills, here are a number of useful hints and tips that will hopefully help you get your recruitment strategy right:
- Your first port of call should be to look internally. Posting vacancies on work notice boards, through your intranet or in staff newsletters can attract existing employees or friends and family and is a low cost way to fill a position. Adding an incentive might encourage more people to think about it as well.
- Use world of mouth with your supply chain. Customers and suppliers might know people looking for work that are suitable for your requirements.
- If you or any other colleagues are involved in business networks, this is another great way to advertise positions vacant, again through word of mouth.
- Think carefully about local newspaper advertising, particularly for specialist areas where certain skills are required. Try advertising in the trade press (online or print) that you read for your industry sector, it is much more targeted at attracting the right potential candidates.
- Use your own website to advertise job vacancies.
- Choose websites that allow you to post jobs for free if you can. Alternatively, don’t just sign-up with the biggest job boards, use a number to spread your vacancy further
- Use specialist recruitment agencies that have a history in your sector