How to Recruit without Overspending
Recruitment represents a major challenge for most enterprises. Unfortunately, many executives downplay the need for a strong recruitment program under the assumption the company will sell itself. This misconception often proves costly for offending companies.
Recruitment and human resources, in fact, are essential to any growing business and deserve abundant consideration.
Recruitment is more than just hiring
A common fallacy about recruitment is that it simply involves routine applicant processing and hiring. Organizations who view recruitment as such typically lag behind those who adopt a proactive, well-rounded approach.
Recruitment is more than just hiring. It functions as a gateway through which all employees join a company. It also enhances public awareness of the firm and promotes the company brand. According to entrepreneur and venture capitalist Tony Hsieh, brand and culture are two sides of the same coin. Recruitment is thus essential to a firm’s success as applicants gravitate towards companies with an appealing culture. And due to the demand for top talent, organizations are becoming bolder and more creative in appealing to applicants. Those who are reluctant to play along end up with a mediocre crop of candidates.
Here are a few ways that an organization can improve their recruitment initiatives without overspending:
1) Referral Program
A good referral program can yield surprisingly successful results. Candidates recruited this way have largely been filtered for suitability and cultural fit. This decreases the time recruiters spend sifting through resumes and assessing candidates through early-stage interviews. A robust, effective referral program also correlates with employee morale. With those mentioned, it is definitely a beneficial channel to gather prospect talents from. But it is one thing to appreciate the benefits of referral program; you must also come up with ways to encourage participation.
Gamifying referral programs tends to increase employee participation. By making it a competition for individuals or teams, gathering candidates through this initiative can become fun and productive. Most companies also pay a finder’s fee to employees who introduce successful applicants.
2) Open House Recruitment
Open houses are a good way to show applicants who you are and what you stand for. It’s also an effective way to identify appealing candidates as resumes can only tell you so much. These events also promote visibility and awareness of your company, which can further expand your applicant pool.
You can attract attendees by giving away freebies with your company brand or providing food and refreshments. Branding is about creating positive experiences. Open houses give you the chance to create those experiences.
3) Social Media
Social media can no longer be dismissed as a passing fad. It’s here to stay and whoever has not jumped on the bandwagon yet has a lot of ground to make up. Applicants often develop an impression of a company based on what they see on social media. They can read about, talk about and also promote your organization to other users. A robust social media program should be adapted by every organization to remain relevant and competitive in their industry. By having a strong social media presence, you can reach out to a large number of potential applicants.
Social media is definitely a great tool; however, it is more than just having your own page, handle, or account. It is about being engaging and responsive. It is about being content-driven and content-relevant. It is about knowing who to reach out to, how to reach them, and when to reach them. Social media is here to stay and represents a solid investment for all companies.
With all of this in mind, you should also incorporate data analytics into your recruitment efforts. Aggregating data on applicants can enhance your understanding of who you’re attracting and what recruitment techniques are most effective. You can use this information to improve your recruitment operation and successfully draw in high-quality applicants.
Recruitment is important and should be accorded with due consideration like other business areas. Committing appropriate resources to a robust recruitment operation can significantly improve the quality of your applicant pool.
