No one likes doing recruitment, people let you down and the fact is it is getting harder to find those golden nuggets who share the same vision and passion as you to help to push your business forward.
Panning for gold in a dry river can yield little reward, but patience and persistence will almost always pay off; you just have to try new things. The trouble with business, especially the smaller ones is that owners often wear lots of hats and don’t have the time to recruit effectively, meaning often it’s done on the hoof or delegated to someone else who like the business owner hasn’t got the time or the passion to get the best out of the process. Last year the Recruitment and Employment Confederation published a report saying that 95% of businesses make bad hires every year which is alarming, especially when you take into consideration the cost to engage and bring a new employee to optimum efficiency. Oxford Economics say it takes around 28 weeks and comes in at a whopping average cost of £30,000! It’s hard to imagine why anyone would take the risk of making a bad hire.
You can’t box up a candidate, pop them on a shelf and just add water. People have opinions, constraints and aspirations and these days seem to be a lot more discerning in their career choice. We have what’s called the ‘millennial effect’ with our emerging millennial generation preferring work life balance over salary and benefits; flexible working is now replacing the office hammock!
So how do we attract our superstars? That depends on if you want to recruit yourself or outsource it to a recruiter. If you do it yourself make sure that you reply to everyone who applies to your advert, your employer brand (your invisible marketing tool) can be adversely affected if you don’t respond to applications in a timely manner. In fact 35% of candidates tell their friends, family and work colleagues about their bad experiences; some of those could have been your future employees.
If on the other hand you do decide to outsource to a recruitment agency, it is so very important to make sure you know what you are getting for your money and that your chosen supplier keeps you informed on how things are going. It’s worth mentioning that the more agencies you use won’t necessarily get you more candidates and if the agencies chances of filling a role is reduced to one in five, it’s fair to bet that your chosen suppliers won’t put your needs at the top of the pile; you will get a much better service from one or two suppliers.
Lastly, what about keeping your new superstar? It’s not just about salary. Your internal recruitment process, on boarding and training has such an important part to play in the early days. If you haven’t got your ducks in a row, now is the time to do it before the cost of another bad hire spins out of control.
Recruitment can be fun, especially when it’s well planned and executed.
