The Quick Guide to an Effective Recruitment Process
Finding and retaining talented employees is a vital part of any successful business. Yet qualified employees can be difficult to find and hard to keep around, and replacing a salaried employee costs an average of 6–9 months salary.
Companies can cut down on employee turnover and cost of replacing an employee by having an effective recruitment process in place. Keep reading to learn more about the best practices and steps to an effective recruitment process.
What Is the Recruitment Process in HR?
The recruitment process is the steps to drawing in and selecting a new employee to fill an opening in an organization. This job is usually done by managers, Human Resource Management (HRM), recruiters, or a combination of all three. Human resource managers typically lead this process, collaborating with relevant departments and team members to streamline recruitment.
The recruitment process involves finding the candidate with the best skills, experience, and personality to fit the job. It requires a series of collecting and reviewing resumes, conducting job interviews, and finally selecting and onboarding an employee to start working for the organization.
What Makes a Good Recruitment Process?
A good recruitment process allows you to find qualified candidates quickly and efficiently. The process requires intentional planning and constant evaluation.
The recruitment process should be streamlined so each staff member has the tools and resources they need for their step in the process. For example, if a manager is tasked with conducting interviews, the recruiter or HR manager should make the process easier by providing the manager with a printed resume and background on the employee before the interview begins. The recruiter or HR manager should also inform a candidate about the full interview schedule so they aren’t left wondering about future steps in the process.
Here are other key objectives in developing an effective recruitment process:
Maximize Automation
Use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to maximize your automation needs. You’ll be able to automate where you’re posting job listings, track the number of applicants, and filter resumes to find the most qualified applicants. With all the time saved, you’ll be able to spend more time nurturing relationships with potential hires.
Make Data-Driven Decisions
Invest in a comprehensive data analytics system to see how many people applied for a job, how many people were interviewed, where the best candidates came from, etc. Reflecting on the process with each hire will help improve the recruitment process over time.
Create an Employee Referral Program
Create an employee referral program to involve your employees in the recruitment process. They’ll be more motivated to spread the word about the opening, and they’ll likely lead you to more qualified candidates for the job. Organizations that use their employees’ networks can have a ten times larger talent pool to recruit from.
Develop a Clear Employer Brand
Recruitment is a two-way street. Just as candidates invest time to impress potential employers by sharing their experience and skills, your business should do the same in attracting talent by illustrating why people should work for you. Think about the mission and values of the company. Are they displayed effectively across your website and social media pages? Since your candidates will most likely research your company online, it’s crucial to establish a strong digital brand.
What Are the Benefits of Having an Effective Recruitment and Selection Process?
Investing time to create and implement an effective recruitment process can provide the following benefits:
- Lower hiring costs – Being proactive in hiring new employees increases the profitability and performance of your business. You can help your departments by providing the necessary resources and manpower to fulfill their responsibilities along with financially helping your organization by reducing cost-per-hire.
- Better quality of new hires – By fast-tracking high-quality candidates, you’ll be more likely to retain their interest. A slower process may leave them disappointed and tempted to look at other companies. A survey of more than 3,000 job seekers and 100 employers found that 92 percent of companies “make an offer within a week of the interview process.”
- Increases employee productivity – An effective recruitment process can free up space for HR teams to invest time in training new and existing employees. By focusing on learning and development, you can foster employee engagement and performance that will bring lasting results.
Steps to the Recruitment Process
Now that you know what a good recruitment process looks like, how do you create one for your business? We’ve broken things down into simple and actionable recruitment process steps:
1. Identify Your Needs
Create a list of needs before you create a job posting. It may seem easy to identify the hiring need when you’re replacing an employee who just left, but the task gets more difficult if you’re creating a new position or changing the responsibilities of a role.
2. Prepare the Job Description
Creating a good job description is a vital piece in crafting an effective recruitment strategy. Once you understand your business and department’s needs, you should determine the duties and responsibilities of the role and write them out.
Job descriptions help communicate the organization’s needs and expectations to a potential candidate. It’s essential to be as specific as possible in the job description to attract and meet candidates who can sufficiently meet the demands of the role.
3. Create a Recruitment Plan
Save time and energy by creating a recruitment plan. Strategize the best ways to get the word out about the job. Determine who will be reviewing resumes, scheduling interviews, and deciding on the right candidate.
4. Start Searching
Use keyword recruitment tools to cut down on your search time during the recruitment process. This can be the most time-consuming part of recruiting, and keyword tools can weed out unqualified applicants.
5. Recruit Top-Tier Candidates
The best candidates likely have many options, and you’ll need to maintain timely communication or they’ll quickly move on to other opportunities. Use a mobile hiring app to review top candidates quickly, right on your smartphone, whether you’re in the office or on the go.
6. Conduct a Phone Screening
Once you have your eye on certain applicants, conduct a phone screening to narrow down the selection process and make sure you want to take the time to interview the candidate in person. Make a list of the best interview questions to ask before you get started.
7. Interview in Person
Interviews should be conducted soon after a phone screening—ideally within a week. The process shouldn’t stretch on too long, or candidates may lose interest. Communicate with the interviewee about where you are in the process and how long it will take to get back to them with your decision. And then be sure to follow up, even if you decide they’re not a good fit. Be sure to allot enough time so you can focus and give candidates your undivided attention.
8. Offering the Job
Just because you offer an employee a job doesn’t mean they’re going to accept. Take great care in this step of the process to present a desirable offer the candidate won’t want to pass up. Over 90 percent of people report being contacted by a manager can make them accept a job offer faster, so don’t be afraid to reach out. But expect the process to take time, and be ready to negotiate salary and benefits.
9. Onboarding a New Employee
Now that you’ve determined which candidate will be joining your team, the real work begins. Implement a new hire onboarding process so the candidate has a positive experience and can easily dive into the job you’ve hired them for.
The onboarding process shouldn’t simply focus on new hire paperwork—it should focus on processes and resources that will help new hires transition successfully into the company. For example, assigning a mentor or a buddy and setting up one-on-one time with managers can help expedite new hire proficiency.
Getting Started
By following these steps and guidelines, you’ll be on your way to finding a qualified candidate for your organization. The recruitment process may be tricky, but investing time in your strategy will be well worth the effort. Good luck!
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Darren Perucci is a content manager for BambooHR. He likes to think of himself as a purveyor of all things content related. While he loves finding new ways of reaching new audiences he is passionate about delivering the best experience to readers.