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Top Recruitment Tips For Employers From Richard Manso

1. Employers aren’t buying a resource, they are entering into a partnership

Lots of employers approach recruiting staff as if they are buying in someone to facilitate their operations or strategy but actually they are buying in a partner who will help drive their commercial agenda and it is important that this is reflected in the approach to selling their propositions, writing the spec, benchmarking package and the interview process.

2. Don’t focus on experience focus on aptitude and capability

Employers tend to focus on looking for a specific profile rather than screening on the ability to do the job. Clearly to hire successfully the candidate has to have some relevant experience in relation to the job but there are often candidates who might have slightly less experience than it is on the job description who will do as good a job if not better than the person who might have all the experience on paper. Focus on the person, not the profile. At the very least employers will give themselves more options in hiring the right people. 

3. Make your process as slick as possible

It seems obvious but in the modern day job market candidates have many opportunities so can afford to make decisions based on small details. Sometimes as employers we do not realise how important a speedy and thorough process is in hiring the right people. Try and target hiring the right person within two weeks or four weeks in a worst-case scenario if you are recruiting at an operational level and 6 – 8 weeks at management and strategic levels. Also, focus as much as possible on making the candidate experience a positive one. Employers do not have to terrorise candidates to work out if they have the right qualities to succeed in their business.

4. Be creative in terms of where you look for your talent

Job adverts and recruiters are obvious places to try and find the best people but apprenticeships, family friends, open days, internal competence assessment days will also help you unearth some diamonds in the rough.

5. Sell the job description

Use your job description as a tool to sell your business and proposition and not just to outline role responsibilities and expectations. I would even go as far as to say that employers should consider calling the document something different like “Opportunity Overview” or “Opportunity Proposition.” Also, think about writing different descriptions to attract different types of buying groups. The simplest way to do this is to think of the different types of individuals who may be interested in your opportunity, i.e., career driven individuals, people who might rely on flexibility or family benefits like childcare vouchers, for instance, and people re-training.

6. If you need a brain operation go and see a brain surgeon!

What I mean here is that a lot of employers will tend to choose their suppliers based on their size or ‘global coverage’ rather than expertise in a certain field or area. If you want to find an effective supplier for your digital analytics or QA positions find boutique players in the area who have spent years developing their networks and know how to find the best people.

7. Be proactive with identifying new talent

Some employers invest time in proactively interviewing rather than waiting until they desperately need to hire and I would say this is a really smart way to identify great talent, build networks of good candidates, benchmark the talent you have within the business and keep an eye on what’s going on within your ecosystem. It’s also important employers think about presenting themselves as just ‘an employer’ rather than a manufacturing company, agency, retail company or financial institution. This means is important to be present across as many recruitment channels as possible whether this is social media, recruitment fairs, job boards, etc.

8. Get your internal stakeholders on board

Involve as many people as possible in the recruitment process and even decisions. The security guard or the receptionist has an as important part to play in the process as your line managers or interviewers. Treat identifying talent as a collective exercise to give yourself the best chance. Also, always have someone in the process who is enthusiastic about the company and give them the responsibility of selling your proposition. Regardless of whether you hire or not, you want every interviewee leaving your office feeling like they would at least consider working for you!

By Richard Manso, The Founder & Director of Digital Republic Recruitment.

If you are struggling to hire good talent, Digital Republic Recruitment team are here to support your organisation’s search for permanent or contract candidates within the data-driven digital ecosystem.

Submit your jobs here and get in contact with us today to discuss further!

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