Ways to Optimize Recruitment

Recruiting and hiring sometimes fall by the wayside when it comes to business strategy, but if you think about it, they should be prioritized. After all, your team is your most valuable asset. It’s worth putting maximum effort into your recruiting and hiring processes so that you avoid costly hiring mistakes and turnover.

Let’s go over some of the best ways to optimize recruitment so that every step of your hiring process goes as smoothly as possible. 

Know your best resources. Which resources have performed best for your company in the past? Those are the ones you are going to want to focus on and invest in. The resources that don’t perform well for you are not worth pursuing. Check out this useful resource for hiring metrics you should be monitoring.

Pay attention to your job descriptions. Are your job descriptions turning away potentially great candidates? Including too much information in your job descriptions could turn away candidates who don’t meet every single criteria mentioned in the post (even if a certain qualification is a low priority). Focus your job descriptions on the skills, qualifications, and abilities that are absolutely necessary for your hire. You are much more likely to have a wider candidate pool if you follow this practice. 

Leverage your current team. Hiring from within is always a great option: you get a candidate who already knows the ins and outs of your company and is a culture fit. But the next best thing might be a candidate who is recommended by a current member of your team. A recommendation from a trusted or high-performing employee increases your chances of making a successful hire. Also, encourage your team to participate in your recruiting efforts. A formal referral program may not be necessary, but it could be helpful to incentivize quality referrals in some way. 

Define and highlight your culture. Culture is what ultimately makes a workplace great—and it can definitely attract great talent, too. If you don’t already have a defined culture, spend some time articulating what your culture might be. Infuse your culture into your recruitment efforts, and include it as part of your job description. This will help candidates know what they are signing up for, and will help you as you try to determine if a candidate would be a good fit at your company.

Shorten the recruitment cycle. According to ERE Media, top candidates are only “on the market” for an average of 10 days. That means that if you’re taking longer than that to fill positions, you could be missing out on some of the most elite potential hires. Take a look at which steps of your hiring process take the longest, then get creative about ways to shorten them. 

Focus on networking. Networking establishes you and your company as an active member of your industry’s community. Making yourself visible at networking events (or even hosting them or speaking at them) is a great way to get people interested in your company, and to meet potential candidates as well. Don’t discount the value of “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

Taking the time to optimize recruitment can pay off in the form of a simple, smooth, and effective hiring process. Pay attention to what’s working and what isn’t and work on improving the flaws in your process, and you’ll have more confidence in your recruiting efforts.