The year is winding down. And with it, your urge to plan ahead and draw up a fresh recruitment strategy for 2019 may be rising. As executive search experts, we know the benefit of setting your goals in place now, as firmly as possible, before meeting candidates and seeing what they’re made of.
With that in mind, here are five suggestions to strengthen your recruitment drive plan:
The best hires are like any other professional investment: they will bring you a greater return over time. We can measure it the same as other costs and benefits, to weigh up exactly what they’ll do for your company. How will they impact the brand? Will their wage, title and duties be justified?
Map a timeline of how a new recruit may feasibly start to make good on their potential. That way, you won’t be concerned if – for example – a new marketing approach (headed by the senior hire) takes a while to make its influence felt.
If a fantastic candidate presents themselves, don’t wait on the callback – a day or two is long enough. They will appreciate a swift response, especially if they’re hesitant about a big career transition or upping sticks across the country.
Commit to being personal, too. Automated ‘thanks for your interest’ emails might as well signify nothing at all. The more you help people feel valued, the higher you’ll rise in their estimations, which could pay off in the future regardless of whether they get the role.
Online job posts used to be the most effective route to a quality candidate list – but this is no longer the case. Many of today’s candidates aren’t ‘actively’ on the market, which means they’re not applying for new positions, but are more than happy to talk about another leadership role if they’re asked.
So examine your network, sourcing techniques and platforms of choice… Do they cast a wide net? Wide enough to find those who are in a role already, yet might consider leaving?
People aren’t just suited to a brand because they can do the work. There’s more to it, of course – such as the culture you’ve created. Ideally, a candidate should slot into your business and core leadership team as if they’ve always been there.
But, equally, they must be suited to the stage you are at, as well as their own. A hospitality startup, for example, may need someone who can quickly adapt to new responsibilities, whereas a nationwide retail brand has a set position that may not change over the next few years.
Time and again, we’ve seen clients make leaps and bounds with an executive search consultant. It’s a sensible choice – their decades of experience can help uncover the people you really need, even if you aren’t fully aware of what they may look like just yet. That’s our job: to educate, advise, and bring the best candidates to your door.
Learn more by speaking to SPE Resourcing before the year is up. We only work closely with a select pool of clients, so our attention can focus squarely on your recruitment drive for 2019. Let us build and deliver it for you.
