Hiring for the future? A common frustration of so many SME businesses that we speak to, is that the business owner wants to grow their business, but they can’t find the right people to take the business forward.
Some get stuck in a never-ending cycle of winning new work, panicking that they haven’t got the capacity to fulfil this and then take on candidates who are immediately available after receiving several speculative CV’s.
Does this sound familiar?
The problem with this is that only a few weeks in they find that they are at odds culturally and expectations are not met by either party. That person leaves after a short length of service and the cycle starts again. Approaching recruitment with the mindset of filling a short-term need can cost considerably more than you think. Research by Oxford Economics and Unum states the average cost to a business when replacing an employee is £30,614 (based on an employee earning £25,000 or more).
There’s no question that being stuck in this rut is frustrating; especially when you are confident that you can win the work.
If you are looking to grow your team to facilitate overall growth, consider these points to make the talent acquisition process more effective.
Top tips for hiring for the future
1. Evaluate your current capacity
A forward-thinking approach is key when it comes to growing your team. When your business is getting to around 75%-80% capacity assess which area of the team would be most stretched if you were to win some new work. Once you’ve established this consider recruiting in that area. Take this a step further by identifying which job roles in particular will benefit from being recruited for. Ask yourself how will hiring new employees in this team ease the overall pressure and support fulfilling capacity?
2. Don’t rush. Conduct a thorough recruitment process
Rather than panicking and taking on the first speculative CV that you find, give yourself time to conduct a thorough recruitment process and thoroughly scope the market. One of the key factors in attracting and retaining employees is that the successful candidates values and beliefs align with your employer brand and culture. Be sure not to rush the recruitment process no matter how urgent the need for the role is.
3. A transparent recruitment campaign
A recruitment campaign should be led by cultural fit and transparent expectations. Unsurprisingly there has been a considerable change in candidate priorities as a result of the pandemic. 45% of UK employees consider workplace culture as the most important factor when looking for their next opportunity according to research by Workbuzz. If you are looking to attract better talent in today’s candidate led market, ensure that this is highlighted and measured throughout the recruitment campaign.
4. Candidate shortlisting
When it comes to hiring for the future, aim to have a minimum of 3-4 candidates at the shortlisting stage for interview. Factors such as the niche of the role, location, salary benchmark, benefits package, hybrid working options and which job boards you advertise on will all impact your level of applications. For conducting your interviews, consider whether a scoring system would be a more fair and objective approach.
5. Nurture the relationship
In this incredibly competitive market, counter offers are at all-time high. So, it is worth remembering that the interview process doesn’t end at the offer stage. It’s important to nurture the relationship and consider ways of making that person feel part of the team straight away.
Make your new recruit feel welcomed and excited to start with your business. For example, a card in the post, arranging team drinks or having new stationary delivered are all nice touch points.
To start the working relationship on the right now, you may find our blog on acing onboarding may be of interest.
What are the benefits of hiring for future growth?
Only when you recruit with retention in mind can you truly start to build an amazing team that will take your business forward.
The above suggestions are just a few things to consider and the key benefits to this approach?
- Lower recruitment fees
- Higher employee retention
- Maximum productive
And there we have our top tips on hiring for the future to facilitate growth.
Whether you are looking for one-off recruitment support or have a longer-term recruitment need, we have an alternative approach to outsourced recruitment support. We work as an extension of your team to find the right talent to fit your culture and goals.
If you would like to see how we can support your business to attract, retain and engage the best talent, please get in touch.