The current market is very much candidate-driven. Only 20% of people are actively looking for a new position and those who might be persuaded to consider a move (inactive or passive jobseekers) are increasingly discerning.
Candidates are thin on the ground, however, the demand to recruit is high. Because of this, it’s never been more important to know how to attract the right employees and to have a solid retention strategy in place. Taking the steps below will help to ensure that next time you take on a new recruit, they’re going to be someone who’s likely to stick around.
Develop your employee proposition
There are a variety of factors that are important to employees, from flexibility and the right culture, to the quality of work on offer. Any good firm needs to have an awareness of the kinds of things potential employees might value and understand how they fare on each of these compared to their competition.
In the work that I do, I look at no less than 18 different factors. It's not financially viable (or indeed possible) to meet the needs and expectations of all potential employees, and businesses that attempt to do so often struggle. As an employer, you must be clear about which factors you are going to compete on if you are to attract the best talent for your business. These factors will form a key part of your employee proposition (or employer brand).
For example, are you going to provide your staff with the chance to work part of the week from home, give them a generous holiday allowance or a put in place a clear progression route for those looking to develop their careers?
It’s worth bearing in mind that focusing in on fewer factors will mean that there will be people to whom your business does not appeal at all and who you’ll always be likely to miss out on. For instance, if you pay exceptionally well and offer top-quality work, but no flexibility, you’ll always miss out on the people who want flexible working or home working. The upshot however is that you’ll always be in a very strong position when it comes to attracting and retaining those candidates who prioritise the same factors that you have.
Invest in your recruitment process
There are several steps that can be taken at the recruitment stage to make sure that candidates are the right fit for your business.
Firstly, it’s crucial that you put time and effort in at the interview stage. This will not only ensure that you get all the information from the interview you need to come to an informed decision, but will enable you to put your best foot forward, be transparent and properly sell yourself as an employer.
It’s also important to make sure that the person you’re considering is a good match in terms of their behavioural and communication style. Someone may technically be very strong and more than capable of carrying out the job at hand, but if the way in which they communicate and carry themselves doesn’t align with your culture and corporate values, then they’re unlikely to stay with you long-term, and could potentially rock the boat.
There are various assessments and tests you can include in your recruitment process to evaluate these things. At Realm Recruit, we are accredited to use a tool that helps to identify in a simple but very powerful way someone’s communication style and how they’re likely to behave in different environments. We've found this tool invaluable when we’ve been looking to grow our own team and have used it to help the businesses we work with grow stronger teams.
Be pragmatic
Because the market is so tight and there’s lots of competition, being too rigid in your requirements and what you can offer to tempt people to join will be problematic. Competition naturally drives up standards and the best employers, recognising this, will be flexible in order to achieve their recruitment goals.
In today’s competitive market, employers can’t afford to rest on their laurels. Those that create a supportive working environment and culture, take time to refine their recruitment process and provide potential employees with an attractive proposition will stand out and successfully secure the right talent for their business who will be in it for the long-haul.
By Duane Cormell, Founder and Director of Realm Recruit