What is the right recruitment strategy for your business?
The success of your business depends to a great extent on the people you hire. Your services are only as concrete and efficient as the people who are delivering them to the end user. This is why it is paramount to have a solid recruitment strategy that can help you hire the right people at the right time. This is what made Apple so successful both times Steve Jobs was there, it was the people around him and who he handpicked which made Apple supreme.
Businesses around the world generally follow three types of recruitment strategies:
- Proactive
- Reactive
- Succession Planning
Proactive recruitment is all about being proactive, anticipating staffing needs well in advance, and identifying and hiring the right kind of talent before the need even arises.
Reactive recruitment is about fulfilling your immediate staffing needs. When an employee leaves or is fired from his job, an opening is created, and the company is forced to look for potential candidates to fill the position.
Succession planning is about recruiting long term prospects that can be groomed for senior positions in your business.
The Right Recruitment Strategy for Your Business
While it is not possible for all the companies to follow the exact same recruitment strategy, it should be noted that the most successful businesses usually employ a combination of proactive recruitment and succession planning strategies.
Benefits of Proactive Recruitment
One of the biggest advantages of proactive recruitment is that you get to plan ahead and find the right people for your company, rather than rushing to fill an opening at the last minute. It pays to follow the ‘always be recruiting’ strategy, as you will be able to create a robust talent pool over a period of time. So, when an opening arises, you do not have to look elsewhere. You already have the right people with you!
There are a number of strategies you can employ to build a talent pool. Attending trade shows and business events is a salient way to scout for talent. Networking with the right people, online as well as offline, with the right people in your industry is also a poignant idea. Basically, you should always be on the lookout for people with the right kind of qualifications, skills, and experience and could be a enduring asset to your company.
The Need for Succession Planning
Succession planning is basically an extension of proactive recruitment. Once you build a robust talent pool, the next step is to train them and groom them to take over key positions within your company as and when needed.
Finding the right people for senior roles, as you know, is more difficult than hiring people for entry and mid-level positions. Bringing in a successful executive from another organization into yours does not always guarantee success, as the person might be unfamiliar with the challenges in the new environment and might not be able to replicate the success that he achieved at his earlier role. This is why successful corporations always choose to spot talented in-house candidates, train them, and develop them into leadership positions, rather than depending on outsiders.
Does this mean there is no need for reactive recruitment in a corporate or business setting? Not at all! There might be times when you need to recruit someone in the eleventh hour due to an employee’s unfortunate demise or early retirement. The Houston Astros (MLB team) recruited Justin Verlander and he helped them win a World Series in 2017! Moreover, when it does happen, you might have to blast out ads and seek the help of recruiting agencies to fill the newly-created opening. This is called a scattergun approach.
You should, however, make sure that these types of reactive recruits remain the exception, rather than the norm.
As Dayna Stewart, Head of Digital Recruitment Agency at Big Wave Digital, once remarked, “the right time to recruit prospective talents for your business is now”. In today’s ultra-competitive environment, you cannot afford to play the waiting game when it comes to hiring highly skilled people, or they could get scooped up by your competitors! So, it pays to be proactive all the time.
2018 is looking like it will be a super strong year for digital recruitment agency Big Wave Digital so what is your recruitment game plan ?
Perhaps we can help you formulate one ?
Contact Keiran Hathorn
keiran@bigwavedigital.com.au, 02 93804431
