To win on the war for talent, you need to be flexible in your hiring process and be able to adjust your processes on the fly to find top performers. Below are six ideas about flex hiring.
- Concession planning – In a dynamic and fast-changing world you must insist that every program and process be “flexible” to meet the changing expectations of candidates. Being flexible starts with shifting your recruiting strategy as the economy and the power relationship between candidates and the employer change.
- Be flexible – Learn to prioritize candidates based on their desirability. Be more flexible with candidates that are in higher demand. Make it a goal of your recruiting process to develop “the job” that top candidates are seeking, just as great tailors create made-to-measure clothes that suit only one customer. Have the flexibility to customize an opportunity so that it fits that one star performer’s needs. Remember, the organizations with the best talent will win.
- Prepare for changing expectations – Change your traditional mindset when hiring is coming up short. Accept that the current workforce is diverse, aging, and interested in work/life balance. Calculate the costs of low quality or bad hires at your firm. Change the parameters of your job description to be flexible with things that are important to candidates. But be careful about lowering standards just because talent is scarce.
- Continuous improvement – Because the world of recruiting will become more competitive, it is essential that every program and process include a feedback mechanism and contain a continuous-improvement element.
- Consider strategic alternatives – Forecast future needs and make the necessary changes to your recruiting tools to meet the needs. And in particular, make sure your recruiting sources reach the global candidate pool. Also consider offshoring and outsourcing as opportunities to cut labor costs if you excel at international recruiting and retention. In addition, be prepared to increase salaries, based on performance, as the demand for top talent increases.
- Poaching is an alternative – Even when there is a labor shortage, you won’t have a shortage if you excel at guerilla methods such as poaching away talent from your competitors and blocking them from stealing your best. You can find hundreds of well-trained and up-to-date top performers if you have the courage to look at your competitors. Recruiting is Sales, so compete for talent like you would compete against your competition for customers.
Written by TalentClick CEO Greg Ford, M.Ed. and Dr. John Sullivan.
