We know the day is already full of important tasks; here are six ways to stop wasting recruitment time and find those top performers faster.
- Become a sourcing expert – It’s critical that every manager realizes that where you look (or “sourcing”) is the most crucial element in recruiting. If you can’t find them, you certainly can’t convince them to apply. Know what sources produce the best candidates for every job category.
- Stop using techniques from the past. High-unemployment tools and strategies won’t work in a low-unemployment economy. Less than 20% of all new hires are generated from a newspaper ad, and a recent poll found that 69% of respondents had never used a job board.
- Focus on the currently employed – Decide to focus your recruiting primarily on the very best people with up-to-date training and skills. That generally means currently employed top performers. Yes, you must actively “poach” the best away from your competitors. Don’t look in newspapers or at career fairs; instead, look across the street in your competitor’s building. That’s where top performers with up-to-date skills can be found.
- Track the best sources – Take a look at your most recent hires who turned out to be excellent on-the-job performers and check to see what source was used to find them. Do the same with bottom performers and for jobs where you got few qualified applicants. Once you identify the ineffective sources, reduce your time and spending in those areas (typically newspaper ads, jobs fairs and large job boards). Instead, focus on employee referrals, professional events and name-generation activities.
- Rely on referrals – Realize the importance of networks and referrals in identifying top talent. The number one method for finding star performers is to actively “source” them out.
- Do behavioral profiles – Identify your own top performers and use them as models to find other top performers. Find out what they read, what events they go to, what organizations they join, etc. Use that profile to source other top performers.
Written by TalentClick CEO Greg Ford, M.Ed. and Dr. John Sullivan
