Hiring new staff can sometimes be challenging. How and where do you find the right people? In this article, we outline 3 great ways to hire new staff that you may not have considered before, and include a handy checklist for hiring employees, in case you’re new to the recruitment process.
What are the best ways to hire new employees?
The best way to hire new employees largely depends on the type of business and the role that is being advertised. Some avenues will work better than others depending on these factors.
For example, attracting talent via online methods such as social media could work well for young people, graduates, and those that work in the online sphere, like Digital Marketing, Graphic Design, Web Development, IT and Technology, and Journalism.
However, more traditional job roles such as Healthcare, Education, Finance, and Law will probably require a different approach. This may include job boards, advertising on the websites of professional bodies, relying on your own careers webpages, and graduate schemes.
What’s more, for lower skilled workers in particular, referral schemes and asking around your current workforce could be a good way to cut through the noise of what could be a difficult process of whittling down applications.
We go into more detail about some of the avenues you could take to hire new staff below.
3 simple avenues to hire new staff
Whilst it’s almost always a good idea to post job advertisements on job boards such as Indeed and Reed, why not consider some of the avenues below when you next hire new staff.
Utilise social media
If you’re hiring for a role in the online world, or where the industry is dominated by young professionals, consider posting your job advertisement on social media. LinkedIn is a great place to start as many young professionals are already on the platform building up a career profile, and are searching for new opportunities.
What’s more, workers in the industry can share your job advertisement with their network, helping you to reach more people. You can also use the platform to reach out to potential candidates who you think could make a good fit, or connect with them with future roles in mind.
Graduate/Student placement scheme
If you’re willing to train from the ground up, a graduate scheme or a student placement scheme could be a good opportunity to discover new talent that you can train and mould to your needs.
As university students or graduates, candidates should have a good foundational and theoretical knowledge of the industry they work in. This theoretical knowledge can put them at an advantage, as they should be able to understand processes easier, and why you may be asking them to do something a certain way.
What’s more, their theoretical knowledge could end up teaching existing members of the team a thing or two along the way!
A graduate/placement scheme may also be a good option if you’re perhaps on a budget salary-wise. Students and graduates command less money due to their inexperience, but this doesn’t mean that they are any less capable. Investing time, training, and support into young professionals could pay you back ten folds as they grow.
Referral scheme
One of the simplest ways to hire new talent is to ask around. Chances are, someone in your workforce knows someone else that is looking for a job, and that someone could be a perfect fit for your team.
A referral scheme is a great way to make this work professionally, and with boundaries, as things could otherwise become complicated and/or unfair. Think about what you’re prepared to offer your employees, if anything, for a successful referral, outline the process, and communicate this to your staff. When you’re hiring for a specific position, remind your employees of the scheme to encourage relevant referrals.
Not only does this encourage a culture where employees feel valued, where referral schemes are priorities over public advertisements, but they can also help to cut down on time spent whittling down countless applicants.
Checklist for hiring new employees
If you’re new to the world of recruitment, we thought we’d include a simple checklist, or how-to list, for hiring new employees. It might save you time and energy along the way.
- Is the role a new position or a replacement? Make sure you have the authority to hire regardless.
- Determine what skills and qualifications are needed and write a suitable job description. Make sure to include any important information about location, the ability to work from home, flexi-time, and salary where possible.
- Determine a salary range. Make sure to factor in negotiation.
- Post the job advertisement in the right places. Not everyone is looking for jobs in the same places!
- Determine your interview process.
- Select a good range of candidates with the right qualifications and/or experience and offer an interview, ensuring to explain the process beforehand. Some candidates may not be able to commit to your process.
- Consider candidates based on the required qualifications and/or experience, personality, and any other skills that they bring to the table. These can sometimes be more valuable than qualifications.
- Offer the job to the right candidate, whilst ensuring to notify unsuccessful candidates. Don’t just leave them hanging.
- Ensure that there is an effective onboarding process prior to the successful candidate starting work.
- Review their progress periodically to ensure that they are a good fit for the role, and that the company is a good fit for them.
About Centric HR
At Centric HR, we provide a range of services to businesses including, health and well-being initiatives, personal coaching, employee performance management software and culture and values development. If you are struggling to manage your team through remote working and need some guidance get in touch with us today to learn more about our services.