“People” – Your biggest cost and your biggest challenge!

Attracting the best talent into any organisation is hard. External factors such as low unemployment, the current economic climate, candidate uncertainty and more businesses focussing on staff retention is making the process increasingly difficult.

To maximise your reach for talent, we tapped into the expertise of Rory Young, Director of White Horse Employment, to understand what candidates really want?  First let’s look at hiring process stages:

Which part of the process has the biggest risk of going wrong?

1. Attracting candidates to recruit
2. Interview process
3. Job offer stage
4.  Commencement of employment
5.  Induction, on boarding period

Which one did you pick?  You may be surprised to learn its E!

Think about this, how do you ensure that you are giving your new employees the best possible start?

You’ve found the perfect person and you have high hopes and expectations in their capabilities and skills.  Have you thought about their journey and their experience of the process so far?  You’ve more than likely gone through a standard interview format, whether it has been a one or two stage process, meeting with managers or Directors, meeting the team, assessments and possibly a practical interview process. You feel comfortable, in control and positive that they’d want to join you. You’ve been honest throughout the process, told them all about the role, the expectations and the culture. The candidate has accepted the role, you’ve agreed the salary, you’re feeling confident and nothing can go wrong now. Right?

Wrong!  This is where the real risk start’s and the journey begins.  Every interaction you have with the candidate could make or break the newly formed relationship.

Treat with absolute care and if you don’t have a process in place, here’s my Top 3 tips:

1.  Let’s call it the ‘The Candidate Experience’. Today’s candidates are looking for a journey and a company vision. They want to feel part of a living and breathing culture, to feel like they are making a real contribution, with involvement and engagement in the bigger picture and most importantly that they are ‘engaged’. Treat candidates as individuals. Everyone has their own beliefs and agenda.  Make time to understand and engage with all your applicants.  By communicating your vision and strategy during the interviewing process you will reduce bad hires as people will know exactly what you as a business are trying to achieve. Long gone will be the days of ‘The culture was not as described’ or ‘This is not what I signed up for’. Losing talent is expensive and costly. Engage with candidates immediately and communicate in basic terms to ensure that everything is crystal clear.  Highlight and show people where they will fit into your vision/strategy and what contribution can they make to ensure future success. It works.
2. Create an ‘onboarding process’ that you adhere to from the moment you make a formal offer of employment to a candidate. Ensure that you have weekly engagement with the candidate from the moment an offer is made. You may need to be available to meet or speak if the candidate gets counter-offered from their existing employer. If you are not using external recruiters, your staff need to be trained in this area. Keep in touch with the candidate all the way through their existing notice period either on the phone, by email engagement and through social media. Every single point of engagement only helps to create the right experience and ensures total engagement.
3. Produce a candidate onboard pack containing information about where and who they meet on their first day. The pack could contain a personal note combined with a long list of relevant information and how to guides to get them started. Give your new members of staff a weekly and monthly plan and you won’t go far wrong.

Building Rory’s tips into your process could be the most useful business investment you can make.

The Inspire Business Growth Network connects you to a world of Business Support, including various funded support programmes, such as training to help your business grow.

To find out more call us 01225 355553 or see www.inspire.co.uk and see our videos, bringing our work to life.

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