How to create a great recruitment strategy

2 mins read
Great Recruitment Strategy

over 1 year ago

​​​Getting your recruitment strategy right is key to hitting your business goals. Here are some expert tips to help you set up your company for success – and the shortcuts to keep you ahead of your competition.

​What is a recruitment strategy?

A recruitment strategy is a clear plan that explains what roles you’ll recruit for, when, why and how. It should be tied to your overall company objectives.

Your strategy must be possible to implement and easy to communicate. While you can tweak your tactics, the strategy must always be clear.

Unsure how many employees you’ll need? Hiring temporary staff helps you expand quickly and risk free.

The core aspects of a great recruitment strategy

Growth Plans

  • In order to scale up your workforce, you’ll need to hire – which takes time and resources.

  • Create a measure to help you identify which areas of your business will benefit most from increased headcount.

  • This could focus on return on investment or opportunities lost.

Shortcut: Unsure how many new employees you’ll need? A recruitment agency will give you access to temporary staff and contractors to help you expand quickly and risk free.

Employer Brand

  • Make sure your employer brand and message are attractive to your target audience, particularly over social media. A well-known brand is a big selling point to talented job hunters.

  • Be open and transparent about the company’s working culture to ensure you attract candidates that will match your business.

Shortcut: If your brand isn’t well known, a recruitment agency can contact candidates directly and spend time promoting your employer messages.

Skills Audit

  • Use your company objectives to identify developing areas of the business, then decide on the skills you will need to succeed.

  • Your recruitment strategy should include ways to find and bring new skills into the company.

  • Employers often focus on advanced digital and technical skills, but you should also consider bringing in candidates with different experiences.

Shortcut: When interviewing for a role you’ve never done yourself, your recruitment consultant can offer interview tips and support to build your confidence.

"You can tweak your tactics, but your end goals must be clear."

Flexibility

  • If your company needs to adapt quickly to an unpredictable market then hiring permanent staff may not be the right option.

  • Your strategy should include a plan for temporary staff and contractors to cover projects that are likely to change at short notice.

Shortcut: Unless you already have an advanced payroll function, it makes sense to ask your recruitment agency to manage payroll for your temporary workforce. They look after tax, holiday pay and even pension contributions – saving you a lot of hassle.

When to review your recruitment strategy

You should always be thinking about how you differentiate your company from your competitors, and how you can be a more attractive prospect for potential candidates.

Pay close attention to all aspects of the recruitment process, and make tactical tweaks throughout the year when necessary – while holding firm to your recruitment strategy.

You should review your overall recruitment strategy annually to make sure it ties in with your wider business objectives. It’s important that everyone in the company understands your goals – so be clear and concise about what success looks like and how you will get there.

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