Whether it’s the family vehicle or a high-powered race car, getting top performance requires ongoing maintenance. You wouldn’t drive month after month without checking the oil, fluids, filters, spark plugs and other elements that keep the engine humming.
Why, then, aren’t organizations consistently looking under the hood of their recruiting process? While reviews of office policies and procedures, updates to the employee handbook, and annual performance reviews are done regularly, the same attention is generally not given to evaluating a company’s recruiting efforts.
In the current climate, with hiring a significant challenge for nearly every organization, it’s more important than ever to ensure your recruiting process is firing on all cylinders. Here are three places to jump-start a review.
1) Your application portal. It’s easy to assume everything is working properly, but sometimes those assumptions can get us into trouble. Your application portal is a perfect example. It should be simple, straightforward and seamless for candidates to use.
So, give it a run-through yourself. Visit your website, social media pages, and mobile app. Does it look up-to-date and inviting? Is it easy to find information about open positions, and to apply for them? Go ahead and submit a resume. Are you receiving a response immediately? Is there information on next steps? Are the right people in your organization receiving the application on a timely basis? If there are any breakdowns here, they need to be addressed immediately.
2) Your job ads. Start with a review of your job descriptions. Are they up to date? Do they reflect a position’s current role and responsibilities? Do they take into account any changes, including those that may have come as a result of the pandemic? Unless you’re highlighting both the job duties and required qualifications accurately, it’s impossible to get the right person on board.
Similarly, go through the career boards you’re using to share job postings. Are they delivering candidates as promised? Can you identify the most and least effective platforms? And if so, does it make sense to adjust their use and/or consider new options? Ensuring your organization and job openings are positioned properly are essential to producing the candidates you need.
3) Your candidate experience. Want to know what candidates think of your organization’s recruiting process? Ask them. Prepare a survey that quizzes candidates on their experience. Did it leave a good taste in their mouth? Why or why not? And would they refer a friend or colleague to apply for a future opening?
Questions like these will give you a sense of whether your recruiting process is working as it should. They can also provide helpful information that can be used to tweak and/or overhaul your recruiting efforts, as needed.
These are just a few of the areas that can help your organization get started. The team at Alaant is well-versed on the best approaches for conducting a thorough and comprehensive review of your recruiting process. Together, we can determine what’s working, what isn’t, and how to get things running smoothly. Contact us today and let’s get the conversation started!
