3 Compelling Hiring Best Practices to Scale a Small Business Quickly

Hiring is one of the essential steps in the recruitment process. To boost their performance, engagement, and retention, newcomers must successfully transition.

SHRM reported that onboarding had become a big part of 72% of respondents’ retention strategies in a recent survey of employers’ onboarding programs. In addition, 61% of respondents  have started onboarding early, focusing more on recruiting and delivering information to ensure fit and set expectations.

According to Sapling HR, a prominent HR software (HRIS) platform supplier, “the best employee onboarding programs run throughout the employee’s first 90 days—and may even extend out for a full year—to ensure recruits are adequately supported as they ramp to full productivity.”

This article will walk you through the best hiring practices to attract suitable job candidates and scale a small business quickly.

1.  Make Candidate Sourcing More Strategic

We know as talent acquisition professionals that selecting the correct candidate sourcing channels can be the differentiator for attracting top talent and lowering employee turnover, especially for small businesses with tight budgets.

According to astudy , sourced candidates are more than twice as efficient as candidates who apply for open positions.

Nowadays, you can find applicants through various channels- career fairs, job boards, employee referral programs, networking events, job postings, and social media.

At their firms, most HR managers use a combination of these channels to develop healthy talent pipelines that they can tap into when the need arises.

One study  found that employing a “multi-method approach” for candidate sourcing and other improved selection procedures helped businesses better understand the candidate’s personality. It also allowed companies to determine how a candidate could fit into an organization.

While a multi-channel sourcing strategy can assist talent acquisition directors in finding the top applicants in no time, not all small business recruiting teams have unlimited funds.

The following are some best practices to consider when determining the most effective sourcing channels for your company:

• Always reflect on your previous successes to see which channels brought you the top hires, and consider expanding your use of those channels.
• Inquire current employees for creative contact ideas. They might be able to quickly point you in the direction of a conference, university, professional organization, or specialty. You’ll be able to connect with a new pool of candidates after that. 
• Invest in digital outreach via virtual networking events and webinars, for example. Since in-person interactions will be impossible owing to the ongoing pandemic, such events provide the next best opportunity to seek skilled talent strategically. 
• Developing a candidate persona can assist you in determining the best message, channel, and approach for creating a compelling job description and attracting more qualified people.

You’ll be able to quickly locate applicants who best match your ideal employee’s attributes once you’ve done so.

2. Engage Former Qualified Candidates From Your Talent Pipeline Again

According to certain studies , about 73% of job applicants are passive job seekers.

Candidates not actively applying for open positions at your organization should be the focus of your recruitment strategy. If you don’t, you’ll miss out on many fantastic people who could have contributed to your company’s overall success.

Re-engaging former qualified leads for your job openings by tapping into your existing talent pipeline is an excellent strategy to identify passive applicants.

In a recent blog article , Jacqui Maguire, Director of Talent Acquisition at Greenhouse.io , describes how reaching out to previously qualified prospects can speed up the process of filling an available position and save recruiters the time and effort of going through each stage of the recruiting process:

“We experienced an unanticipated retirement that left a critical post vacant at a time when the recruiting team was already at capacity.” So I asked Katie DiCioccio, Senior Recruiter, whether there were any excellent candidates from the last time the position was offered. I was expecting a head start, and it certainly did!

One candidate, in particular, stood out to the recruiting manager as a result of this brief search. We reached out to the candidate rather than starting from scratch, posting the job, and going through the entire procedure. We reduced a three-month search to a week.”

Maguire isn’t the only talent acquisition executive who has seen success with this approach. In the recruitment industry, there are a plethora of such examples.

When sending out outreach messages to previously qualified candidates, make it clear that you understand it may have been a while since you last spoke with them, and ask if they are still interested in working for your company.

You may be able to pique the candidate’s interest once more by doing so. It’s also feasible that their positive experience with you will encourage them to refer you to a competent friend or colleague who could be interested.

Warm candidates have a greater chance of being hired than passive prospects, regardless of whether they are actively looking for work at the time.

3. Use Technology to Bridge the Gap

Finally, merging numerous state-of-the-art recruiting technology advancements with your day-to-day hiring processes to hire employees faster is one of the most basic yet effective recruitment techniques available.

Adopting automation to expedite high-level repetitive operations like interview scheduling, applicant sourcing, and application screening using advanced analytical approaches can save time and money. Using automation frees up time for recruiters to engage with prospects one-on-one and build their employer brand.

Hiring managers can use AI-based software solutions , like applications and online platforms, to reduce the time to hire and cost-per-hire.

According to a recent poll , many believe having the right recruiting tools and software can significantly benefit talent acquisition teams. These tools can also help them understand candidates better as well.

Instead of waiting to see how things work out after the candidate has been employed, tools and software can help predict success and performance during the hiring process.

Other tech advances that hiring managers can include into their everyday tech stack to find the best candidates and help their small businesses scale quickly have:

• Chatbots to answer candidate queries
• Marketing automation to reach out to, and target prospective employees
• Channels to optimize job ads and maintain an evergreen candidate pipeline
• Predictive analytics to make more informed hiring decisions
• Buddy programs optimize the onboarding process and create new employees feel valued

To determine which tech solutions will work best for your business, examine your current tech stack, your competitors, and your hiring budget. Then, you can consult experts who provide the tech you need.

Contact us at Recruiter.com to learn more about the approaches, tools, and best practices you can incorporate into your hiring process to attract the most acceptable applicants, optimize your interview process, meaningfully engage existing employees, and enhance your company culture.

We can assist you in overcoming your small business challenges and developing a result-oriented recruiting strategy, in the long run.

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