PPB January 2019

• Be creative and keep your eyes open—you may interact with a potential employee while you are out shopping or at dinner who may meet the needs of your company; talk to them about your company and see where that could lead. • Revisit former applicants and candidates who were not hired; check-in with candidates who took another position to see if they are interested in talking again. • Use social media to let personal and professional contacts know you are hiring; they may know someone who is looking. You can also use a local social media page dedicated to connecting people. • Consider using a recruiting expert who can source, screen, interview, negotiate and make offers to qualified candidates—you can focus on the other demands of your business while the recruiters move the process forward and ensure candidates receive constant communication. • Leverage the workforce you already have to get the production you need from a new hire—convert current part-time employees to full time and/or cross-train current employees to meet your needs (and compensate them accordingly so they don’t leave). Once you find the applicants, what should you do (and not do) to make the hiring process easier and more productive? Do respect the candidate’s time, needs and goals. Call applicants within 24 hours and keep the process moving. Realize that each candidate has their own reasons for seeking a new job and their own timeframe in which they want or need that job. While some candidates can wait, most will accept the first good offer they receive. Don’t make your hiring process long and drawn out. Having a lengthy process of reviewing applications, prescreening applicants, interviewing candidates, conducting background screens and/or skills tests, or allowing long gaps throughout the process can make candidates think you are not interested and may cause them to seek employment elsewhere. Do devote the proper resources to finding good candidates. When you are ready to start your candidate search, make sure your application is up-to-date, your recruiter is dedicated to the process from start to finish, and all decision makers are available for interviews and final choices. Don’t engage in the recruiting process until you’re serious about dedicating the time. It takes a lot of time to sort through applications, vet the candidates, conduct proper screenings and make the decisions about who is best for your organization. If all of this is not done in a timely manner, you could lose the right person and may have to extend your search time or settle for second best. Do sell yourself and your company to prospects. Just like you sell your products or services to customers, you need to demonstrate to a candidate why he or she should choose your company over other offers that may be on the table. Be sure to communicate your company’s best features such as your culture, perks, awards, etc. Don’t lowball pay or benefit offerings. Given the current job market, candidates will likely receive multiple job offers to consider during their search. While you do not need to be the highest in your industry or area, not offering a competitive compensation package will give recruits, especially good ones, a strong reason to eliminate your company from consideration. If you’ve attempted to hire talent recently, you know it’s a tough labor market out there. Now is the time to be creative about how to market yourself, how to find talent and how to adequately compensate your next best hire. Paige McAllister is a contributor for Affinity HR Group, Inc., PPAI’s affiliated human resources partner. Affinity HR Group specializes in providing human resources assistance to associations such as PPAI and their member companies. www. affinityHRgroup.com. Just like you sell your products or services to customers, youneed to demonstrate to a candidate why he or she should choose your company over other offers thatmay be on the table. 86 | JANUARY 2019 | THINK