Employers all over the country and across industries are struggling to find talent to fill their vacant positions. Jobs left open too long can cause several negative situations in your workplace:
- Reduced productivity. Fewer team members means less work gets done.
- Missed deadlines. Tight timeframes that need all hands on deck will suffer if even one seat is empty.
- Higher turnover. Open positions can snowball easily. If other team members get tired of picking up the slack, they may seek other employment.
- Increased payroll. Paying overtime to cover the work can get costly, especially if it takes weeks or months to fill the role.
Filling your open positions can be stressful and demanding. If you’re struggling to find qualified candidates, and having trouble keeping them in the recruiting process long enough to make them an offer, here’s your step-by-step plan to turn the tide.
Re-Work the Job Description
If you’re not seeing much interest in your online recruiting ads, your job description is probably the problem. A job description that doesn’t hit the mark is one of the biggest mistakes companies must avoid during the hiring process.
First, look at your requirements for the job. Are the skills and experience you require necessary to perform the role, or are they just “nice-to-haves?” If it’s the latter, consider removing them from the description, or at least change them from required to preferred.
Second, read your job description carefully. It should be clear, descriptive and on-brand without being wordy and complex. Tighten up the description by only including the facts about the job, the compelling aspects of the company, the benefits and perks, and how to take the next step.
Attracting more high-quality applications is vital in finding your next nearly-perfect hire.
Modernize Your Candidate Experience
If your processes are too unwieldy, you may never see the best candidates because they might abandon the application.
One of the best ways to optimize your candidate experience is to embrace mobile capabilities. Being able to apply from their smart devices is a big advantage to today’s job seekers. Some of them demand it.
In addition, create an experience that’s straightforward and fluff-free. Don’t make it harder or take more time than necessary.
Implement a Compelling Employee Referral Program
Your hard-working team members are great resources to help fill open company roles. They already know the company and its offerings, and they won't ruin their reputation by referring someone unqualified or unwilling to do the work.
If you don’t have a referral program, create one immediately, complete with tempting bonuses for employees if their referral gets hired.
If you already have a referral program and it isn’t performing as well as you’d like, revamp it. Kick it off again by announcing the new perks participating team members receive when they offer referrals.
Amplify Your Company’s Social Media Presence
There are many active and passive job candidates who look at social media to start their search. In addition, candidates devour social media profiles to get a good feel for the company and its values before and during the interviewing process. If your company’s presence falls short, your recruiting efforts may, too.
Work with Marketing to build profile pages that authentically showcase your company’s brand, culture, and mission. Consistently share photos and posts that back up and highlight these aspects of your company, along with open jobs. A powerful social media presence can do alot to take the heavy lifting out of hiring.
Source Candidates from a Professional Staffing Firm
You may have partnered with a recruiting agency before, or you might have never used one. Either way, the current job climate is a reason to start now. Interview a staffing agency and choose the one that best fits with your priorities. A professional staffing company has a deep pool of vetted, qualified candidates that may be actively or passively seeking a new career opportunity.
With the front-end legwork already done for you, a staffing agency can help you fill roles weeks faster than you could on your own. Decreasing your time-to-fill helps keep your costs under control, avoids spreading your other team members too thin, and keeps productivity levels high.
Be Agile with Offers
Proactively decide on the type of candidate you’re looking for so you don’t hesitate when you find them. Be prepared to make them a lucrative offer as quickly as possible. Otherwise, they may accept another offer while you’re mulling it over. Agility is key in landing high-performers in a hiring climate as competitive as this one.
Open positions are stressful by themselves, and filling them makes the burden even heavier. By revamping your job description and referral program, elevating your candidate experience, and partnering with a professional staffing firm, you’ll decrease the toll filling position takes on everyone involved in the recruiting process. Landing top talent for the role is worth the effort. It will keep your productivity high, employee morale thriving, and costs in line.
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