Hiring for the future

As the UK’s workforce changes, so too must your recruitment strategy. To find, recruit and retain skilled, energetic workers, you need to change your approach.

Happiness and job satisfaction are more important than ever – with only 65% of UK workers saying they were engaged in a Hay Group study[1].

For you to build a more satisfactory workplace and attract more talent as a result, you need to keep the following in mind.

Create a great workplace

To recruit good workers, you need to have great working conditions. According to an Intelligence Group survey[2], employees would rather work for £40,000 a year at a job they love than earn £100,000 at one they hate. In a separate survey, UK millennials ranked meaningful work above higher salaries.

You must create a strong company culture that rewards employees. Candidates are more likely than ever to research your business before they even speak to a recruiter or hiring manager. Monitor reviews of your company and respond to them to show you’re engaged. It’ll pay off – 62% of job seekers reported they had a more favourable view of a business who replied to reviews on Glassdoor[3].

How do you build a great workplace? Take examples from companies like Google and Basecamp, who limit maximum working hours, encourage open communication and offer benefits and perks. Aside from making recruitment easier, good working conditions also increase your current employees’ effectiveness. An engaged employee is more productive, is more likely to have interest in your company and take less time off sick.[4]

Assess needs

Often, recruiting is a reaction to a perceived need. However, recruiting is expensive. Hiring, on boarding and training an employee can cost between 20 and 213% of their annual salary. That’s without mentioning the negative impact hiring the wrong person can have, which can sour a team and even cause top performers to leave. For an employer, you should only recruit after you’ve made sure your current team has as much as it needs.

Often, training will have more of an impact for your current workforce than hiring a new member of a team. By investing in data and dashboards that give you visibility over your business and how each member currently performs, you can make more informed decisions, set goals and track skill sets.

Find the right people

The best candidates are in high demand. Finding good staff demands a multi-channel approach that moves away from traditional job board posting and recruiters. You should promote roles internally, encouraging staff to submit candidates for roles. It’s also vital to have a mobile-friendly, well maintained careers page on your website, considering 54% of candidates in the UK use Indeed’s mobile job search. Finally, be sure to promote roles through social media, which will help you engage with the right people.

Hire for attitude

Finding a great employee means looking for a strong attitude. Technical skills can be trained, but interpersonal skills are immensely valuable. Look for coach-ability, emotional intelligence, motivation and temperament to find the right person for your workplace.

Secure new employees’ success

Once someone is hired, your process shouldn’t end. Instead, they should be given a terrific first impression and plenty of support to ensure they feel excited about their new workplace. Put training plans and company values in place early to ensure new hires feel relaxed and engaged.

 

[1] Korn Ferry Hay Group’s Global Employee Effectiveness normative database.
[2] The Intelligence Group: Global report
[3] Glassdoor: 50 HR and Recruiting Statistics for 2016
[4] Sage white paper: Return on Employee Investment

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