5 Recruiting Tips to Ensure This Will Be Your Most Profitable Year Yet

Have you ever noticed peak hiring season often coincides with your company’s peak season?

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you had a full team of high-quality people ready to tackle your busy season, rather than scrambling to find bodies to fill job openings? Would you take on more jobs? Be able to support your A-players, rather than burn them out? Or maybe, you’d be able to leave work before the sun sets and finally enjoy some well deserved R&R.

The secret to solving all of these questions lies in the five recruiting tips below.

77% of companies are still having a difficult time filling roles. –ManpowerGroup

It’s not a coincidence that people look for new jobs when they’re most likely to get hired quickly. Despite that, according to ManpowerGroup, 77% of companies are still having a difficult time filling roles. This is the highest level in 17 years!

Unfortunately, if you’re not prepared, you can face severe staffing shortages when you need good people the most. Every organization has a peak season, whether it’s summer for a seasonal operator or the holidays for retailers. No matter your industry, you can stay ahead of this frantic hiring trend and make this year your most profitable yet! Here are five recruiting tips to help.

1. Work on your recruiting plan as soon as you see signs of your busy season slowing down.

The most common hiring and job searching months are January, February, September, and October. After the holidays, stakeholders arrive back to the office, ready to participate in the hiring process and kick off the new year with new hires to meet their new goals. Similarly, as people return from vacation and kids head off to school in the fall, many companies and job seekers are ready to begin their search in hopes of a better end to the year.

Rather than waiting for these typically busy hiring months, concentrate on building your pipeline at the end of your busy season. This gives you time to identify, train, and get your new employees ready to work independently – just in time for your next busy season. This simple change in timing paves the way for a better hiring experience.

2. Be ready to compete against other employers.

If skilled workers are making a move, they’ll most likely do it after the industry’s busy season. They’re tired and ready to find greener pastures. They’re looking for someone who will value them and respect their hard work and commitment to the company. This is the perfect time to appeal to passive job seekers. 

Passive job seekers are people who are currently working and not looking for a job, but they might be willing to leave if the right opportunity comes along. These are often the best candidates, but the most difficult to find. They’re successful, experienced, and able to hold down a job. Your competition, using job boards and recruiters, doesn’t have access to the passive job seekers. The best ways to reach these workers are through social media, previous job applications, and employee referrals.

Creating a great work environment benefits your current team as well as makes hiring easier for you in the future. Prioritize retention by improving your employee experience. Want to know how? Take a minute to ask your team what they love about working for you. Then, ask them what you can do to make their week easier.  Afterall, what better way is there to attract the best talent than by being the best employer.

3. Implement an employee referral program.

Current employees are your biggest brand ambassadors. Whether you offer a culture that’s flexible and family-friendly, or you throw the best summer BBQ in the state, encourage your team to share what they love about working at your company. This word of mouth advertising can go a long way in attracting more top talent.

According to SHRM, the average cost per hire is almost $4,700. That’s before their first day. An effective employee referral program will save you time and money. Referrals are eager to join your team and don’t have the roadblocks of other employers competing for them. Plus they already have a friend at work so your company culture will thrive.

4. Improve your response time.

The best practice is to embrace an ongoing recruiting strategy. This assists in establishing a robust talent pipeline to tap into when a position becomes available. Rather than starting from scratch, you’ll be ready to reach out to your top candidate the day a job becomes available. Improving your response time will significantly reduce your cost per hire.The right tools to automate follow-up during the recruiting process will make your life easier and the hiring process faster. A good system will help you track status, follow up with candidates promptly, and know when it’s time to make an offer.

Most job seekers are looking to find a position right away. Top talent is taken off the market quickly.The combination of these factors is why your response time is crucial. If another employer responds before you do, now the candidate is in the negotiation seat.

Improving your time to hire means new hires are identified more quickly, onboarded faster, and productive sooner. And remember, you want to make this your most profitable year yet!

5. Build a pipeline. Don’t discount previous applicants. 

The applicant who wasn’t a good fit for a position six months ago, might be the perfect candidate now. People grow, skills develop, company culture changes. This is where your pipeline comes in. 

Perhaps the candidate who applied for the experienced bookkeeper role you advertised a year ago wasn’t the right fit for your needs at the time. You connected with them, they would have been a great fit for the company, but they just didn’t match the “experienced” requirement of the role. Then you remember they have payroll experience on their resume and it just so happens you have a payroll processing position you urgently need to fill. The experienced bookkeeper role wasn’t a good fit, but this new role is perfect. Keeping in contact with applicants who are a good culture fit will benefit both of you in the long run.

Recruiting Tips to Build a Profitable Pipeline 

A well-maintained pipeline is an abundant resource.

Make this the year your company thrives through the busy season because your team is full of high-quality people who match your company’s values and culture. Use these recruiting tips and rest easy knowing you have a plan in place so the next busy season won’t be stressful because of a staffing shortage.