Although the labour market has experienced huge change in the last couple of years and there are apparently higher volumes of candidates looking for work, it has not necessarily meant that recruiting talent has become any easier. In fact, in many ways it is now harder than ever to recruit talent at any level in contact centres.
There are far more people on the market which makes the job of sifting the very best and most relevant candidates harder and more time consuming than ever. Many candidates have decided to remain where they are and not take the risk of moving in this uncertain market, so what should be easier, less time consuming and cheaper is in fact harder, hugely time consuming and in the long run (for a number of factors, including time constraints and not being able to recruit the best talent in the market) it is more expensive than ever and requires clear focus and strategy to ensure real success. Since organisational success depends upon having the right people, an effective recruitment strategy that is integrated into the business strategy is essential.
Employers now require a more sophisticated approach to resourcing - one that strategically links talent acquisition to the needs of the business. At the same time, people’s expectations of what they want from employers are also rising, and organisations need to be more innovative in how they attract and retain staff. Many are adopting a more flexible and diverse approach to their recruitment practices to meet these challenges.
Why the need for Recruitment Strategies?
Below is a list of common issues businesses find themselves facing, having adopting an un-regulated recruitment strategy:
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Too many agencies being utilised across the business.
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Little formal recruitment strategy – hires are often ‘Panic Buys.’
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No co-ordination or sharing of business information or best practice.
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No economy of scale cost reduction – no bargaining power.
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No formalised agreements: terms of business / service levels.
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Isolated relationships with individual suppliers and line managers.
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Large degrees of mis-interpretation of requirements.
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No project based recruitment strategies.
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Little use of internal recruitment methods.
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Not sufficient sector knowledge from individual agencies.
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No consistency in approach or relationship.
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Very high quantity of CVs and not enough quality.
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Lack of consistent screening methods.
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Lack of relationship management skills.
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Loss of good candidates through an unprofessional or unstructured recruitment processes.
In order to develop a meaningful recruitment strategy for the future it is imperative that you fully understand how your current process works, the most effective way to achieve this is to conduct a full ‘Recruitment Process Audit’.
This audit should look at every aspect of the recruitment cycle within your business. It is designed to highlight both procedural excellence and areas of improvement within the process.
The first stage of this audit is to fully understand who in the business has responsibility for recruitment and how they are currently conducting their recruitment processes. You need to gain a clear picture of the overall internal recruitment strategy and recruitment practices by discussing the current methods with hiring managers. Once you have a clear picture of the current hiring strategy you must then gain a good understanding of the ‘candidate experience’ through the hiring process. The most effective method of understanding the current ‘candidate experience’ is by fully investigating and discussing the individual experiences of all recent new recruits throughout the organisation regarding both the recruitment & induction processes. This will help identify any key areas for improvement or change.
Once you have fully reviewed and documented the current recruitment cycle and practices from attraction to induction you are now in a position to offer best practice recruitment procedures across the organisation.
Operational Recruitment Services
Many organisations have an internal HR function that deals with many of the operational aspects of the resourcing process. However, some organisations do not have a dedicated function and managers often have to devote precious time overseeing recruitment themselves. Below are some key areas to consider when devising a successful strategy for the future:
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Ensure you look internally prior to adopting any external recruitment strategies.
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Have a clear understanding of the current market place including: salary surveys, skills shortages and key drivers/reasons for candidates to join your organisation.
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Map a consistent recruitment/hiring process for each new recruit.
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Create a consistent job profile for each requirement which can be utilised by every hiring manager.
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Create a front cover sheet of key information for agencies to complete with each submission.
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Ensure feedback is offered – feedback forms should be completed for each candidate interviewed.
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Ensure relevant management information is collated and presented to hiring managers from suppliers.
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Communicate new processes to hiring managers and assess any further areas of support required.
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Consider ‘Direct Hire’ strategies where applicable.
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Have a clear understanding of the best methods of attracting staff – devise an attraction strategy.
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Review all testing and assessment products and process.
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Once you have successfully recruited staff, make sure you keep them by introducing attractive retention measures and developing innovative and creative training programmes to keep them motivated and engaged.
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Hold focus group meetings of existing staff – both new recruits and those who have been employed for a number of years to find out from them their view of the key attractions as an employer and what the key factors are for them in remaining in employment.
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Developing an attractive, user-friendly recruitment web-site, with access to a wide range of detailed information for potential candidates about the benefits of working in your organisation.
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Ensure that your recruitment processes encourage diversity.
As the market changes and recruitment of talent becomes more specific then organisations will have to develop a wider network of recruitment businesses to meet their needs. This may bring HR department in to conflict with the Purchasing department where their drivers are more likely to be price reduction without any real evaluation of quality.
Organisations will also have to consider innovative approaches to recruitment ensuring that every “Route 2 Recruit” is fully utilised. Whether it is to adopt a direct hiring strategy to work alongside agencies or adopt a preferred supplier review, there are many solutions available to organisations to achieve best results in the recruitment of new employees.
The relationship between organisation and agency is evolving constantly and as the shortage of staff continues, it is essential that organisations develop a wider network of suppliers. This should not mean a move away from the key issues of quality and value but will change the relationship to a more strategic partnership where the objective of organisations is to become a Preferred Client of key quality recruitment businesses where they get priority service from experienced and knowledgeable consultants. With the recruitment industry directly employing over 91,000 people in the UK, often finding and assessing these consultants is the biggest challenge businesses face today in the war for talent.