One of the best ways to hire the best employees is to work with a recruiter. Whether you’re a brokerage looking for real estate agents or a software company looking for developers, a recruiter will help you fill the post with the most suitable candidates quickly and efficiently.
Unfortunately, there are times when hiring a recruiter is not in the books. It could be because of a limited budget or perhaps time constraints. The good thing is that hiring without the help of a recruiter isn’t at all impossible. Indeed, with an efficient HR team, you can find and hire top-quality candidates like a seasoned recruiter.
You can check this website for some real estate recruiting ideas that you can easily apply no matter the industry you’re working in. Meanwhile, here are some HR management tips to help you boost your company’s existing recruitment programs:
Clearly Define the Job and the Ideal Candidate for It
At its core, recruitment is really a simple concept: there’s a need for more workers, therefore you need to add people to your team. However, the actual process isn’t as clear-cut. You can’t just hire anyone and everyone who applies. Rather, you have to find the most qualified person to fill the role based on a set of requirements.
To figure out who the “most qualified person” is, you first need to define the role. Analyze the job so that you can clearly determine what are the duties, responsibilities, and expected outcomes that it entails. This information can then help guide you in identifying what skills and competencies that a candidate must have in order to land the job. With all of these details figured out, it will be easier for you to spot the best candidate.
Learn How to Make a Great Job Posting
Job ads remain to be among the best ways to attract applicants. However, attracting quality applicants is another story. You can’t just upload an image on social media and expect to find a collection of impressive resumes sitting in your inbox the next day. Instead, you need to take the time to create a quality job post that’s as clear and specific as possible. You also need to use the right language; avoid pretentious words and too much jargon.
A high-quality job ad will not only attract the right candidates, but will also self-select applicants. This will save you a lot of time, so you can focus on other facets of recruitment.
Aside from creating the best job ads, you also need to figure out when and where to post them. Career sites usually provide details about job ad performance, including the best days to post and the kinds of job postings that get the most responses.
Pre-Screen Your Applicants
One of the most time-consuming parts of recruitment is the interview process. It’s only logical, since this is the perfect opportunity to really get to know a potential employee and determine if they’re a good fit. As such, it’s not ideal if you go through the entire interview process with all the applicants.
Instead, have a pre-screening to narrow down the candidate pool. Pre-screening can be something as simple as an exam, conducted through an online portal. You can also opt for a one-way interview where you send questions to which the candidates should respond with a video file sent through email. Specify the duration of the video response so you don’t get swamped by overly lengthy files.
Phone calls or video conferences also work as pre-screening methods although do note that these may be a little more difficult to schedule. You also need almost the same time investment as an actual interview, so be conscientious about who you pre-screen in this way.
Know What Questions to Ask in an Interview
As previously mentioned, interviews can take a lot of time. Thus, it will serve you well to be prepared for them. Have a set of questions ready so you can keep the conversation going. Icebreakers are particularly valuable to help build rapport. Meanwhile, a good mix of traditional and “what if” questions can help you gauge a person’s suitability for the job post.
You should also ask behavioral questions to learn how they respond to crisis situations. Finally, culture-fit questions can help determine if the candidate can thrive and get along with the rest of the team.
Have a Referral Program
Having a referral program is a good way to ensure a steady pool of qualified candidates. By offering your employees a referral bonus when their referrals get successfully hired, they will have more incentive to recommend good candidates. You’ll also end up having a shorter recruitment process since you can skip a large chunk of the sourcing stage.
Another benefit of a referral program is that you’re likely assured that the person is a good culture fit. After all, your employees won’t recommend someone they don’t get along with to join a company where they will be seeing each other often.
Work Towards Retention
Finally, one good HR management practice that will help with your hiring programs is to have a top-notch retention plan. Why? It’s because when there’s a low churn rate, you don’t have to spend as much time recruiting people. You also don’t have to spend as much money, since it’s proven time and again that retention is much more cost-effective than recruitment.
Even a simple recognition scheme can go a long way towards showing your appreciation to employees. You should also invest in their holistic well-being and encourage them to foster friendships in the workplace. When your people are content and happy, they’re more productive and more likely to stay loyal.
Good luck on your head-hunting endeavors. Hopefully, this list has helped point you in the right direction.
Cover photo credit: Sora Shimazaki / Pexels
