Getting people to want to work at your firm is part and parcel of running a successful business. And it always has been. Companies that were able to attract the most talented people were often those that rose to the top of their industries.
Hiring in the modern world, though, is slightly more challenging than, say, a hundred years ago. Back then, the vast bulk of jobs didn’t require a tremendous amount of skill. People could just turn up to a job without any training and perform a function immediately.
Wages, therefore, tended to track employment levels perfectly. When unemployment went up, wages went down, and vice versa. Employees were in much higher competition with each other.
Today, though, hiring processes are much more involved. Sometimes, there are only a couple of people who can adequately perform a role, making finding them incredibly difficult. Unemployment was low across the economy (until the pandemic), but the number of vacancies was high. In many cases, companies simply couldn’t find the people they needed. And there were no close substitutes who could do a “good enough” job. That’s remarkable.
So, do your hiring practices need a makeover in light of these developments? Here’s how you can tell.
You Post Inaccurate Job Descriptions
You could pretty much get away with performing cut-and-paste on job descriptions in the past. Roles were incredibly generic, and people had to follow a set formula.
The difficulty now, though, is trying to describe very specific posts that require unique skills. Companies are getting better at it, but they still have issues. Writing an accurate list of requirements and responsibilities isn’t easy.
If your job descriptions are inaccurate, it could be time to give your hiring practices a makeover. Either hire an agency, like Silven Recruitment, or get external help to write better descriptions.
You Spend Too Long Onboarding
Ideally, you want to evaluate candidates and hire them as rapidly as possible. Spending months on the process puts people off and causes the best candidates to seek lower-hanging fruit elsewhere.
Your onboarding process should, therefore, be as short as possible. You want to get people on the team as fast as possible, avoiding excessive deliberation.
Remember, the perfect candidate probably doesn’t exist. The best you can do is find somebody good enough for the role and give them the tools they need to evolve.
The Wages You Offer Are Too Low
There’s something hopelessly pitiful about companies that insist on being the best in the industry while paying below-average remuneration. That just doesn’t make sense, and it creates a double-standard. Employees must perform above their station, but the company itself doesn’t have to reciprocate.
Remember, there’s nothing wrong with paying above the industry average wages. More often than not, talented people pay you back in dividends, making the upfront investment worthwhile.
No company’s hiring practices are ever perfect. With that said, there is always room for improvement. Be honest about your recruitment strategies. Could they benefit from a makeover?
