Optimizing Your Recruitment Journey

What is Recruitment?

Recruitment is a core function of the human resources department. It is a process that includes everything from identifying, recruiting, selecting, shortlisting, interviewing, selecting, hiring and onboarding employees.

Depending on the size of a company, recruiting teams can be large or small. However, in smaller companies, a recruiting manager is usually responsible for recruiting.

Many companies outsource their recruiting needs, while some companies rely solely on advertisements, job boards, and social media channels to find talent for new positions. Many companies today use recruiting software to make their recruiting process more effective and efficient.

What goes into a perfect recruiting process?

An efficient recruiting process is a company-specific sourcing model that aims to find the right person for the right job at the right time. It is a step-by-step approach to finding talented employees who can help the company grow. A comprehensive recruitment process consists of 5 key phases, but these can vary from company to company depending on the industry, organizational structure, size of the company, type of business, existing recruitment process and selection process.

The importance of a strong recruiting process

Any foolproof recruiting process typically aims to attract qualified candidates and encourage as many job seekers as possible to apply. This helps build a large pool of talent in a tight labor market and minimizes the time spent sourcing candidates and filling positions to meet the company's current and future needs. A well-planned and well-thought-out recruiting process helps the hiring team filter out the right candidates faster while focusing on attracting eligible candidates for maximum conversion. The recruitment process not only reflects the professionalism of the company but also helps attract the right type of candidates while saving time and money spent on identifying, recruiting, hiring and retaining talent.

7 phases in a recruiting process

The recruiting lifecycle consists of seven interrelated steps, which are as follows:

1.Identification of hiring needs

Whether a position is newly created or has just become available, you can't find what you need if you don't know what you need in the first place. Your recruitment process should therefore begin with identifying the vacancies, followed by an analysis of the requirements profile including the knowledge, skills and experience required for the position. Here's how to determine your hiring needs:

Find out where there are gaps in your current team. Check whether you have new needs related to skills, performance or personality. Ask yourself if you need someone to take care of something that isn't currently being addressed. This shows you that there is a need to hire.
Keep track of input and output in your team. Determine if there is an increase in workload that needs to be handled by new hires.
Analyze performance regularly and make a list of missing attributes, qualifications, skills and abilities that you need to add to your team. This can also be an indication of the need for recruitment.
Pay attention to the departure of existing employees. In this case, you definitely need to hire.

Whenever you recognize that there is an actual hiring need, you should act before it becomes an urgent matter.

The hiring process begins with hiring planning, which includes analyzing and describing job descriptions, qualifications, experience and skills required to fill the open positions.

If the hiring plan is not well structured, it may fail to attract potential employees from a pool of applicants.

Factors affecting recruitment

Size of the organization
Salary structure
Work culture and working conditions in the company
The company's growth rate
The current employment situation in the economy

Putting together the best recruiting team

A strong recruiting team is the guarantee for a successful recruiting process. The role of the team in the recruiting process is crucial because one wrong decision can affect the productivity of the entire workforce.

The best recruiting team should be able to:

Clearly identify the position to be filled and define the characteristics of the ideal candidate.
Write a clear job description so that applicants can understand the position and assess whether they are the right fit.
Create an overview of the qualities of the ideal applicant, which will also be helpful in the subsequent selection of applicants.

2.Development of the job description

Once you know exactly what knowledge, skills and experience you need, it's time to determine the job's duties and responsibilities. Developing a comprehensive job description (JD) will help you know what your potential employees need to have to meet the requirements of the job. More importantly, give your potential employees a checklist or list to compare themselves to before applying. It is a tool you can use to ensure you receive applications from (hopefully) the right candidates.

Checklist for creating the perfect job description

Company name and description
Core values
Services offered
Location
Job title
Department
Industry salary
Description of tasks
Requirements (specific skills, knowledge, experience or training required for the position)
Qualifications that are beneficial and provide an additional advantage
A conversational CTA

3.Talent search

Finding the right talent, engaging them and motivating them to apply are the most important aspects of the hiring process. The job posting should be posted both internally to generate referrals and externally on popular social networks and preferred job boards. Hiring managers can also host job fairs and advertise open positions in leading industry publications to cast a wider net. Broadly speaking, there are two recruiting sources that can be used for a talent search:

Internal sources of recruitment

When HR managers use internal sources for recruiting, they motivate existing employees to be more productive and maximize their job satisfaction and sense of security. Recruiting from internal sources also reduces turnover rates, costs and effort.

Transmission

The HR manager can fill a vacant position at another location without changing the employee's role, status or salary by transferring a suitable candidate from the company.

Promotion

A vacancy can also be filled by offering a high-performing employee a higher position within the company to take on additional responsibilities and receive a raise. Promotions motivate employees to perform better and also reduce the turnover rate.

Degradation

Depending on employee performance, management sometimes has to make the decision to demote underperforming employees. These employees then become a source for filling the lower positions.

Existing employees

Your company's employees can spread the word and create buzz on their social media accounts to help you fill your vacancies. An employee referral program, where employees receive incentives for suggesting suitable candidates, can also help speed up the hiring process.

Retired employees

In the event of an emergency or mission-critical project, retired employees may also be called upon to fill a position for a short period of time until a suitable candidate is found.

Previous applicants

Applicants who have already applied and were not accepted the first time can be saved in a database. You can be contacted when suitable positions become available.

External sources of recruitment

Recruiting through external sources offers much greater scope for selecting from a large number of qualified applicants. The process runs much faster, even for large requests, without the risk of partiality or bias.

Ads help HR managers build a solid brand identity that attracts efficient workers. You can take the traditional approach by using print media or use digital media to get better results at a lower cost.

Job portals

With the increasing use of the Internet, job portals play a crucial role in establishing contact between companies and applicants. These portals are a preferred platform for job seekers looking for better career opportunities, making them an excellent source for HR professionals to find the best talent in the industry.

The company's career page

A mobile-friendly, branded career site that conveys your work culture and is integrated into the company's social profiles not only makes it easier for your potential employees to apply, but also attracts the best talent with a professional theme, attractive headlines, compelling content and engaging employee videos industry. An ATS-integrated careers site also eliminates the hassle of manual job postings and significantly improves applicants' experience through a customizable application process.

Social media is where you find the most qualified potential applicants, and as a hiring manager, you don't want to miss out on this huge pool of talent. With a combined user base of 535 million, Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter offer a perfect opportunity to attract highly qualified and efficient candidates for your company.

Placement agencies

Placement agencies are the perfect solution for hard-to-fill positions that often require a lot of time, effort and resources. These agencies use various tools and techniques to find top talent for your company faster and at a lower cost.

Job fairs

Job fairs are a public event that provides easy access to a large pool of talent to meet a large need. They give you the opportunity to get your brand out there without having to advertise and allow you to network with other similar businesses while saving a lot of time and money.

Campus internships

Campus internships are a quick and cost-effective way to find suitable candidates who are competent, energetic, enthusiastic and, most importantly, want to work for you.

Professional associations

Professional bodies like Institute of Company Secretaries, All India Management Association, Indian Medical Association, Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institution of Engineers etc. have an up-to-date database of trained and qualified professionals in their respective fields and are an excellent resource for developing top talent.

4.Screening and pre-selection

To move forward with the hiring process, you need to screen and shortlist applicants efficiently and accurately. This is where the hiring process becomes difficult and challenging. Here are four steps you can take to eliminate this recruiting bottleneck:

Steps for effective screening and pre-selection of applicants

Review applications based on minimum qualifications.
Then, sort the resumes that have the desired qualifications based on their
certifications, relevant experience, expertise, technical skills, and other specific skills required for the job.
Then shortlist the applicants who have both the preferred credentials and minimum qualifications.

Finally, note any concerns or questions on your resume so they can be addressed during the interview.
It's no wonder that reviewing resumes is the most tedious task of the hiring process. Luckily, you can make this complicated, time-consuming task a breeze with an applicant tracking system that screens resumes in a snap. With an ATS, you have an unbiased, objective filter that intelligently sifts through the sea of resumes and narrows down your talent pool in no time!

5.Interview

The shortlisted applications now go through the interview process before receiving an offer or rejection. Depending on the size of the hiring team and their individual needs, multiple interviews may be scheduled for each applicant.

Telephone interviews/video interviews

This is a quick, easy and convenient way to screen applicants and their skills. The phone or video interview is also your first opportunity to make a lasting first impression on your potential employees. So while you should keep your first interview short, also take the time to screen candidates based on the knowledge, skills and experience mentioned in your job description so that you can eliminate the irrelevant profiles first.

Interview tips

Interviews are a two-way process. During the process, the potential applicant also assesses whether your company is a good fit for them or not. So be polite, respectful and sell the benefits of the position and the company.
Prepare questions that give you deep insight into each applicant's professional background so you can assess whether they are a candidate for your open position.
Don't ask abstract questions to test the candidate's reaction, only ask questions that are relevant to the job.

6.Assessment and offer of employment

This is the final phase of the recruitment process. You should never assume that the applicant will accept your offer. However, if your applicant has patiently filled out all the documents and waited for the selection process, there is a good chance that they will accept the offer.

What you should do once you have decided on a candidate

The hiring process is not easy. So, following a structured format will give you more time to focus on finding the right candidate for your company.

Checking references

Once the final selection for a position has been made, it is time to check the applicant's professional references and verify all employment information. If you find that everything is in order, it is time to draw up the employment contract and make the offer.

Submitting the job offer

The offer letter should contain everything from the start date and working conditions to working hours and remuneration, ensuring that every detail is clear and unambiguous.

Training

Every new employee feels awkward at first, but you can earn some really good loyalty points here if you put in a little extra effort and help your new employee settle in. In addition to showing him around the office and making sure all his essentials are handy, make him feel welcome by making special lunch arrangements and getting colleagues to chat about non-work stuff speak.

Evaluate and optimize the hiring process

Given the significant time, effort, cost and resources involved in the hiring process, evaluation is essential. Even if it's not humanly possible for you to stay on top of every phase of the recruiting process, an ATS with real-time dashboards and analytical reports allows you to manage all important data clearly. Recruitment metrics give you valuable insight into how your recruiting process works and help you identify opportunities for improvement.

7.Introduction and training of the new employee

If applicants accept the job offer, they officially become employees of the company. The date and time of hiring will be communicated to the employee. A pre-employment screening will then be carried out, which will also include a reference and background check. Once the verification is complete, employees are introduced to the company. Then the employee induction process begins. During the induction process, new employees are usually given a welcome pack and then the employment contract is signed.

Benefits of a good recruitment process for the organization

A modern hiring strategy positively impacts the bottom line in several ways. Higher quality hires, better employee retention, lower costs and higher job satisfaction are just some of the benefits that come from applying best practices in the selection process. All of these advantages taken together increase the overall success of the company.

4 Benefits of an Effective and Comprehensive Hiring Process

Time saving

Instead of sending candidates through a lengthy and complicated application process followed by virtually every test possible, recruiters are now customizing the hiring process with an ATS to provide candidates with a personalized, positive experience. With an applicant tracking system, recruiters can handle their day-to-day recruiting tasks while focusing on more important things. It also keeps you informed of bottlenecks that allow bad applicants to get through the process, allowing you to fix problems at the source and save a tremendous amount of time.

Involved employee

Engaged employees are motivated, enthusiastic and committed to their work. A recruitment and selection process that aims to hire candidates with a work history that reflects commitment, consistency and career growth is an easy way to predict their level of commitment to the company. An in-depth interview is the best way to assess the enthusiasm and effectiveness of potential candidates.

Proactive recruiting

A recruitment process that aims to identify gaps up front while ensuring the recruitment team is on the same page allows the team to take a proactive approach. This allows the hiring manager to review and refine recruiting strategies in real time to achieve better quality hires. The key takeaway is that when evaluating the hiring and selection process, it is important to identify the factors that interest and influence new employees. This will help you determine what is affecting your hiring process and what benefits can make you more attractive as an employer.

Improved performance

A candidate who proactively seeks a job change is definitely not at risk of losing their current job due to poor performance. A comprehensive selection process provides information about the applicant's skills and abilities, which are crucial for job performance. Savvy hiring managers use the interview to elicit answers that highlight the candidate's strengths, limitations, and opportunities for improvement - this is the first step in predicting the employee's future productivity.

Efficient recruitment drives quality hires and enhances organizational performance. With IceHrm, streamline your process for optimal results.