Recruiting new staff has undoubtedly been affected by the global pandemic and businesses must take a strategic approach when it comes to hiring new staff. That is why nijobfinder have put together five steps to recruit new staff to help make your hiring process go as smoothly as possible.
Five steps to recruit new staff
Be prepared to recruit remotely
It is essential for businesses to be flexible and adapt their usual practices to new recruitment processes until face-to-face interviews are possible.
You will need to think about your actual business needs, the benefits of hiring new staff and what the role will entail. Do you have the technology in place to recruit and onboard staff virtually? Think about how you will advertise the job and what video conferencing software you will use to conduct interviews.
Get the word out there
First things first, write a strong job advert. Individuals will not respond to a job advert that is vague. Writing a compelling job advert is key to recruiting talented candidates. Consider breaking down the job description using bullet points to make it easier to read and highlight the most important information. Evaluate the characteristics of the applicants you want to hire and decide on a salary package.
Advertise your job advert in as many places as possible for maximum exposure. Consider using job boards like nijobfinder to post your vacancies and to reach thousands of potential applicants.
Social media is a great tool for recruiting staff and getting users to share your job advert with friends and family who may be interested.
Have a recruitment plan in place
You will need to think about who the hiring team will be and how candidates will apply for the position you are recruiting for. Will you accept CVs, is there an application form candidates must fill out? Employers must take the time to evaluate each candidate for the role and decide whether to progress their application. Will you conduct telephone interviews to narrow down candidates before video interviewing them? You will need to let candidates know the date, time and interviewer information. Provide them with a link to the video conference making sure they have the right technology in place to attend the interview.
It may be worthwhile interviewing potential candidates through a series of video interviews and recording them to review later.
nijobfinder has created a guide to help businesses and managers when it comes to holding successful video interviews. Once the successful candidate is selected, you will need to think about organising virtual meet and greets to introduce new staff members to current employees.
Prioritise remote working skills
When recruiting new staff, it is important to prioritise remote working skills. Many businesses across the UK are working remotely for the foreseeable future. It is vital to hire candidates with the skills needed to work remotely. Skills include the ability to work independently, strong communication and collaboration skills, organisational skills, time management, adaptability and self-motivation. Employees may not be working remotely forever. By selecting candidates with these skills it will make the onboarding process easier.
Create a plan to onboard remotely
Onboarding new staff remotely is one of the toughest challenges a business can face. Remote onboarding needs to be planned out carefully and implemented well to ensure new recruits have the tools required to succeed in their new position.
It is important managers arrange daily meetings with new staff, set tasks, review work and offer help and guidance from the start. New employees can meet colleagues via Zoom/ Microsoft teams, Skype, or another video conferencing tool. It is crucial to stay in touch with new employees. Most HR professionals state onboarding should take at least three months. However, companies may choose to extend onboarding throughout the employee’s entire first year.
Keep up to date with the latest news and views on the NI job market and more by following nijobfinder on LinkedIn.