To put it lightly, these are uncertain times for many of us in recruiting! In some cases, our worlds have drastically changed … again. Most of us were running at 100+ MPH for all of 2021. The beginning of this year felt the same. The last couple of months? Not so much. We’re likely somewhere on the broad spectrum of a hiring slow down or freeze to operating full speed ahead. Many of us are doing all of this with a reduction in resources, whether that’s humans or tools. How can we incorporate new recruiting strategies that help us work smarter with less for the rest of this year and beyond?
Recruiters swiftly transitioned from one of the most coveted roles in 2021 to being at the top of the list for layoffs. Speaking of layoffs, CrunchBase estimates that 19,000 workers have lost their jobs so far in 2022. We empathize with those who’ve lost their jobs. Equally, we’d like to help our friends in recruitment who may have suddenly found themselves under-resourced and having to work much harder to meet hiring goals.
A new level of agility is required to meet demands with less supply. If your recruiting team has been impacted in any way, you’re not alone.
Here are three ways recruiters can work smarter, not harder, for the rest of this year and beyond.
3 recruiting strategies to use when hiring is slow(er) and resources are slim
ABC (Always be Cross-training)
The days of having recruitment teams so strictly aligned with one specific business area should be gone like the wind. Flexibility is critical when circumstances quickly change, which happens to also be the new normal. Whether you’re talking about impacts on team size, hiring targets, company goals, or something else, establish a model that allows for a more agile response to these sudden shifts.
With that being said, don’t wait for change to dictate a plan. Proactively build a more agile team by:
- Updating your approach to onboarding. Instead of focusing on one business area as part of the onboarding process, start training recruiters across three business areas.
- Expanding recruiters’ skill sets. Know where the strengths lie within the team, but also give recruiters the opportunity to pick up new skills where and when needed. You may have an awesome go-to-market recruiter who is interested in picking up technology sourcing skills. Let her/him/them jump on a tech role!
- Utilize the most experienced recruiters from each area of the business to help others train in those respective areas. This can take the form of virtual business overview sessions, teaming up for Q+A with hiring managers from each area, sourcing best practices, etc.
An agile model gives everyone an opportunity to build their networks and recruiting skills in more than one area. It provides companies with anxiety relief when their one amazing engineering recruiter decides to leave. It also brings opportunities for continuous learning and development. Recruiters are looking for the same opportunities as everyone else. Give people a reason to stay! Fill roles faster while you’re at it.
All Sourcing Hands on Deck
Whether you’re a team of one or 10, give your sourcing strategy a turbo boost. Schedule virtual sourcing blitz sessions to tackle the most pressing roles. Choose a weekly or bi-weekly cadence and invite all recruiters, as well as the hiring team, for that particular role. This is an opportunity to tap into everyone’s networks (and beyond) to reach new people and ultimately fill the most pressing roles faster.
Designate a DJ and have everyone spend a solid 45 mins to 1-hour sourcing via LinkedIn and adding names and profile links to a shared spreadsheet. This works really well if LinkedIn recruiter licenses are available for all team members. That is not always the case, and licenses can be pricey. When you don’t have enough licenses, give everyone a quick crash course on how to use their personal LinkedIn accounts effectively. There are some easy ways to search and get great info with a little help from your recruitment team.
Crafting LinkedIn InMail messages or trying to locate email addresses won’t be an issue. The goal of these sessions is simply to put as many relevant potential targets on the list. The primary recruiter will still handle the outreach. Unless, of course, it’s a true referral. In that case, ask the referrer to contact initially and gauge interest. Let’s go!!
Back to Basics
Whether you’re still hiring or facing a slow down, it’s a great time to take it back to the basics. Ensure you and your team are optimizing for a structured, efficient, and unbiased process. Focusing on your process pays off: businesses that invest time and effort in their hiring process saw a 70% improvement in the quality of talent they recruited.
Take time to think about how you’re setting your teams up for success (or not). This includes considering any non-negotiables for the role.
Set the right foundation for a successful process for you and your team. Here are 5 non-negotiables that should precede the posting of a new role:
- Identify a real business need and create a well-written job description to address the need.
- Craft behavioral-based questions relevant to the requirements of the role that are built into an interview guide for the team to easily access.
- Create an interview panel with a clear understanding of what’s to be covered at each stage.
- Calibrate regarding an ideal candidate profile and what good answers look like by establishing a rubric for each stage.
- Ensure everyone has access to give structured feedback and set a precedent on timing, ideally 24 hours post-interview.
Make the most of your recruiting strategies and resources
Recruiting is not for the faint of heart. We must always expect the unexpected and make sure that we’re well equipped no matter how large or small our team may be.
Technology is our friend and certainly needed when it comes to doing more with less. BrightHire is changing the game for recruiting and hiring teams by making decisions better, faster, and more equitable. There’s not an area above that we can’t help you tackle with ease! Get process visibility on a silver platter. Find out how BrightHire is helping teams of all sizes elevate their game!
On a community note, we couldn’t be more excited about our Shine Slack group for top talent acquisition professionals. If you’re looking for a great way to connect with other amazing recruiters and recruitment leaders, then please join us! You can expect market-relevant topics, best practices, helpful tips, and great networking opportunities. This is the group you’ve been looking for! Come and shine with us.
