Bringing a new hire onboard is an exciting time for any organization, but it can also come with some stress. Knowing how to onboard an employee effectively is a must, and this guide to onboarding planning ensures a more effective and efficient process.
What is Onboarding?
Onboarding refers to the process of bringing a new staff member into a role within an organization. It often includes a variety of steps that begin when an individual accepts a job offer with your business. Part of the onboarding process includes collecting vital information, often through the completion of required forms and documents. But that’s not all onboarding involves, and failing to see the big picture can increase your company’s risk of high turnover and poor retention rates.
What is Onboarding Planning?
Onboarding planning involves creating a detailed plan for how the process will look every time you bring on a new hire. While some of the steps in the process will remain the same across all departments and roles, others may need to change to accommodate different responsibilities and needs.
4 Steps to Develop an Onboarding Plan
Follow these steps to engage in onboarding planning in a way that will benefit your organization and workforce.
Know your employee onboarding goal
The first step is identifying at least one goal of the onboarding process. This often includes what a new hire should be able to accomplish by a set date. In order to achieve that goal, what needs to happen? Maybe the employee needs specific training or education, or perhaps they need to do certain tasks to become more familiar with them. With a goal in mind, it becomes easier to establish an onboarding process that includes the steps needed to achieve it.
Create your onboarding training team
Another vital aspect of onboarding planning is deciding who will take part in each step. Who is helping throughout the process? In most cases, the employee’s supervisor will take an active role in bringing them onboard and up to speed on their tasks and responsibilities. But you may also have others involved, such as those working in human resources and IT. Make sure you know who is part of the onboarding team and keep them informed as to their role.
Invest in the right tools
Invest in the tools needed to manage the onboarding process more effectively. A simple option is to create a checklist with all the tasks that need to happen before the employee begins working on their own. You could also use a timeline that emphasizes when each step will be completed and what the new hire can expect.
Technology tools are also vital in ensuring a consistent and highly efficient process. The days of filling out forms by hand are long gone, and it’s time for every organization to say goodbye to this manual and hand-cramping process. Choose an HR system that includes vital documentation with electronic completion capabilities. You can also look for onboarding tools available within your hiring platform, or an all-in-one solution that keeps all data in a single place.
Map your onboarding steps
Map out the steps of the onboarding process to ensure that everyone in the organization is on the same page. You can also provide a copy of the timeline or checklist to your new hire to keep them apprised of what to expect during their first few weeks or months on the job.
Understanding the Stages of Onboarding
We cover the stages of onboarding in detail on our blog, but here’s a brief overview of what each time period should include:
During the hiring process: Collect personal and contact information from the new hire to make follow-up communication easier.
During the offer stage: When making an offer, stay in contact with the individual and answer any questions they may have.
1-2 weeks before new hire’s first day: Before they come onboard, send a welcome message and any new hire paperwork they can complete prior to starting.
Day before first day: Provide details around their first-day schedule, work location, and expectations so they know where to go and what to bring.
On the first day: On day one, make sure to greet the new hire and show them around (if in person), as well as provide all necessary tech tools to do their job.
During employee’s first week: Throughout the first week, a new hire should have someone they can count on to answer their questions and provide assistance. This may be their supervisor or a co-worker.
During first three months: Over the first 90 days, assign the employee small tasks to build their confidence and skills, set aside time for regular check-ins, and request feedback on the process.
Onboarding FAQ
If you have questions about onboarding planning and the process of bringing on new hires, we may have an answer for you below.
How long should the onboarding process take?
The timeline for onboarding often depends on the role and experience level of the new hire. But for most positions, it should last for at least a few weeks. You can also review our blog post that covers this question in more detail.
An onboarding checklist is a document used to track the process and ensure that no steps are overlooked. You can review templates and examples to build your own that aligns with the needs of your employees.
With ApplicantStack, onboarding planning doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort. With onboarding tools built right into the platform, clients can easily find and bring on top talent. Learn more or try it for free today!
The recruiting process is much more in-depth than it appears on the surface. Recruiters and HR professionals are often measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) behind the scenes to optimize processes, increase candidate engagement and boost the quality of their potential hires.
Further, tracking metrics, such as time-to-fill, helps recruiters communicate the value of what they do and the effectiveness of an employer’s investment in recruiting activities, improving the hiring processes over time.
As one of the more popular recruiting KPIs to measure, time to fill sounds and feels similar to other important metrics. Here, we’re defining what time to fill means, how to calculate it, how it’s different from time-to-hire and more.
What Is Time-to-Fill and How Do You Measure It?
In simple terms, time-to-fill is a recruitment KPI that measures the average amount of calendar days it takes your organization to fill an open role with a new candidate. The measurement generally starts when you get job requisition approval and/or actually post the listing, and ends when a new hire accepts your job offer.
Some organizations may choose a slightly different starting point based on their unique circumstances, but measuring from the date when the role is first advertised is the most standard, and a bit easier to manage.
What Impacts Time-to-Fill?
There are quite a few factors that can affect time-to-fill, most of which are outside of an organization’s control or are simply a product of the role itself. Components that can alter time-to-fill include:
The role itself, i.e., its complexity or what’s being asked of candidates
The job market
The quality of candidates that apply
Your organization’s hiring process
As an example, if the open role requires highly specialized skills, it can take longer to find a suitable candidate. Similarly, if your interview process includes multiple rounds of interviews or requires candidates to submit a video, the time to fill will be longer.
For reasons like these, it often makes sense for employers to measure time-to-fill by department or role. Doing so can help clean up the numbers and leave you with an even more accurate snapshot of time-to-fill metrics throughout the organization.
How To Calculate Time-to-Fill
Calculating time-to-fill is fairly straightforward. To determine it, sum the number of calendar days for each position you filled during a specific timeframe (i.e., a year or a quarter) and divide that sum by the number of hires during that time.
For example, if you hired three new employees in a year, spending 10, 15 and 20 calendar days respectively to move from requisition to offer acceptance respectively, here’s what the formula would look like:
10 + 15 + 20 / 3 = 15
In this case, your average time to fill is 15 days.
Time-to-Fill vs. Time-to-Hire
A similar-sounding recruitment metric, time-to-hire is often confused with time-to-fill and vice versa. However, the two KPIs are distinct and serve separate purposes.
Here’s a brief comparison:
Time-to-fill measures the average number of calendar days between an organization deciding to open a new job position or posting the listing, and having a candidate accept the job offer.
Time-to-hire highlights the amount of time between when you receive an application for a role (i.e. when a candidate enters the funnel) and when a job offer is accepted.
Same endpoint, different starting point.
Why Is Time-to-Fill Important?
Beyond the more tangible benefits that will be outlined below, there are a few additional reasons why measuring time-to-fill is important for your organization:
It provides a quick reference point: If you find that your time-to-fill is significantly higher than industry benchmarks, which in 2023 is an average of 44 days, it’s a pretty clear sign that making a change may be a good, strategic play.
It helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your recruitment strategy: Striking a balance between too short and too long a time-to-fill is essential. Measuring your recruiting KPIs can give you insight into what’s working well and what needs to change to optimize the candidate experience.
It can help gauge changes in the labor market: The economy is in constant flux, which means the labor market is, too, influencing recruiting and hiring trends. If you historically have had a low time-to-fill and you notice it trending upwards, you can better prepare for changes and take proactive steps to optimize your hiring process.
But what about more tangible benefits?
The Benefits of Measuring Time-to-Fill
Recruitment metrics, in general, help recruiters optimize their organization’s hiring process by highlighting areas for improvement, identifying practices that are working well and more.
Time-to-fill specifically, however, offers a few unique advantages for employers.
Streamlined Hiring
Tracking time-to-fill helps organizations identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in their recruitment process. By pinpointing where delays occur, companies can take corrective actions to streamline hiring procedures.
Common recruiting bottlenecks include:
Indecisive or overly critical hiring managers
Too many unqualified applicants
Manual candidate screening
If you notice that your time-to-fill is stretching out longer than you’d hoped, you can dig into your processes and make amends where necessary to bring the number down.
Cost Savings
Lengthy recruiting often results in higher costs. Advertising a job post on third-party boards and websites is not free. In fact, some job boards can cost as much as $500 per month to advertise a listing. Optimizing your time-to-fill means less money spent on advertising.
In the same vein, if your company holds in-person interviews for an open position, you may have to reimburse interviewees for travel expenses, including transportation, food and lodging. The sooner you can find a suitable candidate, the less money you’ll need to spend.
Gain an Edge Over the Competition
Having a long time-to-fill not only puts strain on your organization but impacts the candidates involved in the process. The longer it takes to make a hiring decision, the more likely candidates are to walk away from the opportunity. In fact, 62% of professionals start to lose interest in a job if they don’t hear back within two weeks (10 business days).
A faster hiring process produces better chances of maintaining interest from top talent and securing those candidates before your competitors.
Enhanced Decision-Making
Collecting time-to-fill data using an applicant tracking system enables organizations to analyze historical trends and make data-driven decisions about resource allocation, staffing levels and recruitment strategies.
Reduce Your Time-to-Fill With ApplicantStack
Applicant-tracking software like ApplicantStack automates integral portions of your talent acquisition process to help reduce time-to-fill, find the right candidates more quickly and even aid with employee onboarding for a more seamless experience.
Our software operates on a recruit, screen, select workflow with intuitive tools for:
Creating and publishing job postings online
Functional recruiting where you may be most likely to find the right candidate, like social media
Creating questionnaires and scoring applicants
And much more
The platforms help talent acquisition teams streamline and automate essential recruiting checkpoints, such as pre-screening, pre-employment assessments and candidate nurturing to boost engagement and reduce your time-to-hire.
Start a free trial today and discover how ApplicantStack can help you make better hiring decisions, quicker.
Building your brand as an employer can play a significant role in the success of the business overall. Additionally, brand recognition and awareness may impact recruiting efforts. Explore how to build a brand that candidates want to work for and how your brand plays a role in hiring efforts.
What is Employer Branding?
Employer branding refers to the image and reputation of a company to its employees and potential new hires. The process of building an employer brand includes shaping the perception as a place where people should want to work, both among its existing workforce and any jobseekers with skills that align.
Some of the key components of employer branding include:
Employee retention levels
Talent acquisition and recruitment efforts
Company culture
Communication practices
Employee advocacy
Creating an Employer Brand that Candidates Want to Work For
No company can afford to ignore how it appears to those on the outside world. Customer loyalty is significantly impacted by the overall reputation of a business. And beyond how customers perceive it, your brand should be seen as appealing to its employees and those who may be looking for new professional opportunities.
This step-by-step guide highlights how to create an employer brand that supports your hiring and recruiting efforts.
Define your employee value proposition (EVP)
The first step in creating your brand as an employer is defining the value proposition. We covered this concept in detail, offering insights into why it matters as an employer and how to create one. As you define what you offer as an employer, you can more clearly outline the benefits and overall appeal to potential employees. This information should go a step further than simply describing the compensation and benefits offer, highlighting what makes your company stand out as an appealing place to work.
Outline your unique selling proposition (USP)
We also discussed the importance of a unique selling proposition, and its value can’t be overstated in your company’s recruiting processes. When applicants compare workplaces and the overall values of different organizations, they may opt to accept a position at one that more clearly defines what sets it apart in its industry. If your company hasn’t established such a definition, you may find it more challenging to find and hire candidates.
Build a strong company culture
Building your organizational culture is a vital aspect of creating and maintaining your employer branding. The culture incorporates the behaviors and procedures of those in the workplace, determining what it’s actually like to work for a specific company.
As you consider what you want your organizational culture to reflect, make sure to think about how to incorporate the following aspects:
Implement competitive compensation and benefits: Employees should receive fair compensation and appealing benefits in exchange for the work they do. Make sure your open positions (and even the ones that are already filled) offer competitive wages and benefits.
Promote career growth opportunities: Hardworking employees want to know what their futures look like, so make sure to outline opportunities for growth and advancement within the company as part of the overall culture. And if you emphasize that internal candidates will be given preference over external ones, be sure your hiring and promotion practices align.
Invest in employee development and recognition: Employees deserve to be recognized for their contributions, as well as have access to opportunities to progress. Offer development programs, such as in-house training or funds to take relevant courses. Implement a formal recognition program that allows top performers to be recognized for what they bring to the table.
Promote diversity and inclusion: Creating a diverse workforce can boost overall workplace morale while directly impacting the success of an organization. Inclusion is vital to the workplace because it ensures that everyone feels involved and that their voice is heard. Actively look for ways to include all team members in discussions and procedural changes.
Involve employees in the branding process
Another aspect of building your brand involves tapping into your most valuable asset — the employees. Ask for feedback from members of the workforce as you establish the culture and brand aspects that make it unique. Those who work for the organization will have unique insights, as they’re the ones representing on a day-to-day basis. Plus, if they feel involved in the branding process, it’s more likely that you’ll develop brand ambassadors who represent the organization in a positive way and boost recognition and loyalty.
Take Advantage of the Tools Available
Even with a strong and appealing employer brand, hiring can be a challenge, especially in today’s climate. Explore the tools available to you and make the most of them to gain a competitive edge when seeking top talent. ApplicantStack is a powerful hiring tool with features that simplify the process of creating, posting, and filling jobs. Want to learn more or try it for free? Get started now!
As a business owner, striving to build a reliable team that you can count on to get the job done is paramount to hiring success. Finding high-quality, loyal talent can be a very tough yet necessary challenge to endure in today’s job market. Employee turnover is an increasingly extensive problem across many industries and it’s costing companies a non-negligible amount of money.
According to Investopedia, companies spent over $92 billion on training in 2021. This statistic is already daunting — and it doesn’t even include integration expenditures. That’s why taking the time to develop an effective recruiting process — one that’s active and targeted — is essential if you want to attract an ideal candidate for an open role.
Developing a robust and effective hiring process not only helps you better identify excellent potential employees who are motivated to grow with your company, but it also saves you time and money. Here’s how.
The Basics: What Is Recruitment?
Recruitment is a crucial business strategy that involves identifying a need for additional staff, appealing to prospects, attracting candidates and hiring the right person for a job. The system of recruiting is often a team effort where all members should maintain a holistic overview of the entire hiring process.
To streamline and optimize the entire workflow, recruiters must have a comprehensive understanding of the job description at hand. They need to be able to look for people with skills and qualities that align with the role. However, they must also be very careful about who they hire. Making snap decisions without doing due diligence — and hiring the wrong people — can quickly affect a company’s reputation and success as a business.
With that in mind, why else is the recruitment process so important?
Why Is Recruitment Important?
Quality assurance: Oftentimes, the quality of a business as a whole is determined by the quality of its employees. The recruitment process helps ensure that prospective candidates are fully qualified for the open role and hold all the desirable certifications and characteristics necessary to meet and exceed expectations.
Value alignment: For most organizations, it’s important to maintain the workplace culture they’ve built. Throughout the hiring process, an HR professional is able to determine whether or not candidates hold the same values that the company highlights as essential to their work environment, so as to increase that value through prospective employees who share similar beliefs.
Creates a better candidate experience: Facilitating a positive interview experience helps to attract and hold the attention of candidates you may wish to hire. Without a meaningful hiring experience that puts emphasis on candidate engagement, qualified job seekers may lose interest in working with your organization altogether. This can have a ripple effect if they then choose to share their experience with other prospects in your industry, who may not even give you a shot afterward.
Building for a brighter future: Having a qualified team made of employees who are a good culture fit, align with your organization’s values and are dedicated to their roles boosts productivity and helps the company’s annual growth goals.
6 Overwhelming Benefits of an Excellent Recruiting Program
Having a coveted recruitment process isn’t just for show. Organizations stand to experience myriad benefits when they take the time to truly understand candidates’ needs. Developing a recruiting process that is conscious of prospects’ time, communicative, responsive and straightforward is an easy win for the candidates and your company.
We’ve outlined some of the top benefits of investing in your recruiting efforts.
1. Access to Top Talent
Requirement processes that are enjoyable and informative can help pique the interest of top talent in your industry. Drawn-out, unoptimized workflows may unintentionally leave qualified candidates behind or scare them away before they have a chance to show you what they’re made of.
2. Enhanced Company Culture
An engaging recruitment process can better assess a candidate’s skills and qualifications as well as their cultural fit within the organization. The better a job seeker aligns with company culture and values, the easier it is to foster a harmonious and productive work environment.
3. Higher Retention Rates
Higher retention rates can be attributed to many elements of a company, such as their willingness or aptitude to give recognition to their employees. But before a candidate is brought on board, those who have a clear understanding of a company’s culture are more likely to stick around.
4. Reduced Time-to-Hire
Engaging in recruitment processes tends to be more efficient. They can help streamline the hiring process, reduce the time it takes to fill open positions and ensure that the right candidates are selected more quickly.
5. Positive Employer Brand
A positive and engaging recruitment experience can significantly improve your company’s reputation as an employer. Candidates who have a good experience, even if they don’t get the job, will see you as a positive brand entity. This means that they may be more likely to speak positively about your organization both online and offline.
6. Long-Term Growth and Sustainability
Companies that focus on creating an engaging recruitment process are more likely to continuously evaluate and refine their hiring strategies. This commitment to improvement can lead to a stronger, more competitive organization in the long run.
How To Improve Your Recruitment Strategy
There are a few integral steps to building a successful recruitment strategy. They involve points for everything from identifying your needs to taking action and everything in between.
Identify gaps. Are there aspects of your recruitment process that seem time-worn or ineffective? To find gaps, it’s helpful to make note of your current workflow, what’s working well and elements that could use updating.
Review your mission statement. What are your company values and long-term goals? Do they align with the potential hires that you’re after?Evaluate these aspects of your brand identity and update them as necessary to achieve complete alignment with prospects.
Understand the 5 W’s (and 1 H) of your strategy:
Who is the candidate? (The title of the position).
What requirements does the job seeker need to be successful?
When are your recruiting efforts scheduled to start and end?
Where will the job posting be listed?
Why are you looking for additional staff?
How will the recruiting process unfold?
Employ software solutions. Software solutions, like ApplicantStack, streamline your recruitment processes and make it easier to formulate an effective hiring strategy. Features like intuitive data storage, comprehensive dashboards, clear workflows and checklists help you track and communicate with candidates faster and easier.
Enhance Your Recruitment with ApplicantStack
ApplicantStack is an all-in-one platform that includes features for creating, posting and managing job listings. Using our platform, recruiters can:
Post open roles to job boards and social media sites quickly and easily.
Qualify candidate scoring with prescreen and knock-out questions.
Schedule interviews and provide standardized feedback so you can hire candidates as a team.
Communicate with applicants more easily using email notifications and text messaging.
Hire the most qualified candidates, who are also a good culture fit, faster and with less resource expenditure.
Want to check out the platform for yourself and see firsthand how it can streamline your hiring process? Jump in by starting your free trial today.
Finding and bringing on top talent can feel like a full-time job, especially in a competitive labor market. But one thing that can help your organization stand out from others in your industry is establishing a unique selling proposition. Explore the meaning of a unique selling proposition and its purpose, especially in the recruiting process.
What is a USP? Unique Selling Proposition Definition and Purpose
A unique selling proposition (USP) is a concept that communicates and identifies the compelling benefits of a specific organization or brand. Its purpose is to set the company apart from competitors, particularly in the minds of consumers. But beyond the selling advantage that a strong USP can provide, crafting one can also play a role in recruiting efforts.
An organization’s USP should include the following components:
The unique benefit offered by the brand, including what makes its products or services different from others.
Relevant messaging that speaks to the target audience members, addressing their specific wants and needs and explaining why the brand matters.
Differentiation that helps the brand stand out from competitors, emphasizing why consumers should choose its products or services.
Language that makes it memorable, easy to remember, and simple to understand.
Support for any claims made, such as social proof or evidence, to strengthen brand trust and credibility among those who read it.
Incorporating your USP in a consistent manner can reinforce the unique positioning and get the word out about what you’re trying to achieve.
USP vs. EVP: Differences and Why You Need Both in Recruiting
We recently covered the importance of an employer value proposition (EVP) on our blog, going into detail about its importance in the recruiting process. But you may be wondering, how do the two differ?
Ultimately, an EVP outlines what you offer as an employer, while the USP defines what the company provides to its customers. But the two go hand-in-hand in modern recruiting efforts, as over 80 percent of employees are looking for jobs that align with their personal values. Jobseekers may look at what you claim to offer as the employer, as well as your statement around what the organization offers to its target audience.
The Benefits of a Solid USP for Business and Recruiting
Review some of the benefits of a solid USP in your business and recruiting efforts.
A clear USP supports your brand mission and values
Part of establishing your company culture is creating the brand mission and values. Your unique selling proposition should support these aspects of the brand and its efforts to make a difference in the industry in which it operates. Your USP can also serve as a vital aspect of the brand identity and foster long-term loyalty when paired with strong values and a mission that appeals to the target audience.
A defined USP makes it easy for employees to talk about your solutions
Your employees should feel confident when facing questions about what sets your organization and its products or services apart from others in the industry. But without a clearly defined USP, existing team members and potential new hires may not know the answers to even the most frequently asked questions. When crafting a USP, consider how it can clearly define what sets your brand apart for someone who may not be familiar with the industry.
A meaningful USP can resonate with prospects who support your cause
Emphasizing the reason behind what your organization does can resonate with those who support the cause. This is also true of those who may be seeking employment with a business that aligns with their personal views.
The Parts of a Selling Proposition
As you consider how to craft a unique selling proposition that captures what sets your business apart, think about how the following four parts fit.
What it is
First up: What is your unique selling proposition? What makes your brand different from others in the space, and how do your products or services differ or add value? You need to clearly state what the proposition is when defining it.
Who it’s for
The next aspect to consider is who you’re speaking to when repeating or sharing your USP. Figuring this part out might require some research on the target audience, or who your products/services are geared toward in the market. As you identify members of the target audience, you can determine how to speak to them in a way that resonates while clearly defining what to expect.
What it solves
A USP should also identify the problems solved by the business and its offerings. For example, if your company offers housecleaning services, the USP might describe the struggles with maintaining a clean home and how your team members can make it easier to achieve that goal.
The unique point: How is it different from others?
Of course, any business can describe what it does and the problems it solves, but that doesn’t necessarily help it to stand out. The key aspect of your USP is the unique aspect, or what sets it apart from others offering similar products or services. Consider what makes your offering different and craft a statement that clearly defines the value proposition.
How to Develop (and Improve) Your Unique Selling Proposition
With a better grasp on what a USP looks like and how it fits with your employee value proposition, you can follow these steps to ensure a well-crafted statement.
Define target market: As mentioned, the first step is defining who fits into your target market. You might consider creating personas to assign characteristics to different members of the ideal audience, as well as look at what these individuals are usually searching for to solve their concerns.
Identify what makes your product/service unique: You need to be able to clearly define what is unique about what your brand offers, whether that’s lower pricing, more personalized service, or something else. Without this aspect, your USP is simply a proposition around what you sell.
Position your USP to highlight benefits: When positioning your USP, consider how you can highlight the benefits of what you offer and how they serve the best interests of both the target consumer and those who work for the brand.
Make your USP clear and concise: Eliminate any unnecessary language to keep your USP as concise and easy to understand as possible.
Test and revise your USP: It’s always worthwhile to test any marketing strategies on members of your target audience, so try launching the USP in your ad campaigns, social profiles and other efforts to see how it resonates with those who see it.
Promote your USP: It’s also worth spending some time and money to promote the USP and make sure all members of the target audience are aware of and familiar with it. Additionally, you can promote it internally with existing employees and in recruiting efforts to ensure a consistent message.
How to Communicate Your USP
Utilizing multiple channels to communicate your USP will help generate more brand awareness and loyalty.
Advertising
No matter what advertising efforts your company uses, make sure the USP comes through consistently. Traditional media and brand marketing campaigns can always benefit from the addition of points that communicate the value and uniqueness of what the business offers. After all, the average person receives 121 emails per day, and a significant chunk of those are promotional in nature. You need to determine how to stand out if you want your efforts to get noticed.
Social media
As you engage with users through social media platforms, consider how your outreach efforts can incorporate and communicate your USP. By doing so, you can ensure that even passersby are familiar with what the brand stands for and why a consumer should choose you over others in the industry.
Content marketing
Content marketing is a valuable tool for communicating a brand’s USP because it allows marketers to go into more detail. You might create blog posts around specific pain points, tying in the selling proposition when identifying how your products or services solve those issues.
Digital marketing
Your company’s digital marketing efforts should also reflect the USP, including website taglines, ad copy and headlines, and even the design elements when possible.
Recruitment marketing
When recruiting, your company needs to clearly define what sets it apart in the market to encourage jobseekers to choose to work there. Incorporating both the employer value proposition and the USP can help you achieve this goal while helping potential applicants determine whether the company aims align with their desires for a workplace.
Examples of Effective USPs
Need some inspiration? Check out these effective unique selling propositions from well-known companies.
Coca-Cola: Refresh the world. Make a difference.
FedEx: When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.
Nike: Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete.
The North Face: Shaping the future of human/nature.
Shopify: The platform commerce is built on.
Stripe: Payments infrastructure for the internet.
By making the effort to create and refine your brand’s USP, you can improve your positioning in the market while boosting recruitment efforts. Attracting top talent is a shared goal of recruiters and hiring managers, regardless of industry or company size, so any competitive advantage you can gain is certainly worth pursuing to build strong, successful teams.
The workforce is the heart of any organization. Members of the team determine how efficiently things get done, as well as the level of service customers receive when interacting with the company. Hiring the right people to fill open positions is vital in building and maintaining strong teams. But without an effective recruiting program in place, your company may be scrambling to hire.
This article outlines the benefits of strong recruiting programs and why it’s worth investing in one, regardless of company size.
What is Recruiting?
Recruiting refers to the process of seeking, attracting, and bringing on talented individuals to fill open positions with a company. The process is a vital aspect of HR management, playing a pivotal role in the development of a capable and talented workforce.
When a company is recruiting to fill an open position, those involved in the hiring process typically complete multiple steps:
Analyzing the position, including its responsibilities, required skills, and qualifications, and writing a thorough job description.
Sourcing candidates through various outlets, including social media platforms, referrals, job boards, and recruiting agencies.
Screening applicants by reviewing applications and resumes, identifying those that meet the initial criteria.
Interviewing top candidates, which may occur in person or virtually.
Assessing and testing candidates to confirm their abilities or verify aspects of their personalities.
Offering the job to the top candidate and undergoing the negotiation process (if applicable).
Investing in your organization’s recruiting efforts can make a big difference in more than just the hiring process. The following 11 benefits come from good recruiting programs.
Access to top talent
When your organization recruits more effectively, this provides access to top talent. A well-defined strategy can target ideal candidates and channels for sourcing applicants, ensuring that recruiters focus on attracting the best people.
Good recruiting efforts also demonstrate the values and culture of the organization, along with opportunities for growth and advancement. As a result, people are more interested in working for the company and seek out open jobs.
Improved employee performance
Employees who feel supported in their roles tend to perform better. And when you fill open positions with talented and engaged individuals, teams tend to function more cohesively. By contrast, high turnover rates and poor hiring efforts can cause good employees to feel like they’re bearing the brunt of the workload. They may start to feel burned out and resentful, which causes a decline in overall performance and workplace morale.
Enhanced company culture
Your company culture is highly influenced by the people who work there. Hiring for cultural fit alongside core skills and competencies can help you continue to build and nurture the atmosphere you want in the workplace.
Higher retention rates
Employee retention is a highly discussed topic in today’s job market. When the Great Resignation occurred, employers were left scrambling to fill positions and meet customer needs. But strong recruiting practices can boost retention rates, which eases the strain on recruiters and managers.
Reduced time-to-hire
The average time spent on filling a position is 36 days. When your company has multiple roles to fill, the time can really add up. Freeing up time to spend on other tasks is certainly appealing, particularly among those who wear multiple hats. Plus, getting new employees up and running can ease the strain on their team members and increase productivity.
Cost savings
Every company, regardless of size, can benefit from saving money. And since it costs nearly $5,000 to bring on a new hire, making sure every new employee is the right fit is certainly appealing from a financial standpoint, not to mention the other benefits of keeping happy employees around.
Increased innovation and creativity
Employees who feel secure and supported in their roles tend to have higher engagement and productivity rates than those who are unhappy. When your recruiters find the right hires to fill positions, those individuals may feel happier when they come onboard. As a result, they’re more likely to come up with creative and innovative ideas, which can have a great benefit on your organization.
Positive employer branding
Employer branding refers to the image and reputation of an organization among its existing employees and potential candidates for roles. Beginning with the experience of each candidate, your company can generate a positive brand image. Ensure the application process is simple (and mobile-friendly) with regular check-ins and communication along the way. Texting is one of the best ways to stay in touch, as today’s applicants are much more likely to open and respond to texts than other forms of communication.
Positive employer branding can also aid in attracting top talent and building a stronger culture. When your team members are happy, they may serve as brand advocates, continuing to generate positive buzz around the business.
Long-term growth and sustainability
Effective recruiting can make a significant difference in the long-term sustainability and growth of an organization. When hiring managers identify people with the right expertise and skills needed in specific roles, they can help support growth initiatives. An agile workforce that is open to change can also adapt to changing market needs and competitive pressure.
Better customer experience
Employees who interact with customers should represent the company in a positive and supportive manner. When your organization invests in hiring talented individuals who are good cultural fits, it’s more likely that customers will have a positive experience during these interactions. Additionally, lower employee turnover rates often translate to better service, as more experienced and loyal employees have additional knowledge to share.
Competitive advantage
Gain a competitive advantage when you invest in your recruiting efforts. The benefits above outline how your company can enjoy greater success, increased growth, and a positive image. These and other advantages of strong recruiting make your company more appealing to jobseekers.
Enhance Your Recruiting (And Get These Benefits) with Quality Recruitment Software
When you need to hire top talent, you need the best tools at your disposal. And while some recruiting platforms are built for big business, ApplicantStack is ideal for the small-to-midsized organization. It’s designed with the needs of smaller companies in mind, with a price point that fits into just about any business budget. Plus, it doesn’t skimp on features – post to hundreds of a job boards with a click, take advantage of templates, and ensure a consistent onboarding process for every new hire.
Get started now with a free trial and take your recruiting program to the next level.
