Put your recruiting strategy to the test

As Peter Drucker said, “The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.” Given the current economy, companies may not be actively hiring so now is the perfect time to step back and evaluate your recruiting strategy by asking yourself these questions:

1. How are we attracting the “A Players”?
2. How does our retention strategy tie into our recruiting strategy?
3. Is our current recruiting strategy out-of-date?
4. Do we hire for the right positions at the right time?

Here are four recruiting best practices we’ve learned from clients, partners, companies we admire and ol’ fashioned trial and error.

Focus on Employer Branding
A successful recruiting strategy depends on the ability for an organization to brand itself as an employer of choice. What are the things that make your organization a great place to work for and why would a potential recruit want to work for you?

It’s important to be specific and communicate these positive attributes internally and externally. Ways to do this include events, newsletters or an Intranet, a company blog, the media and top employer awards wins.

Create Employee Ambassadors
It’s no secret that the best way to find A-Players is through your staff because driven, successful people surround themselves with other driven, successful people.

At Marriott, employees are encouraged to refer potential recruits on an-ongoing basis. According to Mike Truscott, Director of Human Resources, Marriott, “Associate (employee) referrals are our strongest source so we reward them for submitting names of potential candidates through our Pinnacle Spirit Points Program.”

Follow a rigorous interview process
It may take extra time but creating a detailed interview process will save you time and money in the long run. Focus on the specific positions you need to fill and tailor the interview process to each position. For example, group interviews work well for entry level marketing and sales positions because they test a candidate’s communication and presentation skills.

Another key area to focus on during the interview process is fit. As Mike Truscott from Marriott notes, “Fit is extremely important in our industry and specifically in our hotels. So much in fact, that we have an interview called our "Fit Interview" that is tailored around the values of our company. This interview ensures the candidate has the qualities and attitude we are looking for.”

Never settle
Hire slow and fire fast because every wrong hire diminishes the employer brand and hurts retention numbers. In tough economic times you have to be even more diligent because resources are stretched thin. The last thing a human resource department wants to do is hire, train, fire and re-hire.