A recruitment strategy is a plan that outlines how to find, attract, hire and retain talent for your organization. It aligns with your business goals, values and culture, and helps you optimize your hiring process and budget. A great recruitment strategy can help you source and hire more qualified, diverse and engaged candidates who can contribute to your success.

Below are 10 steps that will help you creating a great recruitment strategy:

1. Review your current strategy:

Start by evaluating your existing recruitment practices and identifying what works well and what needs improvement. Analyze data such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, quality-of-hire, retention rate and diversity metrics to measure your performance and identify gaps or opportunities.

2. Identify your needs:

Based on your business objectives, determine how many people you need to hire, for which roles and skills, and by when. Consider if there are any upcoming changes in your organization that might affect your hiring needs, such as expansion, reorganization or turnover.

3. Establish a job description:

For each position you want to fill, create a clear and detailed job description that outlines the responsibilities, requirements, benefits and expectations of the role. Use keywords that reflect the skills and experience you are looking for, as well as the values and culture of your organization.

4. Consider best avenues:

Depending on the type of talent you are targeting, decide which channels are most effective for reaching them. You might use online platforms such as job boards, social media or career websites; offline methods such as referrals, networking events or campus recruiting; or a combination of both.

5. Set a timeframe:

Based on your hiring needs and urgency, create a realistic timeline for each stage of your recruitment process. This includes sourcing candidates, screening resumes, conducting interviews, making offers and onboarding new hires. Communicate this timeline to all stakeholders involved in the hiring process.

6. Make a budget:

Estimate how much money you need to spend on each aspect of your recruitment strategy such as advertising costs; travel expenses; technology tools; background checks; relocation assistance; etc.,

7) Determine the process:

Define the steps and criteria for selecting candidates at each stage of your hiring process such as resume screening; phone screening; online assessments; in-person interviews; reference checks etc., Ensure that all hiring managers and recruiters follow the same process and criteria consistently and fairly.

8) Begin recruiting:

Execute your recruitment strategy according  to your plan using the channels and tools you have chosen. Monitor and track your progress and results using data and feedback from candidates, hiring managers, recruiters etc.

9) Evaluate and improve:

Review your recruitment strategy periodically and assess its effectiveness using metrics such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, quality-of-hire, retention rate, diversity metrics etc., Identify any challenges, issues or areas for improvement, and make adjustments accordingly.

10) Retain talent:

Your recruitment strategy does not end with hiring new employees; it also involves retaining them for long-term success. Create a positive employee experience from day one by providing a smooth onboarding process; a supportive work environment; a clear career path; a competitive compensation package; a recognition program; a feedback system; a learning culture etc.,

By following these steps, you can create a great recruitment strategy that helps you attract, hire and retain top talent for your organization.

About the Author.

Ratnesh Jain is an entrepreneur, mentor & author.

IIM Ahmedabad alumni with 30+ years of professional and entrepreneurship experience. Past 17 years in Executive search & Growth consulting.

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If you think “Quality talent is hard to find” and cannot find good talent for months, analyse your Recruitment Strategy & Process first:

1. Recruitment Strategy & Action plan
2. Job Descriptions
3. Sourcing & Candidate communication
4. Interview process & TAT
5. Referrals

Lets see each one of above in detail:

Recruitment Strategy & Action plan

Is your recruitment strategy reactive or proactive? Is the recruitment strategy aligned with business goals and milestones? Are all stakeholders involved in drafting the recruitment strategy and plan?

By following a structured recruitment strategy and action plan, you can attract and retain top talent, support business goals, and improve overall organizational performance.

Job Descriptions

Sorry to say but, most of the job descriptions are too wishful, theoretical, outdated, boring, biased, inflexible and does not represent what is most important and what the hiring manager wants. Most of the times it is a lousy cut and paste job. The hiring managers and HR are not aligned on the job descriptions.

It is important to have job descriptions that communicate the actual challenges and opportunities in the role.

Sourcing & Candidate communication

Are you hiring from best available or whatever is available in the job portals or job advertisement responses? Does your recruiter source from referrals or do headhunting? Have you reviewed the candidate communication and value proposition being communicated to the candidate or you are using the standard videos and ppts?

Reaching out to the right hidden talent and communicating about the employer brand, position challenges and opportunity – is the most important “Do or Die” step in your complete recruitment process.

Interview process & TAT

This is where most of the employers fail. The interview process is not well defined and structured, interviewer profiles are not shared with candidate in advance, interviewers don’t conduct themselves in a professional manner, interviewers do not listen to the candidate, interviewers are biased, interviewers do not value candidates time and feelings, interviews cannot decide, interview process is too long and complex, interview process is inflexible.

Remember Top candidates will choose employers that appreciate their time and feelings, have clarity, are structured and professional, are well behaved, and most important provide quick feedback and are quick to decide.

Referrals

This is again a step where most of the employers fail badly. Employer brand matters. Remember, the way you check references for the candidate, the candidate is also checking references for the employer and hiring manager from ex-employees, vendors, suppliers, partners of the employer.

If your internal marketing and communication is not good and effective then you will always get negative reviews and good talent will backout.

(Read here my article on internal marketing & communication: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-can-your-cmo-help-you-recruitment-retention-ratnesh-jain/

To attract the Best Possible Apt Talent it is important to regularly review and improve your recruitment process to ensure it is attracting top talent and providing a positive candidate experience.

There is easy solution – choosing an experienced Recruitment Partner that specialises in delivering the “Best Possible” not “Best Available”

We at BGR can help you draft a great Recruitment strategy and plan and then execute the plan and help you recruit the Best Possible talent in record time.

Blue Genes Research [BGR] – Hire your next star player in record time.

Delivering top-tier Indian talent, personally headhunted & vetted for you by HR veterans and Management consultants.

Since 2006, our highly-specialized team of senior HR veterans and management consultants has been helping companies put the right people on the job using a hands-on approach and streamlined yet thorough process. We get results because we don’t just match candidates to required skill sets; we connect you with top-tier hidden talent that will align perfectly with your organization’s culture, vision, and challenges—all in record time.

We have a solid reputation for Speed, Accuracy, and High-Quality work.

Our team includes IIM, IIT & XLRI alumni Senior Consultants and dedicated in-house research professionals.

Industry focus:

• Consumer Products & Services, Furniture, Building material
• Industrial & Manufacturing, Chemicals
• New Age Tech Businesses, Fintech
• Banking, Financial Services & Insurance
• Infrastructure & Real Estate

Function focus:

• Top Management – CEO, CFO, COO, CTO, CMO, CHRO
• Finance & Legal
• Sales & Marketing, Digital marketing
• Manufacturing & SCM
• Human Resources
• Information technology, eCommerce

People make or break a business. Having a great Recruitment Strategy can be your biggest competitive advantage.

Reading below will help you build great teams faster:

• Why form a recruitment strategy?
• Why should a CEO get involved in forming a recruitment strategy?
• Top 10 recruitment strategy tips for a CEO

Why form a recruitment strategy?

Forming a good recruitment strategy is important for a number of reasons:

1. Attracting top talent: A good recruitment strategy can help attract top talent to your company, which can lead to increased productivity and improved business performance.
2. Improving employee retention: A good recruitment strategy can help ensure that you are hiring the right candidates, which can lead to improved employee retention rates.
3. Reducing costs: A good recruitment strategy can help reduce costs associated with hiring, such as advertising, screening, and training expenses.
4. Increasing efficiency: A good recruitment strategy can help streamline the recruitment process, allowing you to efficiently and effectively fill open positions.
5. Enhancing your company’s reputation: A good recruitment strategy can help enhance your company’s reputation as a great place to work, which can attract even more top talent in the future.

Why should a CEO get involved in forming a recruitment strategy?

It is important for the CEO to be involved in forming the recruitment strategy because the CEO is responsible for setting the overall direction and goals of the company. By being involved in the recruitment process, the CEO can ensure that the company is attracting and hiring candidates who align with the company’s mission and values and can contribute to the company’s success.

Additionally, the CEO’s involvement in the recruitment process can demonstrate to potential candidates that the company values its employees and is committed to finding the right fit for open positions. This can help attract top talent to the company and improve employee retention rates.

Overall, the CEO’s involvement in the recruitment process can help ensure that the company has the right people in place to achieve its business goals and succeed in the long term.

Top 10 recruitment strategy tips for a CEO

1. Define your company’s culture and values: Clearly defining your company’s culture and values will help attract candidates who align with your company’s mission and goals.
2. Utilize a diverse recruitment process: A diverse recruitment process helps ensure that you are attracting a diverse pool of candidates. This can include using a variety of recruitment channels, such as job boards, social media, and employee referrals.
3. Create a strong employer brand: A strong employer brand can help attract top talent to your company. This includes highlighting your company’s values, culture, and employee benefits on your website and social media channels.
4. Use targeted job descriptions: Writing targeted job descriptions that clearly outline the responsibilities and qualifications for the position will help attract the right candidates.
5. Offer competitive compensation and benefits: Offering competitive compensation and benefits can help attract top talent to your company.
6. Utilize employee referrals: Employee referrals can be a powerful recruitment tool, as employees are likely to refer candidates who they believe will be a good fit for your company.
7. Use social media: Utilizing social media can help you reach a wider pool of candidates and showcase your company culture and values.
8. Utilize recruiting software: Recruiting software can help streamline the recruitment process, allowing you to easily track and manage candidates.
9. Offer internships and job shadowing opportunities: Offering internships and job shadowing opportunities can help attract top talent to your company, as it allows candidates to get a taste of what it’s like to work for your company.
10. Build relationships with local universities and colleges: Building relationships with local universities and colleges can help you tap into a pool of talented students and recent graduates who may be interested in working for your company.

Above article is based on my 16+ years experience in Executive search and Recruitment research especially in leadership hiring. Also helping many CEO’s / business owners in formulating their recruitment strategies.

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