Are you filling roles or filling roles well? And what does that even mean? Perhaps you always have that one job that needs to be filled every six months or a year? If that’s the case, you might want to think about how to fill the roles well. By this, we mean keeping a vacancy filled.
Go back to your recruitment strategy
And if your first thought is: I don’t have a recruitment strategy then it might be time to rethink that. A recruitment strategy can help you take a proactive approach to recruitment. Rather than putting in place ways and means after a vacancy has opened up, you can plan ahead. If that’s a role you struggle to keep filled or a role that is hard to fill this can be beneficial.
It gives you time to review your recruitment process and how it can be improved. Consider your employee value proposition and employee culture to see what impact they might be having on your recruitment. People might apply for a role that doesn’t fully appeal thinking ‘I only need to work there until I find something else’. Working to change that to ‘I really want to work for Company X’ will help you attract talent more easily.
Look at the role itself, are the benefits clear?
If you have a recruitment strategy in place but are still struggling to keep or find candidates, then the next place to review is the role itself. The current jobs market is leading to employers wanting that ‘unicorn’ of a person for a role. It can mean that job descriptions are extensive. Multiple skills are essential, not just desirable.
This is a double-edged sword. While you may occasionally find that mythical beast, it is more likely you’ll get a lot of applicants that are ‘okay-ish’. And when someone seems ‘okay-ish’ to you, they are likely thinking the same about your company. That means they might be settling for a role that meets some of what they are after but not everything and you struggle to keep them in post.
Looking at the job description but also the benefits can help you widen the pool of talent. Candidates are still looking for remote, hybrid or flexible positions. They are looking for places that match their values and can offer them opportunities whether that’s education or promotion. Highlighting that and refocusing your job description can help you target the right people for your role.
Putting yourself in the role of the individual
If your recruitment strategy has been reviewed and job description has been updated but you’re still ‘just filling roles’ what else can you do? We’d recommend putting yourself in the role of the individual.
Step back, review what someone external to your company might see, and ask yourself: would I apply? More importantly, ask yourself: how long would I stay at this company? If you can’t truthfully answer yes, or for two years or more, then you might need to go back to your strategy and job description.
Know when to work with a consultancy
Our final piece of advice is to know when to work with a consultancy like Good Egg Recruitment. If you’re finding that you are just filling the same role every 12 months or so and are not happy with those candidates you hire, it might be time to look at external expertise.
While recruitment can be done in-house, there are times when you can solve the problem better with an expert. And that’s when a consultancy like Good Egg Recruitment comes in. Our collaborative approach combines an independent eye to see what your recruitment process looks like to a candidate. By taking the time to get to know you, your objectives and company culture we can then actively source and present suitable candidates that match your requirements.
Our aim is to find those ‘good eggs’ on both sides of recruitment. If you’ve been filling roles, rather than filling them well, talk to nicola@goodeggrecruitment.com and annette@goodeggrecruitment.com.