How can you improve your recruitment strategy?

A good recruitment strategy is an important issue so that your organization can benefit from the talent it needs in a sustainable way. At a time when increased competition is developing in all sectors of the job market, it is imperative for every company to adapt its recruitment behavior in order to remain attractive. It is then necessary to know how to recognize situations that indicate an inadequate recruitment strategy that must be improved. What are these signals that should alert you and should you react to? How can you sustainably improve your recruitment strategy to make it a driver of growth and competitiveness? Dive into the heart of a winning method that will allow you to build an effective recruitment strategy and find the best talent!

What do we mean by recruitment strategy?

One recruitment strategy refers to all the action plans, methods and processes that a company puts in place to attract, select and hire the most qualified and suitable candidates for its recruitment needs. It is a proactive approach to human resources management that aims to ensure that the company has the talent needed to achieve its growth goals.

The ultimate objective of a recruitment strategy is to constitute a team of talents that will contribute significantly to the success of the company while minimizing the costs and delays associated with the recruitment process. This generally involves a good knowledge of the job market, the needs of the company and the skills required on the part of the candidates.

What are the main signs of a poor recruitment strategy?

One poor recruitment strategy can have costly consequences for your business, including difficulties or Recruiting mistakes, A waste of time for the people in charge of recruitment, whether they are your operational managers or your Talent Acquisition Managers, A loss of resources especially financial ones, because the cost of a vacancy or poor recruitment is high, an increase in staff turnover, or a decrease in productivity. Here are some of the main signs that your recruitment strategy is not working and needs to be improved:

1. Candidates who are ill-suited to the positions for which they were recruited

‍When a candidate is not a good fit for the position or leaves the company quickly, it is often necessary to start the recruitment process all over again. This results in a decrease in productivity because the identification and selection process for the position must be relaunched. The time spent looking for candidates, conducting interviews, checking references, etc., is becoming a source of low morale for Hiring Managers and TAM in charge of recruiting and the costs associated with these rehiring activities are rapidly increasing. This is a sign that it is urgent to put in place a solid recruitment strategy that effectively focuses on skills and a culture fit adapted to your business and context.

2. A high rate of staff turnover

A high turnover rate is often a sign of a flawed recruitment strategy. This could be due to unclear job descriptions, poor onboarding of new employees, or a misalignment with your company culture. Not only does this increase recruitment costs, but it can also impact your business reputation.

3. Excessive recruitment costs

‍If the costs associated with the hiring process exceed the budget, it may be a sign that your recruitment strategy is not working. It may be necessary to review sourcing methods, tools used for sorting resumes or screening interview processes to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

4. A long and complicated recruitment process

A process that is too long can deter top talent from applying. If qualified candidates for the job find other opportunities while the company takes its time making a decision, it can cause delays in recruiting people who are critical to the success of your business. It is therefore urgent to adapt your recruitment strategy to market expectations.

5. An inconsistency in the selection criteria

An inconsistency in selection criteria can lead to inequalities and a lack of diversity in recruitment. It can also make it difficult to assess candidates objectively, which in turn makes it more difficult to select the most suitable candidates and can lead to recruitment errors.

6. Poor communication with candidates

If candidates don't get feedback or clear communication about the hiring process, it can hurt your company's image and its ability to attract quality candidates who won't be inclined to continue the hiring process with your company. This is a sign that your recruitment strategy needs to be improved to make sure you don't lose good potential candidates for your position.

7. An absence of applications or applications that are not relevant

If the company does not receive applications or does not receive of relevant applications For a given job offer, this may indicate that the sourcing strategy is inadequate or that the job description is not clear or appealing. The challenge will then be to redefine a recruitment strategy adapted to your position and your company.

8. A lack of long-term planning

Recruiting should be aligned with the company's overall strategy. Without long-term planning, a company can find itself in a situation where it needs to hire urgently, which can lead to poor recruitment decisions and ultimately lead to gaps in crucial skills and expertise.

9. A lack of diversity

A diverse workforce can bring diverse perspectives and skills, which is critical for innovation and growth. A lack of diversity may indicate a bias in the hiring process or a non-inclusive corporate culture. An optimal recruitment strategy should be able to ensure good diversity in your team.

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An ineffective recruitment strategy can have multiple facets that are harmful to a business. This can range from hiring the wrong candidates to high recruitment costs, high staff turnover and a lack of diversity. These issues are often interconnected and can have long-term consequences, not only on employee well-being, but also on business performance and competitiveness. It is therefore crucial to adopt a well-planned and thoughtful recruitment approach to avoid these pitfalls.

Let's now review the actionable solutions that will allow you to make your recruitment strategy a competitive advantage and recruit the best talent.

What are the levers to improve your recruitment strategy?

Here are our recommendations for developing an effective recruitment strategy:

1. Clearly define your personnel needs

Before starting a recruitment process, it is necessary to Define your needs well. Precisely identify the skills, experience, and qualifications required for the job. Create a detailed job description to attract the right candidates.

2. Building a solid employer brand

Expand a positive image of your business as an employer. Highlight company culture, benefits, career development opportunities, and company values to attract more candidates.

3. Use a variety of recruitment channels

Don't limit yourself to a single source of recruitment. Use online job boards, social networks, recruitment agencies, co-optation, recruitment events, etc., for Expand your candidate pool. Recruiting by approaching candidates directly, in other words Headhunting, is also a good recruitment method when inbound recruitment does not give good results.

4. Use a specialized recruitment firm

Recruitment agencies offer a significant advantage to your recruitment strategy for key positions in your organization thanks to their deep expertise in the job market and their vast network of contacts. Their team of specialized consultants allows significant time savings by effectively filtering the best candidates. In addition, their position encourages open and transparent communication with candidates and their replacement guarantee provides additional security in the event of a recruitment error.

5. Optimize your recruitment process

Simplify and Streamline the hiring process to make it more effective. Reduce candidate response times and ensure that each stage is well defined with short deadlines between interviews. A process duration of less than one month between coming into contact with a potential candidate and the job offer is an optimal time frame testifying to the high efficiency of the process.

6. Investing in the training of recruiters

Make sure your recruiters and hiring managers are trained in best recruitment practices, including the identification and direct approach of candidates, the assessment of competencies, the conducting effective interviews and the assessment of the motivations of potential candidates.

7. Establishing objective selection criteria

Develop selection criteria based on concrete skills and qualifications rather than on prejudices or personal impressions. Using a scorecard can be very useful in this context, as it makes it possible to quantify the criteria and make them more comparable between the different candidates. This is crucial to avoid any unpleasant surprises and to ensure a fair selection process.

8. Involving internal stakeholders

Collaborate closely with operational teams to understand their hiring needs. Involve them in the recruitment process and in decision making. An effective recruitment strategy is essential Collaborative because it is based on specific skills requirements from Hiring Managers who must be able to be included, for example, in technical interviews and in the assessment of candidate skills.

9. Evaluate and adjust continuously

Follow Key performance indicators related to recruitment, such as recruitment time, cost per hire, step-by-step drop rate, and staff turnover rate. Use data from your recruitment software to constantly improve your strategy. For example, if the volume of recruitments is large, you can opt for a RPO recruitment solution that will reduce your unit cost per recruitment.

10. Focus on diversity and inclusion

Promote diversity by implementing recruitment initiatives to attract candidates from different backgrounds and ensure that your hiring process is inclusive. To do this, launch partnership programs with diversity-focused organizations, such as professional associations for women in tech, for example, in order to attract a wider range of candidates. Training on the prevention of unconscious bias could also be offered to people involved in your recruitment process to make your recruitment strategy more inclusive.

11. Offer a positive candidate experience

Pay attention to candidate experience throughout the process. Respond to their questions quickly, make sure they feel valued and informed at every stage. Your company can set up a tracking system that sends notifications to candidates at every stage of the hiring process. For example, a confirmation email after receiving the application, an update after each stage and feedback, whether positive or negative. All this testifies to a demanding and well-organized recruitment strategy.

12. Integrate new employees effectively

Once candidates are hired, be sure to set up a solid integration program to promote their success and their long-term commitment. Upon arrival, for example, an integration program of 30 to 90 days could be put in place. This program could include training, meetings with key members of the company and even mentoring to help new employees adapt more quickly to their new role.

13. Follow labor market trends

Stay up to date with changes in the job market, new technologies, and recruitment trends for adapt quickly to changes. For example, hiring managers will be able to subscribe to specialized newsletters or podcasts, participate in conferences or professional meetings, and use monitoring platforms to stay up to date with the latest recruitment trends and methods. For example, as remote work becomes a dominant trend, your HR team or TAM will be able to adjust your recruitment strategy to attract talent who is comfortable with this new way of working.

14. Be sure to always keep in mind that the market is tight

Make sure at each stage of the process to validate the competence but also to Convince the candidate to join you. If you wait until the end of the process to promote the vacancy and your company, you risk losing the ideal candidates first. In particular, it is very useful for some positions to carry out technical tests. Then avoid theoretical and generic tests but prefer Practical situations that will allow candidates to learn more about their daily future. Also, remember to give them feedback so that they can progress and not just have the feeling that they are taking an exam.