Does your organization need to shake up the hiring process? This article has some great suggestions. We have included most of the total number of 40 ideas. We encourage you to read the entire article. We think some of these ideas can help your organization increase the success of finding people who can help your firm succeed.
From the article:
“Many companies today are struggling to hire and retain talent, but more often than not the problem is self-inflicted: They’re simply not using a broad enough array of tools, sometimes because they don’t even know the tools exist.
Despite challenging economic conditions, companies are still finding it difficult to attract and retain the right talent. That’s one of the takeaways from the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, which showed that job vacancies remain above 10 million as of November 2022.
But business leaders are doing very little that’s innovative to tackle the talent challenge. When it comes to higher-wage workers, they’re relying primarily on two basic strategies: increasing compensation and implementing remote/hybrid work models. They’re doing even less for lower-wage workers.
Much of this is due to a lack of awareness of innovative talent practices. Less than 20% of them reported their organizations had very mature talent strategies.
To help, we’ve identified nearly 40 strategies, which we’ve organized into seven categories that either strengthen the hiring process or help enhance a company’s offer.
By embracing more expansive hiring and selection processes, companies can do a better job of finding the talent that’s right for them. Here are some innovative practices to consider:
- Figure out what work really needs to get done, and rewrite job descriptions to focus on the skills and specs that matter the most for that work.
- Seek candidates who match 70% to 80% of the most critical skills for the role — and develop learning curricula to equip them with the remainder.
- Offer “micro-internships” that reach new candidate pools and allow employers and candidates to assess fit before committing to a full-time hire.
- Consider candidates simultaneously for multiple open roles if they have a high degree of overlapping skills.
- Leverage tech-based and AI-based talent assessments to screen for technical or interpersonal skills.
You need to broaden your methods of sourcing candidates. Here are some practices to consider:
- Expand internal talent mobility.
- Work to attract alumni with valuable institutional knowledge back to your organization.
- Build an internal list of previously high-performing employees who might be candidates to re-engage for future roles.
- Tap into “hidden” populations, including retired, neurodiverse, and previously incarcerated workers.
Consider expanding your repertoire to include the following techniques:
- Deploy talent from Hire-Train-Deploy (HTD) partners who source high-potential candidates and equip them with the relevant skills for your needs.
- Use digital platforms to do more programmatic and personalized recruiting (including leveraging QR codes, text messaging).
- Partner with educational and community institutions, including job centers and community colleges.
- Embrace new ways of identifying talent on social-media platforms (such as layoff lists and LinkedIn posts).
- Develop and market a more effective referral program, particularly for in-demand roles.
Compensation and Benefits
- Provide creative benefits, such as caregiver support programs, childcare services, and wellness perks.
- Segment and develop tailored benefits for hard-to-fill talent populations.
- Provide incentives, such as higher bonuses during peak hours and step-ups on promotion, especially for lower-wage workers.
- Guarantee health care benefits and appropriate sick time for your full workforce.
- Reduce volatility by ensuring stable and predictable pay, particularly for lower-wage workers.
Get started redesigning work with the following strategies:
- Break work into its components to assign responsibilities more clearly across a team or to freelance workers.
- Deploy talent more dynamically, by creating skills-based pools of talent that can be assigned to the most critical priorities on-demand.
- Use creative scheduling and shift redesign to allow lower-wage workers to move or switch shifts more flexibly while still providing adequate coverage.
- Experiment with different flex models
- Redesign work by eliminating, re-assigning, or automating less-critical responsibilities.
Providing opportunities for your employees to take on stretch assignments can help you not only develop but also retain your employees. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 60% of US employees cited a lack of career-advancement opportunities as a leading reason for leaving their jobs.
- Provide education benefits linked to individualized skill-development plans (for example, tuition reimbursement).
- Build targeted learning and development programs to support onboarding, upskilling, and reskilling across both hard and soft skills.
- Design mentorship and sponsorship programs, and peer-to-peer coaching systems.
- Upskill managers to be better people leaders and increase manager accountability for team development.
Culture
- Companies need a compelling culture to maximize the engagement, productivity, and retention of their existing workforces. Here are some innovative practices to help build a meaningful culture:
- Embed company purpose, strategy, and values in your operating and performance practices and feedback process, and train your leaders to become culture champions.
- Set up robust onboarding programs that build affiliation and mentorship into the process.
- Create opportunities and free up as much as 10% to 20% of capacity for passion projects.
- Boost affiliation by developing interest groups and communities of practice.
- Take pulse checks on employee sentiment to highlight opportunities for improvement in near real-time.
- Develop clear two-way communication channels for employee input and engagement.
The best talent strategy for your organization involves finding the right portfolio of practices that meet your needs and investing appropriately in their implementation, even during uncertain economic conditions.
Take stock of what your organization is already doing, then thoughtfully assess where there are gaps in your talent strategy and how our suggestions.
James P. Randisi, President of Randisi & Associates, Inc., has since 1999 been helping employers protect their clients, workforce and reputation through implementation of employment screening and drug testing programs. This post does not constitute legal advice. Randisi & Associates, Inc. is not a law firm. Always contact competent employment legal counsel. To learn more about screening volunteers, Mr. Randisi can be contacted by phone at 410.494.0232 or Email: info@randisiandassociates.com or the website at randisiandassociates.com
