Finding Employees… it’s no longer a part-time activity.

Finding Employees… it’s no longer a part-time activity.

Just like most things you thought were going to be relatively easy, finding employees turns out to be harder than you thought.  Contemporary news points out that most companies, especially small to medium size companies are having difficulty finding people to work. In recent months Chick-Fila has had to delay the opening of new locations as they did not have adequate staffing to open the doors. The economy along with unemployment rates suggest that his shouldn’t be the case, but alas, it has become nearly a full-time job seeking employees. Even in an economy that lots of people are looking for a job, it may be easy to find a warm body, but difficult to find the right person(s), or the “Goldilocks” employee as I like to call them.

I will refer you to a previous blog, “The Right Person for the Right Job”, to explain how to interview to get the right person in the right seat.  But today let’s talk about how to find prospective employees.

As the title suggests this is a full-time activity.  You should always be on the lookout for perfect employees.  And by “perfect” I do not mean that literally.  A “perfect employee” is an employee that you wish you had a dozen more just like them. How many times have you said to yourself, “if only I could clone him/her?”

This takes work, and more work than you would like to commit to.  Even if you have an HR person or HR department, it is every manager’s job to be on the lookout for “talent”.  But the payoff is: the more time you spend looking for good talent the less time you will spend training, retraining, giving instruction, having labor issues, and the more productivity you will enjoy. All these factors, as any manager will attest, is time consuming AND expensive.

To find employees, you can use various online and offline methods. Here are some strategies you can consider:

• Keep your eyes open: If you are looking for restaurant servers, leave your business card with a generous tip and ask them to call you. If you’re looking for Engineers, approach those who impress you at your next industry conference.  Always be evaluating the people on-the-job that you see in everyday life.
• Job boards: Post your job openings on popular job boards to reach a wide pool of potential candidates. Some free job boards include Indeed and Glassdoor.
• Social media: Leverage social media platforms to advertise your job openings and reach out to potential candidates. LinkedIn is a great platform for professional networking and job opportunities.
• Employee referrals: Encourage your existing employees to refer qualified candidates who might be a good fit for your company. Talented people always know other talented people, so approach your best performers first. It doesn’t hurt to offer an incentive for existing staff as a “finder’s fee” for anyone they refer and that stays aboard for 90 days (or a time that works for your company).
• Customer referrals: You spent a long time building a loyal customer base, let the ones you are on a friendly basis with know you are looking for good help. Perhaps use your social media platform to announce what positions you are looking to fill.
• Candidate databases: Build a database of potential candidates by collecting resumes and contact information from previous applicants or networking events. You should always have a supply of resumes or applications ready to look at.
• Job fairs or career days: Attend job fairs or host career days to connect with job seekers in person and promote your company’s opportunities.

Methods may vary from industry to industry, the type of position, dependent on the size of your company, and the volume of employees that you need, so it’s important to test multiple strategies and see what works best for your company.

To find the right person you will need to interview 10-20 candidates depending on the quality of your employment marketing.  It is never about the volume of applicants you get, rather the quality of candidates.  You can have your marketing message weed out poor applicants from prime candidates with the proper wording.

The interviewing process has changed over the years as well. Rather than waste an excess amount of time meeting each candidate in person, suggest a phone conversation (interview) first. This allows you to feel out the individual for key work ethic indicators and allows the candidate to be at their best in their home environment. If the candidate meets your values for the “right person”, then suggest an in-person meeting.

Sadly, gone are the days of having a file full of potential candidates for any position. That said, it is also a good idea (also a legal requirement) to keep any open applications on file for 6 months to a year. It may take a bit more organization on your part to organize the applications by the position where they might be best suited.

The goal is to always have a pipeline feeding you potential employees in the same way a marketing funnel feeds new customers.  Hard to do?  YES, but when done right you will never have to settle for mediocre again.  You can weed through and hold out for the “perfect candidate(s)”.

Skip Williams

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