Recruiting in 2015: Are you ready? - Signet Resources

News from Signet - 20th April 2015

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There is no denying that the economy has changed when it comes to recruitment in my sectors.  Signet Resources works within Human Resources, Marketing, Sales, Commercial Operations and Finance; and in 2015 these are candidates that are in short supply.

However, is the professional world accepting of the fact that what they want to hire may not be on the market?

Honestly – I don’t think anyone is prepared for the skill shortage that we are facing.

The recession meant that less money was invested in training, and graduate recruitment fell to an all-time low.  The more stable market that we find ourselves in now, is looking to hire skilled individuals who can…’hit the ground running…’

The problem is, most employers don’t want to lose their staff who can already sprint.

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Counter offers are in abundance, businesses are looking at ways to motivate, incentivise and support their staff.  Retention is the buzz word in most companies, following by recruitment of skilled personnel.

But how do you go fishing in a pond when the fish are not interested in the bait?

I would argue that you need to alter your recruitment process and the type of individual you are looking to hire.  Don’t hire on skills, hire on attitude.

Skills can be trained, attitude is from within.

If your job specification reads like a children’s letter to Santa, take a step back and identify what is really important to the business.  As a hiring manager myself, I know how amazing it is when you source someone who has got all the skills you need, I also know that I wouldn’t hire anyone who didn’t display the competencies of determination and integrity, no matter how good the CV.

I can train people to do recruitment, I cannot train the desire to succeed.  I can motivate people to do well, but I cannot give them the self-drive that will push them on to be as good as they can be.

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If you look at the characteristics of your top person in the team, I think most would agree that is their personality and nature that makes them exceptional.  Investing in people like this, training them for the future and succession planning with them will help retain them.

Likewise recruiting people who seem to have the same focus and attitude and investing in them, training any gaps that sit between their CV and your person specification can only enhance their loyalty to their new job.

When I interview candidates across all of my sectors, the resounding motivators are stability and development.  This is why employees will leave a role, not for more money (although it helps), but to go to a company who is promising to invest in their career and improve their skill set.

Not many of us get excited by doing the exact same job for a different employer.  You need to generate a reason for someone to want to leave their current job to join your company.

Investing in someone who doesn’t tick every box on the job spec but is motivated and driven to achieve and craves training can open up a new pool of candidates to meet.  Taking time to develop people creates loyalty in your team and inspires individuals.

Having a team of motivated, inspired and driven employees is realistic, hiring people to do the same job from a competitor or similar role is probably less achievable and could leave you with an empty desk for a long period of time.

Which one sounds more appealing?

 

 

 

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