Why you’re having trouble recruiting

Are you recruiting and hiring based on a 2008 job market?

Most business owners are still taking an out-dated approach to recruiting and hiring.

When they have a position they need to fill, they create a job description, decide on a wage, and post it to Indeed.

They expect that this should be enough to bring in a group of qualified applicants who will compete with each other to get the position.

Then…as the person hiring, the owner’s job will then be to review the resumes, make a shortlist, and hold interviews to select the best candidate.

The applicant is expected to impress THEM.

In 2008 and 2009, this was how it worked.

Customers were hard to find, but job applicants were lined up around the block.

Now, in 2022, the tables have turned.

Customers are easy to get.

What’s hard is recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees.

Business owners today need to look at hiring differently.

Recruiting is no longer strictly an “HR function.”

Recruiting in 2022 requires marketing

The screen shot below shows you what you’re competing with.

Would you like a free iphone with that?

According to one of my clients, there are 200 vacant physiotherapy jobs in British Columbia at the moment.

I have another client who can’t hire enough occupational therapists. Their waiting list is booked out for 3 months and they’re turning down business every day – in some cases, they don’t even take the calls.

In labour shortage conditions like these, it’s not enough to simply post your job opening on Indeed.

You need to approach hiring from a marketing perspective.

Redirect some of your marketing resources towards hiring

Business owners tend to put a lot more resources into sales and marketing than they do into recruiting.

Take 20-30% of the effort you currently put into generating sales and direct it towards hiring people instead.

Get creative!

• Ask your current employees post job ads on their Facebook profiles.
• Give your employees a $250 – $500 bonus for every candidate they bring in that you hire.
• Offer an employment bonus similar to what McDonalds is doing.

Want more ideas? See this post: 3 tips for recruiting when employees are hard to find

Implement a recruiting system

Stop doing hiring off the side of your desk.

Think through your recruiting process once, then turn it into a system that can be run again and again.

One of the tools I use with my clients is a 4-step recruiting system based on a fishing metaphor:

1. Prepare the bait: create your ad
2. Cast the net: generate leads
3. Fill the deck: conduct virtual interviews
4. Reel them in: do a test drive

(If you’d like a PDF file with full instructions on how to implement this, send me an email and I’ll send it to you!)

Get some help to fast track the process

If you’re like many of my clients, you could easily add 30, 40 or 50 percent more sales if you had the people to deliver.

Implementing a recruiting program should be a priority for any business that wants to grow.

If you’d like some help with that, business coaching can speed up the process.

You can learn more about my services here: business coaching or book a 15-minute call on my calendar here: Book 15 minutes with John