Navigating the hiring rush: Strategies for long-lasting recruitment

The new year is upon us yet again, and with it comes new resolutions and promises to get more organized, physically fit, or save more money. When January 1st hits, businesses — like all of us — are also gearing up for what the next year may hold, and a key part of this preparation is readying for the hiring rush.

Many businesses will up their recruitment efforts either in preparation for a busy season or because the year’s budgets are finalized and hiring approvals have been made. The first months of the new year are prime time for potential employees to show their stuff and for businesses to up their efforts and make plans for long-lasting recruitment. With applicants lining up to be considered, here are some strategies for navigating the incoming stream of potential hires, interviews, and onboarding — and how to attract and retain the best talent possible through it!

Prepare for the rush

Businesses need to look ahead to the year to understand when they’ll need more support based on their industries. For example, if you own a wedding venue in the Midwest, you’ll probably not be raking in the wedding dough in the dead of winter. Once summer hits, however, you’ll need everything from banquet servers to wedding planners. Starting the hiring process a few months before your busy season is the best way to ensure you’ll have the people you need when you need them.

First things first, assess your needs. How many people do you need to bring on? Who on your current team is sticking around? You don’t want to over-hire only to wind up stuck having to lay folks off, but you also don’t want to scrimp on hiring and end up understaffed during the busy season.

It’s a “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” situation — you need the amount of employees you hire to be just right. You can find this sweet spot by analyzing your needs based on prior years, budget, and forecasts for the following year.

Attract talent 

When there’s a hiring rush, and every business is fighting for the available talent, how do you set yourself apart? Just like when trying to attract clients or customers, you also have to woo potential employees. This means working on your employee branding, showcasing your awesome company culture, and utilizing social media to enhance brand visibility and awareness — not to mention highlighting the positions you currently have open. 

Use this time to develop a talent pipeline by proactively engaging with potential hires on platforms such as LinkedIn, which lets you see their background. Make an effort to attend industry events, networking opportunities, or fairs where potential employees will be putting themselves out there and trying to catch your attention. You can also establish a relationship with local educational institutions, which can put you in touch with whole classrooms full of trained, ready, and willing talent. 

Optimize your job listings 

Ask any job seeker, and they’ll tell you that not all job listings are the same — some are incredibly demanding of prerequisites, some fail to list valuable information, and others are often far too vague. Take the time to optimize your job listings and role descriptions to make them as thorough and clear as possible. 

Additionally, leverage the technology available to you to help screen applicants during a hiring rush, which will save you plenty of time, money, and aggravation in the long run. Your application should be user-friendly and responsive to avoid frustrating job seekers or casting a negative light on your brand.

Earlier, we mentioned attracting talent by showing off your brand as an employer. The job listing is the perfect place to highlight reasons people may want to work for you. You might list company benefits, awards the company has won, and whether or not you use employee recognition software — all of which signal to applicants that you care about the members of your team. 

Meeting the goal of lower turnover

It can be easy during a hiring rush to just hire anyone with a pulse to fill spots — but don’t panic. A business’ goal should be hiring for longevity, and hiring with retention in mind starts with onboarding. 

If your onboarding process is a mess, people will be turned off from the experience right out of the gate, meaning their chances of staying with the business for the long term diminish. The onboarding process should be streamlined to accommodate an influx of new hires. Comprehensive training programs should be developed to ensure no one is starting out confused or overwhelmed. A key part of the onboarding process should focus on how to help new hires become a part of the community and culture at work. The sooner they feel connected to their coworkers and company values, the more likely they are to stay longer and work harder.

Related: Small businesses are hiring, but can they afford to keep new employees?

Strengthening the company culture will also help a business retain top talent, and this goes well beyond offering pizza lunches or “Casual Fridays.” The company culture needs to connect people beyond their job titles or departments. A great culture makes sure that everyone is supported in their work and, where appropriate, in their personal lives. 

A good work culture includes micro-communities so people can interact based on interests or hobbies. For example, some organizations may have people who gather to play basketball in the mornings and board games once a week at night. The best companies will support these types of relationships and interactions. 

A good culture also means that employees are being recognized and rewarded for their day-to-day efforts. When employees feel seen, heard, and appreciated, they are 63% more likely to stick around and work hard for that employer.

Hiring rushes can be stressful and challenging to navigate. Still, with an eye on proper preparation and retention of employees, companies can make the best hiring decisions for their organization and come through the busy season with flying colors. 

Logan Mallory is the Vice President of Marketing at the leading employee engagement and recognition software, Motivosity.