Recruitment is a necessity for any business that seeks to grow; an expanded workforce allows more work to be taken on, resulting in increased turnover and higher profits. But the way the recruitment is handled and followed up will determine the overall success of the process and how far the company will progress as a result.
When and How to Recruit Effectively
The timing of recruitment can be crucial to the effectiveness of your business. In general, you need to take on new employees if:
- new business is being lost due to having insufficient resources to deal with it
- customer service is suffering because there isn’t enough support staff to deal with customers properly
- employees are unable to do their work correctly due to having too much to do
- the present organisation structure is insufficient to deal with the current level of business and new roles need to be created
- an expansion is planned and additional resources are required to handle it.
Recruitment should be undertaken proactively so that you anticipate a need rather than waiting until staff are overwhelmed and a lack of resources is a problem. Careful planning and assessment of needs will ensure that new employees are recruited when they are needed rather than being taken on too late.
Further workers will bring new vitality and may be sourced internally or externally, with each bringing their own advantages and drawbacks:
- External recruits will bring new skills to the business, reducing the need for training in those skills. They may also add further perspective and innovative ideas that introduce diversity to the existing team and stimulate growth through a different approach that brings a competitive advantage and increased profitability.
- Internal recruits will already be familiar with the company’s culture and goals as well as the industry they work in and so will not require any induction and familiarisation. Their promotion or transfer will make them feel appreciated within the company and they are likely to approach their new role with added zeal and increased loyalty.
The Benefits of Effective Recruitment
If recruitment is properly planned, correctly timed, adequately funded and effectively carried out, it is likely to provide:
- a large and qualified pool of applicants for a job if it is advertised widely and in the correct areas
- suitable candidates if all applicants are rigorously screened through tests, interviews and other means such as assessing work examples to establish qualifications, experience and suitability
- new employees who will match company goals and enable those goals to be attained
- a contented workforce, with a resulting increase in productivity and lower staff turnover, providing the right type of people are hired and they are encouraged to fit in with the company culture.
Recruitment is only the start of the process, however, since new and old employees alike need to be looked after properly to ensure they remain with the company and contribute fully to its success. If employees are given adequate development and training opportunities, feel part of the company and can identify with its aims, and are able to see a progression path they believe they are able to achieve, they’ll stay with the company rather than moving elsewhere.
With an effective recruitment process and employee development programme, you can achieve excellent staff morale, increased worker retention and high productivity that will carry your company forward to increased prosperity. At Schward Recruit, we can help you achieve those goals and take your business into new and exciting areas with benefits that far exceed those set out in any initial job description.
Dr Schultz spent 22 years working in psychiatry and then went on to qualify as a lawyer. He has spent 34 years helping people solve problems and the unique combination of medicine, psychiatry, law and mediation provides a unique academic and practical approach to life's challenges.
