Congratulations: You and your team have made it through one of the busiest times of the year. With the workload hopefully easing, even for only a moment, it’s a good time to assess your talent pool and update your outreach strategy.
Whether you’re hiring or not, you should always be thinking about your recruitment efforts and cultivating relationships and outreach with top talent in the market.
If you want the top players, you need a year-round plan for nurturing your talent pool, so it is primed and ready when the inevitable need arises. Now is the perfect time to review and optimize your approach to be as competitive as possible in the Southern California talent market.
Regardless of your open seats, now is the time to position your organization internally and externally as a “hiring company” that is perpetually on the lookout for the best and brightest talent.
Here are a few ways to create a successful hiring culture and keep your talent prospect list robust and current.
Share Your Success
Be active on social media, especially LinkedIn. Post regularly with photos and stories that reflect your thriving company culture, highlight business successes, and celebrate employee achievements. Encourage team members to do the same — their enthusiasm about their work and workplace will be contagious, creating positive buzz for the organization. This will attract potential candidates that might be about to begin a job search.
I’m Hiring
A few years ago, LinkedIn added the “I’m Hiring” feature, allowing individuals to easily broadcast open positions. Turn it on regardless of your current openings — it’s a great conversation starter and an opportunity for you to connect with potential new employees now and for the future.
Be Visible
Post-pandemic, there is no shortage of in-person professional and community events. You, your leadership team, and your hiring managers need to be out in the world building your company’s brand. Show up and leverage every event as an opportunity to connect (or re-connect) with potential candidates, learn about their current position and career goals, and share positive news about your company.
Leverage Stakeholders
During this time of year, you’re most likely having regular conversations with tax and audit advisors. Consider them extensions of your team and let them know you always welcome referrals. They understand your business and are interacting with many other organizations’ finance and accounting teams, so they likely have an incredible network. Take advantage of it. And don’t stop there… who else in your company’s ecosystem might be a good source of referrals?
Look in the Rearview Mirror
Look back at your last few hires. You undoubtedly interviewed multiple candidates and probably had some great contenders who didn’t work out for one reason or another. Create a process where you periodically reconnect with past candidates to learn their current status, goals, and anything that may have changed since you last spoke.
Stay In Touch
Finally, schedule regular check-ins with your recruiting partner. We want to hear from you whether or not you have an opening. Keep us up to date on company growth, shifts in strategy, and any new initiatives that might need full-time or interim talent. Consider us an extension of your team and know we’ll be on the lookout for the right candidate whenever a position does open.
Recruiting and retaining top talent requires focus and vigilance. If you take these steps, you’ll already have the right people in your pipeline when an opportunity arises. You’ll also be on their radar as a successful, respected, and thriving company where everyone wants to work.
