How to hire workers more effectively
Looking to hire new staff?
Here are strategies you can use to find the best people. They come from a new report by The Conference Board.
RETHINK WHO CAN DO THE WORK
You should:
• Look for skills instead of experience.
List the skills that the work needs. Then set your sights on candidates from other professions who have the skills you need.
• Hire for potential.
Select those people who have the qualities you want in an employee rather than the skills. Skills are easy to learn.
You might want to look for workers with the ability to solve problems, who look beyond the obvious, and who are eager to learn.
• Consider populations that are untapped.
Look at people who are often overlooked, such as retired seniors, people with disabilities, college students, immigrants, refugees, and those who been incarcerated.
You might also look at employees who prefer to work as independent contractors rather than full-time workers.
• Revisit traditional hiring credentials.
Alternative credentials, such as certificates of competency, allow organizations to consider a range of candidates that is more diverse.
"Organizations willing to overcome deep-rooted beliefs about how work should be done—and who should be doing it—will have an advantage in this war for talent,” says Dr. Robin Erickson, vice president of human capital at The Conference Board.
“Hiring from underutilized groups will not only expand the candidate pool, it will expand the diversity of thought and experience within your organization.”
RETHINK WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW THE WORK GETS DONE
• Be flexible about where the work is performed.
Those companies that allow employees tow rod from home have a competitive advantage over those that do not.
• Question when the work needs to be performed.
Consider abandoning the concept of an eight-hour workday. Experiment with a permanently shortened workweek. Concentrate on jobs to be done rather than on the time it takes to complete them. This benefits those who are able to work faster.
• Redesign job roles in ways that will expand the pool of potential candidates.
Try job sharing, which tow or more people do the work that is traditionally undertaken by one person.
Rethink taken acquisition itself.
RETHINK TALENT ACQUISITION
• Make everyone a recruiter.
Tell your employees about job openings and qualifications. They might know people from previous workplaces or who are friends who would like to apply.
• Recruit internally.
Doing so will Crete highly motivated workers, preserve institutional memory, and increase employee engagement and retention.
• Reconsider salary increases.
Avoid relying heavily or even exclusively, on salary to attract candidates. Offer other incentives, such as flexible working arrangements.