Chances are if you’re a typical 40-hour per week professional you are in one of two states right now. The first option is that you are on vacation soaking up sun and if you are reading this (why are you reading this?) you are on your iPhone. The second is that you are slogging through the slow recruitment marketing months while your colleagues are soaking up your sun (darn them). Either way, July has a way of making all of us feel like September is a long time off, but here’s the thing; it isn’t. Effective today you have just one month, three weeks and one day until September 1st comes knocking.
While September is not the start of an actual war, it is the formal beginning of the season for the war for talent. The fact is, more aggressive companies will outmaneuver those who haven’t prepared in advance. Here are several ways to prepare so that you aren’t scrambling when September 1st hits!
Reassess Your Onboarding Process
Summer is such a gift time-wise. We recommend that you use that free time to go through your onboarding process step-by-step to make sure it is optimized. Go through it as a candidate and see if you can find any holes in communication or learning gaps that could be filled. The better your onboarding process, the more likely you are to have educated employees who will stay with your company.
Don’t Lose Speed
While now may seem dead, it’s not a bad time to hire in earnest. Though not as many candidates are actively searching, many who are looking are open to making a dramatic change quickly.
Make sure you are taking time to stay in contact with your hot candidate leads, post new jobs regularly and promote openings on various social media channels. Candidates are still looking in the dead heat of summer and you stand a better chance of landing them if you persist.
Prep a Fall Hiring Initiative
While we recommend ongoing recruitment marketing, Fall is a perfect time to push through a big hiring initiative. Pull your team together and decide the following:
- What is our biggest area of need (Registered Nurses, Retail Workers etc.)?
- What is our budget for an on-site event?
- Do we have an incentive to offer (like a sign-on bonus)?
- What can we promote that is unique to us?
- What parts of our company have changed recently that we can raise awareness on?
We recommend putting together an on-site hiring event for either one major day or several days throughout the month. It really depends on the aim of the intiative. If you are seeking one specific type of hire like a Nurse, a one day event may be ideal. However, if you are looking to recruit for multiple roles and levels, a “walk-in” style event throughout the month of September may offer the right amount of flexibility for the masses.
Whatever your plans are, we recommend creating a comprehensive plan well in advance. And you’re in luck! We’ve designed a specific guide that will help you orchestrate a successful hiring event. Click below, it’s free!
