Whether you work in the construction industry, or any other industry, you want to create a solid team of industry innovators — people who will support your company’s goals, and help drive it forward. In order to achieve this, you must have an efficient and effective hiring process. A process that is designed to attract top talent. Here are a few tips to do just that.
Map Out The Applicant Journey
The first step is to map out the basic elements of the applicant journey. This will ensure that it is consistent and easy to repeat. This process will vary from one company to the next, and may vary slightly depending upon the position you are looking to fill. You can create an easy to follow checklist, that caters to the needs of each open position. Some of the most common aspects to consider include:
- Applicant prescreening process
- Types of interviews—online, phone, in-person
- Number of interviews required
- Reference/background check process
- Date each position needs to be filled
- Determine who is accountable for each phase
Clearly Define Your Hiring Profile
Top talent expects you to be prepared, meaning that you must create a clearly defined job description—and a clearly defined hiring profile. In some cases, you may not share all aspects of your hiring profile, as you may prefer to assess personality traits firsthand and hold the element of surprise. However, you must define your expectations in terms of job duties, experience, performance, and interpersonal skills. If your job description is too vague, you may waste time sorting through under or over-qualified candidates, or you may not attract the attention of the candidates you desire. Don’t forget to tweak and update the job description and hiring profile before you post each new job opening.
Respect Your Applicants Time
Remember that your applicants are interviewing you too. They are not just looking for a job, but for a good fit. It is surprising at the number of tenured hiring managers who make common mistakes with their applicants such as:
- Not showing for interviews, or running excessively late
- Canceling or rescheduling at the last minute
- Conducting distracted interviews—texting, emailing, answering phones, etc.
- Failing to respond to make timely staffing and next-step decisions
- Being unprepared for the interview
The first and most memorable impression of your company, is developed by your candidate’s interaction with your hiring managers during the interview process. Although you are busy, you must value and respect your applicant’s time, or they may interpret your lack of preparedness or communication as the daily norm.
Partner With A Recruiter To Search Beyond Applicants
Any time you post a job on your company website, or your preferred job boards, you will attract attention. However, the top talent you are searching for, are in most cases gainfully and happily employed. A more competitive, or suitable job opening could be available just down the street—but because they are already well-taken care of, browsing through local job boards simply isn’t on their radar. It is for this reason that many hiring managers and HR teams work with an industry-specific recruiter. For example, as one of the Top Recruitment Firms in the nation The Birmingham Group places candidates across many industries. However, our main specialty area falls in construction recruiting. Our reputation for matching top talent with reputable firms, as well as our extensive database of qualified candidates, help establish us as the premier construction recruiting firm.
Why Developing An Online Presence Is An Important Part Of An Effective Hiring Process
Top Talent is searching for you online, not only for your open positions, but to use your company to assess the industry as a whole. This means that you must actively develop your online presence by creating a website, LinkedIn business page, social media, and by keeping a close eye on your online reputation. For example, what are employees saying about you on review sites like Glassdoor? What are clients and customers saying about you in consumer review sites? If you don’t look good online, you won’t attract top talent.
Collaborate During The Onboarding Process
An effective hiring process is one that thinks beyond identifying qualified candidates, but to how well the candidates will work with your current team members. It is for this reason that many companies encourage collaboration at different phases of the onboarding process. This could include having a project manager provide in-depth input regarding job description and hiring profiles, having a panel for some or all of the interviews, and having collaborative discussion before hiring decisions are made.
In order to attract top talent, you must have an effective hiring process that will establish you as a worthy contender in the eyes of the candidates. The tips above will help you to do just that.
If you are a construction company searching for a construction recruiting firm, TBG is here to assist. We know our industry inside and out, and will help you attract the industry innovators you require to excel. Reach out today!
