Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring in 2024

Just when HR professionals and all of us in the recruiting industry think we have a good grasp on the market and hiring trends, another shift occurs and sends experts in the field on a new quest for understanding. 

Over the past 4+ years, we’ve all learned the value of flexibility and adaptability and, looking ahead into 2024, the need to embrace these qualities is the one consistent thing we can all rely on.

“… businesses are confronted with a dynamic and evolving employment landscape. There are fast-paced changes in the world of work, and the need for strategic hiring has never been more critical. Planning your hiring is not just about filling job openings; it’s about aligning your workforce with the future needs of your organization.”

Where life and work intersect – keep it real with your employer brand

The market remains a friendly place for job seekers and it seems many employers have come around to the mindset that the lifestyle your organization offers to its employees is as much a consideration as the title and responsibilities that come along with the role. 

With work and life continuously intersecting, we encourage our clients to highlight the human side of their company and use it to attract the best candidates for every role. 

One way to do this is to ensure that your employer brand is being communicated to recruiting partners and job seekers, alike. 

Your reputation in the consumer market is one thing, but in order to keep your team operating at the highest level, you’ll also need to spend time setting positive expectations in the hiring space.  

“Employer branding is how a company markets itself to both internal and potential employees. If you were to ask employees what it’s like to work for a company, they’re unlikely to talk about the products, goods and services – instead they’ll highlight management, conditions, culture, and values.”

Always follow through

Establishing a positive employer brand is a great start, and the follow-through is just as important. Upholding those expectations throughout the hiring process will help you continue to build goodwill in the recruiting community and further establish your company as ‘one to watch’ as job seekers enter the market. 

A few tips from Qualtrics for creating the ideal hiring environment include: 

• Foster positive candidate experience: Candidate experience is the sum of all the interactions a candidate has with you as a potential employer, across the whole recruitment cycle, from job ad to interview to hire (or not) and beyond. It’s crucial that you manage every candidate well. For those who join your company, it sets the tone for their employee experience – how engaged they’ll be and how well they’ll perform. For those who are not successful, you’ll leave a good impression that may make them want to reapply and recommend you to other people.

• Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: Communicating well and often with candidates instantly sets you apart as a good employer. And with the availability of information technology and automation, there’s really no excuse not to send even an automated email or message to keep people updated about their application.

• Honest follow-up: don’t forget to ask candidates how they felt about the recruitment process – this is essential for identifying gaps in your candidate experience so you can close them, and meet the expectations of every job seeker who engages with your organization

Tap! Tap! Is this thing on?

We won’t be the first (or last) to tell you that another vital part of your recruiting and hiring strategy moving into the second quarter will be to stay on top of technology. 

While it can seem a nearly impossible task, at times, keeping up with this ever-evolving landscape is make or break for HR departments and recruiting partners. And the benefits that come along with the advances in AI and automation are worth scaling the learning curve.

However, while technology can certainly make some processes easier, nothing replaces the human touch especially when it comes to acknowledging job seekers efforts, and who lands in the Talent Zone. 

This ‘human understanding’ manifests itself in numerous ways including things like:

• Effective communication, 
• Flexible work considerations, 
• Opportunities for training/advancement, 
• Diversity and inclusion efforts
• Transparent hiring practices

Ready to really get going? At TZR we’re able to share information like this with you because we know the trends. We’re at the shows, we’re on the store floor, we’re in the boardroom. It’s time… don’t let another year pass you by before you make some much need changes: connect with us today.

This article was originally published at tzrecruiting.com