Finding the right candidate can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. Many employers find it difficult to attract the people they really want, and the result is often that recruitment takes longer – or, in the worst case, leads to a bad hire.
Why can’t we find the right candidate?
A common reason for organizations failing to find the right candidates and getting it wrong once recruited is that they don’t really know what they are looking for. The role may be ill-defined, or the focus may be on filling a gap quickly rather than understanding the skills and personality that will contribute to the business in the long term.
A poorly drafted requirements profile or overly general advertising language can mean that the most attractive candidates never apply for the position.
Here it can be valuable to review the process and get help with recruitment to reach the right target group.
The cost of a misrecruitment
A recruitment error costs much more than most people think.
And it’s not just money in terms of salary and recruitment costs that’s at stake – a mismatched person can also create team unrest, contribute to reduced productivity, negatively affect the working environment and damage your reputation.
The most common costs come from:
- Time spent on the recruitment process.
- Introduction and training of a person who does not stay.
- Lost productivity while the role is unfilled – or empty.
- Extra work for colleagues who have to cover.
Want to know more? Read our post on what a misrecruitment costs.
How do you know if a candidate is right?
Determining whether a candidate is the right person for a role is about more than matching CV to requirements profile. It requires a holistic approach that takes into account skills, potential and personal qualities.
Structured interviews, tests and references are important tools to ensure that the decision is based on facts – and once you have your decision anchored in facts, you can trust your gut feeling afterwards.
By really understanding the needs of the company, the dynamics of the team and the culture the candidate is entering, you can greatly increase the success rate.
For particularly important roles, it may be wise to use a second opinion which provides an objective assessment of the final candidates before decisions are made.
How to find the candidates you want
To attract the right people, the recruitment process needs to be clear, well thought out and adapted to both the role and the market.
A first step is to formulate a requirements profile that reflects both the business objectives and the needs of the team. Next, it is important to reach out in the right way – through channels where the target audience actually is.
Many companies also benefit from taking a step back and reviewing their internal structure. Sometimes the challenge is not a lack of the right candidates, but that the organization needs to develop its leadership, culture or processes to become more attractive to the talent it wants to attract.
Here, work on business development can provide a solid foundation for better success in the future.
Executive summary
A recruitment gone wrong affects the whole organization – both financially and culturally.
By working strategically, understanding your real needs and having a clear, structured process, you reduce the risk of recruitment errors and increase the chances of finding the candidates you really want.
Do you want help to review your processes and increase the accuracy of recruitment?
Contact us here – together we create long-term sustainable solutions for both the organization and the candidates.
