These Are the 10 Best Recruiting Measures for Employee Acquisition

1. What does recruiting mean?
2. How does recruitment work?
3. The 10 best recruiting measures
4. How do I know if my recruiting measures are working?
5. HR tools that support you in recruiting
6. Conclusion on recruiting measures

Every company that wants to expand or needs to fill new positions will sooner or later have to start looking for new employees. However, there are many obstacles that can complicate the recruitment of talent.

A good recruiting strategy is essential to fill potential vacancies within the company and to be able to optimally fill all positions. But how can you make employee recruiting as efficient as possible? And what exactly does recruiting include? In this guest article, our guest author Thomas Kohler explains how recruiting works and which recruiting measures you can implement.

In addition, we present a few tools that will help you effectively implement your recruitment measures. We will both look at the best HR software for medium-sized businesses and complex solutions for large companies.

What does recruiting mean?

Recruiting - often also referred to as personnel procurement - is the process of recruiting new employees for the company. There are both passive and active types of employee recruitment. But in the end, all forms of recruiting have the same purpose: recruiting the best possible candidates for a vacant position in your company.

How does recruitment work?

A recruiting process is (on paper) very simple. In order to ensure a simple process for candidates, however, the recruiting strategy must be optimized. Behind this optimization, in turn, are many small, complex processes that are happening in the background. There is no one-size-fits-all solution that applies to every industry and every business area.

First of all, recruiting must be divided into two categories: internal recruiting and external recruiting.

When internal recruiting you fill a position with a candidate who is already in your company. This can happen, for example, when you are looking for suitable applicants and you find an employee who fits the job perfectly.

External Recruiting describes the search for talent outside the own structures. When you post a job advert which candidates should apply for, this is external recruiting. But also, when you actively headhunt, this falls into the category of external recruiting.

There are two different approaches to external recruiting: passive and active recruiting. Both forms of employee recruitment differ considerably in the way new talents are won. Therefore, we want to start by defining the two recruitment processes.

Passive Recruiting

The different recruiting process phases depend largely on the form of recruiting you have chosen. Let's take passive recruiting as an example, in a traditional job posting:

1. You put a job posting online.
2. Candidates apply for your offer.
3. You evaluate the candidates based on their qualifications and find the candidates who fit best with you and your company.
4. After you've narrowed down the candidates, you invite them for an interview.
5. If you've found the perfect candidate, you finish the employment contract.

Active Recruiting

The situation is somewhat different if you are actively recruiting. In this case, you don't let the applicants come to you, but you actively approach suitable candidates:

1. You make out a good candidate.
2. As part of the recruiting process, you contact the target person.
3. You convince the candidates that your company is the perfect workplace.
4. Once you've reached an agreement with the person, you conclude the employment contract.

Depending on the strategy you use, the steps can vary greatly. If you pursue a particularly aggressive form of active recruiting, you get straight to the point: Without long detours, you inform the candidates that you are interested in working together.

If, on the other hand, you are somewhat more passive, you first try to build a relationship with the desired candidate. You initially leave out your intention to recruit the person. After you've built the basis for a good relationship, you can move into the active part of recruiting.

The 10 best recruiting measures

Enough theory - now it's time for practice! Behind an effective recruiting strategy is a thoughtful game plan. Therefore, we give you 10 examples of recruiting measures with which you can effectively recruit new employees.

Perfection does not exist - even in recruiting

In the search for the ideal candidates, many recruiters stick to a particular image of what the person should look like. Recruiting should always focus on how well the applicant fits into your company. This includes both the professional knowledge and qualifications, as well as human aspects. Because nobody wants to work with someone who brings a huge expertise, but is absolutely unsuitable on a human level.

Good applicants are everywhere

Not only job boards are a good place to win new employees. There are thousands of talented professionals waiting to be found on social media (especially LinkedIn). Therefore, you should not stick to job portals when looking for new staff. Also, events (such as trade fairs and conferences) are a good way to get to know new talents.

In addition, referrals can be a powerful tool in recruiting new employees. These recommendations can come from your own employees, from business partners, or other external sources. In such a case, your own network can be an effective way to discover and recruit new talents.

Did a recruiting strategy work? Then copy it!

Never change a running system. Have you ever used a recruiting strategy that was successful in the past? Then adopt it for your future campaigns! By standardizing certain processes, you can save a lot of work. In the best case scenario, you only need to make small changes to adapt the recruiting measures to the new campaign.

Set up a talent pool

Have you found the perfect candidates for your company, but currently don't need to fill any vacancies? Not a problem! By setting up a talent pool, you can list promising candidates in a clear and organized way. If an open position arises, you can simply refer back to the pool and find the right person for the position.

This tactic also works when the dream candidate is currently unavailable. This may be the case, for example, because the person is still working in another company or not actively looking for work at the moment. Just make a corresponding note in the pool and when the opportunity arises, contact will be resumed.

Proactive, transparent communication is important

Silence is one of the most common reasons why business relationships end. Therefore, you should always maintain contact with candidates. Even when there is no new information about the status of the application, you should always give small signs of life.

Even a simple email in which you make the candidates aware that there is currently no new information may be enough. This continues to show an interest in the collaboration and can perhaps prevent the candidates from looking for another position. However, if you have no contact for weeks, this can scare off the other side.

Employer Branding

Would you like the best candidates to come to you? Then make sure that your company is a shining example of a good workplace. Companies that are famous for their open and positive work culture become magnets for many professionals. After all, everyone wants to work in a company that enables a pleasant working climate.

Therefore, your current employees are often your best business card. If they advertise for the positive values of the company and also carry these outwards, this can become an effective form of recruiting. Soon the positive reputation of your firm will spread and the first unsolicited applications from talented professionals will trickle in.

If you don't ask, you don't get an answer

In the course of your recruitment career, it may well happen that you are unsure about some candidates: Is this person currently employed? If so, is she perhaps open to a new job (like in your company)?

These are quite common questions that can make a good recruiter sweat. But according to the song from Sesame Street: If you don't ask, you stay dumb. So don't hesitate to contact candidates. Maybe it turns out that the candidates are looking for a new job - a win-win situation that would never have been possible without your questioning.

The job advertisement is your business card

If you have decided for external recruiting, setting up a job advertisement is often indispensable. But before you start writing the job description, keep one point always at the back of your mind: The more informative the advertisement is, the better. Because when looking for suitable jobs, candidates are often inclined to skip incomplete job advertisements.

The reason? Lack of information. A good job advertisement should always contain the main key data, such as working hours, an exact description of the activity and required qualifications. Even factors like the notice period can be important for potential candidates. Always view your job advertisement from the applicant's perspective - the more information I get about the job, the better I can filter out whether the position suits me.

Upskilling or Internal Mobility of employees

As we have shown in the example of internal and external recruiting, it doesn't always have to be professionals from outside. Sometimes the perfect candidates are already employed in your company.

Therefore, it can be useful to consider employees for a new position. You may have to do some upskilling or retrain the colleagues for this. This could pay off in the long run; because this way you can effectively fill a vacant position without having to go through the entire recruiting process. This can be time-saving and cost-effective at the same time.

Leave the work to the professionals

If all these tips and strategies are too much for you, we can understand that. Because developing and applying an effective recruiting strategy is anything but easy. Not without reason there are headhunting agencies that do the work for you: with their expertise they know how to find the best candidates for your company.

So, if you are having problems with recruiting, don't hesitate to switch on an external agency. Whether headhunter or personnel consultant: nowadays you will find numerous opportunities to put your recruiting strategy into good hands.

How do I know if my recruiting measures are working?

Knowing the necessary tips and tricks for successful recruiting is only one side of the coin. But how can you determine whether your own recruiting measures are actually working?

As guidance, you can use the recruiting KPIs. Even though we mentioned at the beginning that the recruiting process can look different depending on the industry and business model, there are certain key figures that you should always keep in mind. Factors such as cost-of-hire, time-to-hire or also the rejection rate can provide you with solid data.

But definitely also use the feedback from your employees. After all, they too were recruited or actively applied at some point. By finding out what your colleagues liked or disliked about the recruiting process, you can get valuable feedback. You can then implement this to optimize your processes and procedures.

HR tools that support you in recruiting

Of course, you can also use a variety of tools and solutions for recruiting that simplify your life. In addition to special onboarding software solutions are available that enable complete personnel management via one tool. The requirements for good HR software are quite simple: easy to use, clear and suitable for managing applications.

The range of software for HR management is now bigger than ever. Therefore, it can be difficult to keep an overview. In the following, we would like to list a few tools that can make your employee recruitment more effective.

Personio

Personio is an all-in-one solution for all possible HR-related topics. From personnel management for existing employees to recruiting, the software covers pretty much all needs. You will always receive important data such as time recording or personnel costs clearly presented. That is also why Personio is one of the most popular software solutions for HR departments on the market.

BambooHR

Managing many applicants effectively is not an easy task.With BambooHR you can always get an overview of the different candidates and the status of the application. This helps to maintain an overview and allows an effective management of application processes with many different applicants.

Kenjo

Also, Kenjo convinces with a good offer from personnel management, onboarding processes and solutions for effective recruiting. The developers of Kenjo spend a lot of time and effort in further developing the program; new features are regularly added and weaknesses are improved. Before you settle on Kenjo as your trusted HR software, you can use the 14-day trial period to get familiar with the program.

HeavenHR

HR solutions don't always have to be expensive - HeavenHR impressively proves this. The personnel administration tool is particularly aimed at small companies and start-ups. In addition to a management solution for applicants, you can also manage your employees directly: time recording, contracts, vacation planning and more is not a problem with HeavenHR.

Of course, the solutions mentioned here are only the tip of the iceberg. Feel free to check out our comprehensive reviews of various software solutions. This way you can find the tools that best fit you and your demands.

Conclusion on recruiting measures

Well thought-out recruiting measures are important - without question. Because the battle for talented professionals becomes harder every year. Therefore, you have to develop a good strategy to be able to win the competition for good staff.

A variety of strategies and tools (such as the best recruiting softwares) are available for this purpose, which can simplify the recruiting process. So try out some of our tips and tricks given here the next time you are searching for newcomers for your company.