For any staffing agency, finding the best candidates possible in a massive talent pool is the dream. But if you want to ensure that you’re really getting the best candidates possible, then you need to improve the candidate experience and make the best candidates want to apply for your positions.
In today’s staffing landscapes, many of the highest quality candidates aren’t those who are actively looking for a job. It’s important for you to dive deep and expand your candidate resources in order to attract these candidates as well. Here is how your agency can improve the candidate experience for your staffing agency and brand, courtesy of Workable.
Hire to Fill an Actual Need
If you’re disorganized, it shows to your talent pool. Good organization and planning go a long way when you’re trying to hire some quality candidates. By identifying the gaps that you need to fill in your client companies, you can create an effective plan that will help find the best possible people to hire.
Start off with performing a skills gap analysis first. This will help identify which other individual skills are needed to grow within the business. Ultimately this assists with succession planning, training goals and hiring plans. The next thing that needs to be done is choose a job title. Once that’s done, you can hone in on identifying someone that’s perfect for the job.
Write Clear Job Descriptions
If your job descriptions are clear, it makes the hiring process that much easier. Utilize simple language. It might be tempting to use flowery or creative language to make your job posting stand out, but it should always be clear to the candidate what they’re applying for. Additionally, try to withhold from stereotypical job descriptions like the word “passionate” or “go-getter”.
List must-haves as job requirements, separate must-haves from your wishlist so you don’t discourage great talent from applying. If your job description is organized and well-formatted like a blog post, it won’t scare candidates away. If your candidate knows the title of the hiring manager, it could make for a better beginning relationship. It gives the candidate a chance to research and prepare for their interview. Finally if you’re looking to fill a managerial role, make sure that those responsibilities are made clear to the candidate. If a candidate feels that they’ve been lured into a position under false pretenses, that could be the grounds for a claim down the line.
Make Applying Easy
First things first, make the career page is easy to find and ensure that application instructions are clear. Applicants shouldn’t have to log into your system to apply; offering a LinkedIn or resume pairing also is a valuable resource. And if your application is on one page, that’s even better. There’s also some people who might apply on their phone, so make the application short and mobile-friendly. Don’t put restrictions on file uploads and give candidates the opportunity to provide free-response answers or URL links. Don’t require every answer to be filled on the app if it’s not something essential to know; salary requirements aren’t needed.
Sending a confirmation email can go a long way. Following up on candidates is absolutely imperative to capture and retain good talent.
About World Wide Specialty Programs
For the last 50 years, World Wide Specialty Programs has dedicated itself to providing the optimal products and solutions for the staffing industry. As the only insurance firm to be an ASA commercial liability partner, we are committed to that partnership and committed to using our knowledge of the industry to provide staffing firms with the best possible coverage. For more information about Staffing Professional Liability Insurance or any other coverage, we have available to protect your staffing business, give us a call at (800) 245-9653 to speak with one of our representatives.