Dear Kristy is a bimonthly column that’s all about answering questions from our recruiting clients! Kristy Sifford, founder of Wylander, and her team bring more than four decades of recruiting experience to the table! Kristy is constantly getting unique hiring and HR-related questions from her clients, and is here to answer them! Have a question for Kristy? Shoot her an email at kristy@wylander.com!
Dear Kristy: We Hired a Recruiter; How Can WE Help with the Process?
Hiring a recruiting company to help with your staffing needs is a big step and investment! The good news is, when you team up with the right recruiting firm who really cares about getting to know your company, your needs, and your goals, it can be a match made in heaven!
At Wylander, we are committed to finding top talent in the restoration and flooring industries and connecting that talent with our amazing clients. While our recruiters handle most of the leg work, there is still a lot your company can do to help the process move along as quickly and smoothly as possible. Here are some things we recommend to our clients at the start of the recruiting process:
Before we start looking for candidates for you, our recruiters will do what we call an “intake call.” This is all about getting to know you, your company, and more about the specific position you are trying to fill. Through our years of recruiting experience, we know not every company is looking for the same qualities in a project manager, operations manager, business development rep, etc. Every company has unique cultures and needs!
So, take some time to jot down on paper what your ideal candidate looks like. How much experience would you prefer them to have in the industry? Are you willing to look outside the industry? What kind of volume of work should this person be able to handle, depending on the size of your company and growth plans?
In today’s job market, unemployment is at just 4 percent (according to official numbers released on Feb. 1, 2019). That means it’s a candidate’s market, and the best candidates are often fielding multiple offers from multiple companies at the same time.
While the old adage of “hire slow, fire fast” can be wise, that luxury is somewhat lost in today’s competitive market. When a recruiter submits a candidate for your review, please try to review their resume and phone screening within 24 hours, and let the recruiter know your feedback. If you’re interested in interviewing the candidate, try to make it happen within one week, if not sooner. If you don’t have availability to talk to them in the office in person, schedule time for a phone call to at least initially engage and get to know them. We’ve found these initial conversations can go a very long way in building rapport early on in the process with serious, qualified candidates.
Once the process is in full swing, keep the momentum going with second interviews and job offers. The more engaged you stay throughout the process, the more smoothly it goes for you, the recruiter, and the candidate. Remember, your communication skills reflect a lot on how others view your company.
We mentioned above the possibility of hiring from outside the industry. Don’t be afraid to consider this! After all, everyone has their first day in the industry at some point, right? We could share a number of success stories about restoration and flooring companies who hired someone from outside the industry, and those hires have turned out to be star players. This goes back to the idea of hiring for culture, and training for skill. Someone from outside the industry will likely be trainable and adopt your company’s ways of doing things.
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