Recruitment Resolutions for 2020

Hiring the absolute best candidates should be every recruiter and hiring manager’s #1 resolution for the new year. But how?

Here are some more specific recruitment resolutions, inspired by HR industry trends, to help you secure top-shelf talent throughout 2020.

Prioritize the Candidate Experience

In the same way companies should give customers what they want, recruiters should learn what job applicants want and tailor their recruitment approach accordingly. Let’s make 2020 the year of the candidate!

Understandably, employers have high expectations regarding the hiring process, but candidates do, too. Make an effort to personalize the experience and make each applicant feel like they’re special. This can be achieved by something as simple as including a name in an email so it doesn’t come across as a mass email template (even if it is!).

One of the most common complaints from candidates is lack of communication. Don’t leave candidates wondering how their interview went or when you might make a hiring decision. Feedback and follow-up are key. These things show you value and respect all applicants’ time. Even if you don’t end up offering them the position, they’ll be content you cared enough to at least communicate with them throughout the hiring process.

Increase Your Diversity Efforts

A diverse workforce offers new insights and a wide range of perspectives to tackle everyday business problems. There are many consequences to hiring bias, but thankfully, there are also lots of ways to counter bias and ultimately increase diversity in your hiring efforts in the new year.

Inclusive hiring starts with establishing and following a standardized hiring process like structured digital interviews, which are proven to be way more reliable than artificial intelligence.

Invest in Talent Acquisition Technology

As an HR professional, you’ve got 99 problems...and technology can solve about 95 of them.

For example, if you’re tired of conducting phone interviews, pre-recorded video interviews will make those a thing of the past. (Seriously, they will!) If you’re fed up with chasing past employers for a candidate reference, automated reference checks eliminate that hassle. If you can never seem to find a mutually-convenient time to meet, interview scheduling is the answer. Candidates located out of state? Live video interviews to the rescue.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A robust workflow can help you streamline the hiring process while ensuring that critical steps aren’t missed. The result? Better work-life balance and better hires!

Ask for Employee Referrals

Existing employees can be great ambassadors for your recruitment efforts. Research shows that employee referrals are the “number one source of hire by volume,” resulting in “higher productivity, lower turnover, and lower screening costs.”

So, make an effort to share job postings internally, and make it easy for employees to share opportunities through social media and email.

Reach out to Candidates (Even Those with Good Jobs)

Lastly, don’t assume that just because someone has a job, they wouldn’t be interested in chatting with you about a new career opportunity. Great employees usually already have jobs and aren’t necessarily actively looking, but maybe that’s because they haven’t been offered work they can’t refuse.

Employees are human, and humans tend to stick with what’s safe and comfortable. Part of your job as a recruiter or hiring manager is to convince both passive and active candidates that a certain role is worth their attention. Just don’t call them at work! If they’re not interested now, try to gauge whether they’d be interested in the future and find out the best way to stay in touch.

There you have it: some totally doable resolutions for human resource professionals to focus on in 2020—and beyond!