A colleague of ours once said that, “successful recruitment is both an art and a science.” We think she was right. For whilst there is a foolproof step-by-step approach to finding the best employees and keeping them, there is also an element of intuition and creativity involved. The steps outlined below will give you all the tools you need to attract great staff and keep them.
1. Clarify exactly who you are looking for and what they will bring to your business
The hiring process does not have to be a particularly long and involved one provided you have done your groundwork before hand. Clarifying exactly what you need in an employee before setting out on the search will be the best foundation you can lay for successful recruiting. Make sure you have outlined the job specifications including the required previous experience, training and skills. Define the culture of your business and include personality traits and expected work ethic. The more detail you provide, the closer your applicants will be to a lasting match.
2. Become well known for being a Great Employer
Nothing is more powerful than word-of-mouth advertising and nothing attracts great candidates like an exceptional employer. You need to get your current employees happy and talking about you. Take a good look at your overall staff turnover and get some feedback. Ask the best staff you have why they love working with you and “sell” your business to potential candidates with direct quotes from your most positive staff members. You want your employees to be bragging about how wonderful it is to work with you. Their peers will trust them much more than any advertisement you pay for online.
3. Offer a better salary than your Competitors
If you pay better than average you will find and retain better employees. Underpaid employees resent their employers, feel unappreciated and will leave you for their first half decent offer. Employee replacement costs can be up to two or three times the person’s annual salary. If you want to hire quality candidates who are capable of hitting the ground running and making money for you, you will have to pay them more than your competition.
4. Include creative benefits in your offer
Benefits in the Spa industry are rarely offered at all. A candidate who is offered Medical Aid and Pension Fund payments but a lower salary is not necessarily going to see your position as the best out there. If you wish to go this route you will need to educate employees about the cost and value of the benefits on offer so that they appreciate how well you are looking out for their needs. Most employees would be content with an employer who is flexible in terms of their working hours and who gives them the opportunity to balance work with other life responsibilities, interests, and issues. In house training and other professional improvement courses are always a big plus. Of course bonuses that pay the employee for measurable achievements and contributions are also simple and cost effective ways to incentivize great work. Ask your employees to share their ideas with you regarding their long-term goals and how you can assist them in achieving these goals. This will go a long way to keeping great staff on board.
5. Make your Website work for you
Your Website should be a portal for the public to learn about and engage with your brand and business. It can also be highly effective for recruiting employees who experience a resonance with what is presented on your site. Websites can be extremely valuable recruitment spaces, so create an employment section that describes your available positions and contains information about your company and how an interested person might go about contacting you.
6. Check References When Recruiting Employees
Contacting a candidate’s previous employers is undoubtedly the best way to find out who the person in front of you truly is. This is an absolute must for successful recruitment as past behavior is the most accurate predictor of future behavior. No one will be better able to tell you how the candidate has performed as a long-term employee than someone who has worked with him or her for a significant period. It is not unheard of for candidates to fudge the truth a little and provide questionable references, so make sure you know whom you are speaking to when you do the checks. Also, do try to contact the two most recent previous employers, as this will give you the best insight into the candidate’s most recent behaviour.
7. Trust your gut!
Trust your intuition and question the unsaid in an interview. If you have a suspicion that the person in front of you is hiding something – they probably are. Gaps in a CV must always be questioned and previous employer details having been omitted are all red flags. If you feel like a candidate ticks all the required boxes but you just don’t “click” with them you can always ask them in for a second interview. This will give you time to sit with your uncertainty and work out if you are picking up on real incompatibility or if your candidate was just nervous and having an off day.
In summary – to hire great employees you need to be a great employer. Offer a fantastic working environment and your happy employees will spread the word. Use your website to work for you and when hiring new staff, know what you want and make sure the person you want to hire is authentic. Good luck and happy hiring!
Nicole Stephens and Sally Kuschke are the Directors of TRS (The Recruitment Specialists). TRS specializes in the placement of exceptional spa, hospitality and IT employees in South Africa and the Middle East. If you would like assistance with staff recruitment please email TRS at the following address: info@trs.org.za or visit www.therecruitmentspecialists.com
