Looking for additional ideas about recruiting employees who are potential star performers? Here are several more of my favorite ideas for recruiting employees.
Use Temporary Agencies and Firms for Recruitment
Consider using temporary staff as a solution to "try a person out in a position" or to staff a position you are not sure you need for the long haul. Temporary employees can also provide a useful buffer for the ups and downs of the business cycle so that you do not have to affect your core staff during down times.
Temp firms will recruit and screen to your specifications and guarantee your satisfaction. They save your staff immense amounts of time as they provide testing, drug screening, reference checking, background checks, and anything else you'd like, for a nominal fee. By the time I meet the selected group of candidates, most of the work, other than a personal job interview, has been completed for me.
Additionally, as the firms become familiar with your needs, just as headhunters and recruiters do, they will seek out and suggest talent they believe meets your criteria for star candidates.
I work with two or three agencies and my client company hires only the top five percent of temporary staff members, so we hire great people.
Find Out Where Your Ideal Candidates Live
Identify what your needed candidates read; notice the Web sites they visit; study the listservs on which they participate; determine the industry magazines and newspapers they read. Identify their favorite news sources, forums, discussion groups, and places to practice social networking. In other words, find out everything you can about the types of people who make up the top ten percent of your current employees and the best of your talent pool.
Use this information to screen resumes, of course, and to develop effective interview questions. Most importantly, use this information to develop creative, fun recruiting strategies for your potential openings. Sit with an interested group that includes members of the group you are trying to recruit and brainstorm other potential ways to locate a well-qualified pool of candidates for each position.
Some examples I've seen include a very funny ad in a staid newspaper. It literally jumped off the page because it stood out so strongly from the pack. (The ad was looking for a creative for an ad agency; I'll bet they found their perfect candidate.) I've been recruited as a potential staff member while browsing in a book store. People recruit at trade shows from the people visiting their booths.
Just One More Thought About Recruiting Employees - Publicity
Here's a bonus thought about recruiting great employees: The publicity your organization receives in the news media, in print, on television, on the radio and online is tremendously important for recruiting. A few good words, an interesting article or a piece about your mission that reflects your organization in a favorable light, will result in potential employees coming to you. And that, in my way of thinking, is the best way of all to find great potential employees for your candidate pool.
Ideas for recruiting are endless and endlessly challenging, but the time and effort you invest are worth it when they result in top talent for your organization.
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