Build Relationships that Aid Recruitment and Hiring

During the hiring process, it often feels like you need to have the position filled by yesterday. Don’t wait until your team has an opening to start thinking about whom to recruit. Being reactive will leave you scrambling to fill the position and probably won’t result in the strongest new hires. Develop relationships early on with these four groups to make the recruitment and hiring processes smoother:

1. Current employees. It pays to develop strong professional relationships with your employees for a multitude of reasons, not the least being that employees who respect and trust their managers are more open with them. Talk to your people about their goals and the steps needed to reach them. Some goals may require that the employee leave your organization eventually, and that’s OK. Be supportive of your people’s endeavors. When employees know you want what’s best for them, they’ll be more open with you about issues that may lead them to resign, whether those issues are educational pursuits, a spouse’s out-of-state job offer, an opportunity with another organization, retirement or anything else. Knowing those plans early will allow you to recruit for future needs. Note: New hires especially can be a great resource for improving your recruitment and hiring strategies.

2. Former employees. Don’t allow the strong relationships you build with your staff to disappear when people leave your organization. Former employees can be one of your best resources for recruiting and hiring. In addition to being great advocates for your organization, they also can recommend strong potential hires to you. After all, they understand your organization’s needs and team’s dynamics. What’s more, as opportunities evolve, a former employee may want to return to your organization.

3. HR personnel. Develop close relationships with your organization’s human resources employees, so they will understand your staffing needs and what an ideal candidate looks like.

4. Upper-level management. If your team’s workload is expanding, don’t wait until you’re in over your heads to talk to your boss about adding staff members. Give your upper-level managers plenty of time to plan and budget for more workers.

What relationships have been most beneficial to you for recruiting and hiring?