Why are best practices the key to your company’s success?

Best practices in recruitment are a subject we frequently mention both on our blog and on social media. This is for a reason - as we believe that these are standards that should be implemented by every modern organization that cares about high employee performance. What do you need to know about recruitment best practices and how to implement them effectively?

What are best practices in recruitment?

In the simplest terms, best practices in recruitment are a set of standards that are applied to improve the quality of recruitment processes, improve the company's image, and close vacancies faster. By implementing them, your organization will raise candidates' experience (candidate satisfaction) and, consequently, IT specialists will be more likely to decide to contract with you.

What activities do we classify as best practices in recruitment?

Although each source will show a different set of norms considered best practices in recruitment, in our opinion the following 9 are the most important:

1. Good communication with candidates: when contacting a candidate, you should take care to regularly update them on the recruitment process, give them feedback on their situation and employment prospects, and clearly express your comments and objections;
2. Respect for candidates and the company we recruit for: during the recruitment process, we make sure that our behavior and the content we publish demonstrate our inclusiveness and do not discriminate. We are also mindful of time - we don't occupy it unnecessarily and do our best to make the whole recruitment process as fast as possible. No one likes to wait!
3. Well-functioning information flow: regardless of the company's size, information needs to get to the right people involved in the recruitment process quickly. This is achieved, for example, through regular meetings with Hiring Managers;
4. Data security and confidentiality: data protection is extremely important. In addition to the formal requirements - which we have to meet to avoid exposing ourselves to legal problems by ensuring the confidentiality of information - we are constantly improving the comfort of candidates. Best practices in data security make confidence grow and build our image as a trustworthy employer;
5. Constant competence growth: in order to achieve the highest level of candidate experience, recruiters should continually educate. Professional development should range from expanding technology knowledge to client-implemented solutions and familiarity with recruitment tools. Negotiation, language, and persuasion skills are particularly important;
6. Reliability, professionalism, and commitment: Reliability, professionalism, and commitment: candidates, particularly members of Generation Z, require a high level of commitment to recruitment processes. In order to keep the recruitment process as brief as possible, while at the same time verifying skills at the highest level, recruiters must show great commitment and organize their time well. It is also incredibly important to deliver on promises of keeping deadlines - if we say we will call at a given time, we must be accurate;
7. Feedback: as an IT recruitment agency, we strive to make all parties in the recruitment process feel respected and have easy access to the necessary information. To accomplish this, recruiters must accurately inform candidates about what things went well and what didn't necessarily. The same applies to client-agency cooperation. Regular reporting on successes and failures is essential if you want to recruit effectively. Let's also point out that it is also best practice to ask for feedback about yourself;
8. Clear formulation of offers: Clear formulation of offers: when creating advertisements for available positions, the recruitment agency should ensure that they are of the highest quality and provide all the necessary information in them. Some people believe that open salaries should be published openly;
9. Transparency: no one likes to be deceived or live in uncertainty. For this reason, a recruitment agency should avoid vague, imprecise and general messages. Candidates appreciate information on the expected closing date of the recruitment, the number of stages of the recruitment process, and honest information on the model of cooperation. The information provided by recruiters must not only be reliable but above all detailed and clear to the recipient. Of course, you can't afford to promote uncertain information - if there is no guarantee that something will happen, it must be made clear.

How will my company benefit if it implements best practices in recruitment?

Best practices in recruitment translate, first and foremost, into the comfort of those who interact with your organization. They also guarantee a positive perception of your company in the labor market and can ultimately increase the number of people who choose to join the recruitment process in the future. Simply put - the implementation of these standards can translate into tangible gains and result in an increase in the efficiency of your company's recruitment through the aspects listed below. 

Way more matching employees

For a long time, the tech industry has been struggling with a constant shortage of employees and rapid turnover. Given the costs associated with recruiting niche professionals, it makes sense to strive for the best possible match between candidates and the culture within your organization. While salaries and benefits are among the most common reasons to change jobs, the atmosphere and customs of the organization may determine the extension of the contract.

Lower recruitment costs

Regardless of which model of cooperation with a recruitment agency you decide on, the duration of the process has an impact on its cost. Therefore, you should strive to speed up recruitment as much as possible and to close positions efficiently. Candidates will also be pleased - no one likes to wait for months for a new job.

Significant improvement in employer branding

With best practices, you build a positive first impression. From the first moments, applicants will see that your company is a place that is open to people and respects employees. Direct contact, short response times, and transparency of proposals will strengthen trust and mutual respect. Thus, Employer Branding will "do itself."

Best practices are also an essential part of aligning a company with the expectations of its environment. More and more people are paying attention to respecting employees' rights and do not want to interact with companies that raise concerns in this regard.

Who is responsible for implementation of best practices in recruitment?

The implementation of best practices in recruiting should be handled by the internal HR team, and in the case of using the RPO model, but also success fee - by the agency that serves your organization. Don't forget, however, that the entire process requires mutual commitment at every level of management, starting with Hiring Managers and ending with people at the highest level in a given company branch.

Improvements made by external recruiters must comply with the client's regulations, and changes to these rules should be jointly analyzed for cost-effectiveness and reasonableness. This is especially important in the case of companies originating from the United States that are opening branches in Europe - the regulations in place in these organizations often do not match Polish customs.

Summary

For a long time, we have noticed that our clients are paying more and more attention to the implementation and application of best practices during recruitment. If our article has inspired you and you would like your organization to become known as an employee-friendly place, we heartily invite you to contact us.

Do you appreciate our work and care about IT recruitment in Poland changing for the better? Share our article on your Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter!