Author: M3 Placement

The M3 Placement and Partnership team has over 25 years of recruiting experience and today we’re sharing our best practices to consider as you build your 2024 recruitment plan.

Assess your organization and articulate your recruiting goals 

There are two types of assessments everyone should perform when they’re preparing their recruitment plan:  

• A review of the business goals and strategic initiatives that your business is trying to achieve this year and the departments and roles that are responsible for achieving these goals 
• A review of current recruitment initiatives and hiring processes (we suggest building this review from internal surveys, questionnaires, and conversations with recent hires and hiring managers) to find out if there are there any challenges, gaps or areas to enhance 

After assessing your organization, articulate your recruiting goals using this table:  

Create and update job descriptions 

Once you know the roles that you’re looking to fill in the new year, we suggest writing and updating the job descriptions in tandem with the hiring managers. Consider that today’s job descriptions are half marketing the position and the company and half explaining the roles and responsibilities that are required for the position. Showcase your employer brand, highlighting information on the mission, vision, values, and culture of the company- this allows candidates to see why you’re a great choice for them personally and professionally. Learn more about bringing your employer brand to light here.  

Determine your recruitment methods and strategy 

Ask yourself the following questions as you determine your recruitment method:

• What technology platforms will you utilize to attract candidates to your job posting(s)? Consider what has and has not worked for you in the past.  
• Is there a candidate in your or your team’s network that would be a great fit for the position?  
• Do you need the assistance of a recruiting partner to help you fill these openings? 
   

Define your complete hiring process  

One of the first things that we look at when we work with a new client is the company’s full recruitment cycle. Many times, we find that the hiring process hasn’t been fully outlined, leaving some members of the hiring team feeling like they don’t know what is expected of them or when it will be expected of them. Consider that for talent acquisition professionals the recruitment cycle is familiar and the hiring process is routine, but for hiring managers they could need training on best practices and the dos and don’ts of the hiring process. For more best practices on creating a seamless interview process read our in-depth article here.  

Create an onboarding plan  

Did you know that 28% of new employees quit in the first 90 days? Why? Because a recruitment plan doesn’t stop at the offer letter. All companies should build a robust onboarding plan for the first week, 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days.  

Here’s some onboarding ideas to get you started: 

• Add pre-scheduled touchpoints to your new hire’s calendar so they know that you plan to receive feedback from them at regularly scheduled intervals. 
• If the job is remote or hybrid, consider setting up 15-minute meet and greets with team members from across the organization.  
• Create a mentoring program for senior staff to get to know entry level or mid-level team members.  
• Schedule team lunches for a new employee to get to know different departments.  

Feeling overwhelmed, stuck as you’re planning your 2024 recruitment initiatives, or like your recruitment efforts need new fresh ideas? Looking for a partner to help you in building your recruitment strategy, proactively reaching out to candidates, and/or managing the recruiting process? Here at M3 we’ll custom build a plan just for you based on your needs and hiring goals. Reach out to us today at hello@m3placement.com to learn more about how we can help you in the new year. 

We’re preparing for 2024 and that means looking back at the changes in recruiting we’ve seen in 2023 and deciphering which trends are here to stay and which are being replaced by new ideas, technologies, and approaches.

We sat down with our executive team to discuss what’s emerging in the recruiting field this upcoming season.

Hybrid and in office positions are taking a front seat

All of our departments- direct placement, executive search, and recruitment process outsourcing- are seeing companies and their hiring managers either looking for candidates to fill in-person or hybrid roles over remote roles. According to the Harvard Business Review, while 50% of work was remote in the time immediately after COVID lockdowns, today the number is hovering at around 28%. As one of our clients said, “there is no replacement for being able to sit next to a team member, so we are actively trying not to hire for remote roles”.

This has implications for both hiring managers and candidates. As candidates prepare to look for new roles, they should consider that many companies are not as flexible as they once were. And as hiring managers look for in-person candidates they may need to consider that offering some level of flexibility might be necessary to get the talent level they are looking for.

Workers continue to actively and passively search for a new role

As noted in Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace, 51% of employees are either actively or passively looking for a new role. We reach out to thousands of candidates each year about potential job opportunities and we receive just as many applications for new job postings. Our research tells us that this statistic could actually be higher.

What has changed though is when in the recruiting cycle employees are quitting. We are finding that gone are the days when quiet quitting led to quitting with no new prospects in mind. Instead, we are seeing employees waiting to leave their current jobs until they have received an offer from their potential new employer. This is why we encourage companies to perform stay interviews with current employees to ensure that employees are engaged, active in their roles, and feel open to sharing feedback about what could improve their employee experience. In the same Gallup study, participants were asked, “if you could make one change at your current employer to make it a great place to work, what would it be?” Results showed that 85% of respondents answers fell into the same three categories: engagement or culture, pay, or wellbeing.

Candidates continue to value flexibility

We’ve interviewed over 2,000 candidates this year for a wide variety of roles in numerous industries and fields. “The one thing that remains true over these role and industries is that candidates are looking for flexibility- whether it be in location, schedule, or work/life balance. This is a benefit that is no longer just considered a plus but is now expected. After COVID people are looking for ways to make life and work happen simultaneously and they’re going to choose the company that allows them the flexibility to have both,” says Kristi Richtmyer, VP of Recruitment Process Outsourcing for M3..

Competition for certain roles continues

Elisha Gilroy, VP of Direct Placement and Executive Search, notes that, “We are still seeing a higher-than-average pursuit of talent in accounting, healthcare, finance, and engineering roles. These roles aren’t just about filling the position but are focused on finding the right person with the right set of qualifications that is going to actively be involved and dedicated to the growth of the company.”

And this is being seen from entry level to executive level. “In order to get in front of top candidates employers need to be willing to make more compromises that they have in the past in order to get the talent they need because talent is so scarce,” Richtmyer states.

Internal recruiting practices need to be updated

Many studies have pointed to AI as being the next big thing to happen for internal recruiters and talent acquisition managers inside of corporations. But we’re still finding that many of our partners are still looking to improve the basics before implementing new technology platforms.

A survey of all our recruiters here at M3 showed that they recommend improving processes with AI once all internal practices and processes have been brought up to speed. So, before you add in AI check to see if your practices including candidate outreach, candidate follow up times, long periods of wait times between steps, and long periods of delay in the process have all been corrected. “If you take too much time between steps or create too cumbersome of a process then the chances go up that your candidate has already found a new role,” says Richtmyer. We sat down for an in-depth interview with our team on how to update your recruiting process in this article.

Looking for help improving your processes, finding top talent, or managing the candidate negotiation process? We here at M3 would love the opportunity to show you how a true partner in talent acquisition can make all the difference for you. Email us today at hello@m3placement.com to learn more about our tailored recruitment retention services.

One of the most important aspects of recruiting is the interview process. According to LinkedIn, 65% of candidates say a bad interview experience alone makes them lose interest in the job. And with the Society of Human Resource Management finding that the average cost per hire at $4,425, there are huge benefits to creating an effective recruiting and interview process. Today, our team is sharing how employers can build a seamless interview process that keeps candidates engaged from start to finish.  

• Connect within 48 hours and outline your process  in an engaging and welcome way 
  Here at M3, after the initial screening, we make a point to give an idea of what to expect next or an outline of the interview process to come. If you aren’t interested in moving forward with a candidate based on their resume, thank them for their submission and let them know you’ve moved on to other candidates.  
   
• Conclude interviews with next steps 
  When finishing an interview always be sure to tell the candidate what the next steps are and how long they should expect to wait to hear from the company next. Candidates may be in the middle of several interviews, and you don’t want to lose top talent because they think you’re not interested during lulls in the interview process.  
   
• Create interview groups and panels where appropriate 
  Today’s interview processes can take many forms and in collaborative team environments multiple people are often brought into the interview process. If possible, try to create group interviews. This is not only more efficient for the internal team but can also give candidates a sense of teamwork and interactions that take place on the team.  
   
• Touchbase between interviews  
  According to Glassdoor, the average length of a job interview process is 23.8 days but we know from experience that executive roles can take upwards of 6-8 weeks. Touching base between interviews in a thoughtful and engaging spirit ensures that you don’t lose quality candidates to other roles that they may also be interested in applying for.  

• Get to know the person as well as their qualifications  
  In our experience, we’ve rarely found that people remember what questions you’ve asked about their qualifications or work history. Instead, people remember how they felt during the interview process. Did they get a sense of the personalities they’d be working with? How did the culture and experience feel each step of the way?  Did they get the opportunity to share beyond what’s on their resume with the interviewer(s)?  Did they feel heard and considered as a priority? 

• Prepare interviewers with candidate overviews 
  One of the top reasons candidates say they didn’t move forward with an interview process is a poor interaction with a hiring manager or managers. Preparing interviewers with candidate overviews gives them the ability to create questions ahead of time that are specifically designed for each candidate. Additionally, provide hiring managers with some interview questions and if a group is interviewing a candidate, talk ahead of time about who will ask what to present a united team to the candidate.  

We know that this can feel overwhelming when you’re designing your interview process. But you’re not alone. The recruiting team here at M3 can support you by designing interview processes for candidates in any stage of their career. Whether you’re looking for a key role in your department or the next member of your executive team, we’re here to allow you to focus on your business while we focus on the personnel you need to support that business. Contact us today at hello@m3placement.com to find out how we can make a difference in recruiting top talent for your organization.