Fictional AI illustration
A recruitment strategy connects a company’s future capability needs with the people it aims to attract and the way it recruits. The plan also needs to reflect what the company can offer as an employer.
A company’s growth plans may require new expertise even when its current work is being handled well. Equally, a vacancy does not always need to be filled with the same job description as before. Recruitment strategy sets out the capabilities the business will need, what it will develop within its existing workforce and what it will seek externally.
The strategy also guides how the company approaches potential candidates and makes hiring decisions. Its practical value lies in aligning the purpose of each search, the work offered to candidates and the criteria used for selection. Managers can then draw on shared principles when a search begins.
Recruitment strategy starts with the work ahead
Consider capability needs in terms of what the company intends to achieve. New services, changing customer requirements or an expansion of operations can alter the work itself. An estimate of future headcount alone leaves open what those employees should be able to do and which responsibilities existing employees could take on.
Comparing current capabilities with future needs helps establish when hiring a new employee makes sense. Training existing employees can be an option when there is time and guidance for learning the required skills. If the company lacks experience that the work requires from the outset, external recruitment may be needed. Often both approaches have a place.
The plan also needs to address the support a new employee will receive. If a hiring decision rests on the opportunity to learn at work, managers and experienced colleagues must be able to support that learning. Otherwise, the strategy’s intention to develop expertise and the actual demands of the role will remain at odds.
The candidates you seek and the work you offer need to match
The company’s needs are one starting point for recruitment. Another is why a candidate with the required expertise would be interested in the role. The work, pay, location, responsibilities and development opportunities form an overall offer that candidates weigh against their own goals.
A company seeking an experienced specialist who can work independently needs to consider the role from that candidate’s perspective. Which decisions can the employee influence? Will the necessary tools and support be available? For a candidate early in their career, access to guidance and opportunities to build skills may be more relevant. The same promise does not describe both situations well.
Employer reputation also depends on whether the information given during recruitment reflects everyday work at the company. A strategy should identify what the company can already offer and what it needs to develop to attract the expertise it seeks. Greater visibility alone cannot resolve a mismatch between the role’s terms and candidates’ expectations.
Choose a search approach around the expertise needed
Different roles can call for different search approaches. An advertising-led search can be appropriate when it is expected to reach suitable candidates. Direct approaches can be used to contact identified professionals and explore their interest in the role. Choosing an approach requires an understanding of whom the company is seeking and what would make the role attractive to them.
reQruitz’s direct-search assignments also include job advertisements. If we consider an advertising-led search sufficient for the need, we recommend it even when the client initially asked for direct search. The same principle can guide a company’s recruitment strategy: the scope of a search should be justified by the need, rather than choosing the same service or channel automatically for every role.
The strategy can set out which capabilities the company will seek through its own team and where it needs a partner’s help. External support can add capacity or bring knowledge of a talent market that is unfamiliar to the internal team. The employer still needs to clarify the role and its expectations. The message and delivery of an individual search are covered in more detail in recruitment campaign planning.
Shared selection criteria guide hiring decisions
If a company wants to strengthen particular capabilities, that aim should be reflected in candidate assessment. Interviews need to establish what a candidate can do in relation to the job and what evidence supports that assessment. A good conversation or a familiar background alone does not establish whether the candidate can perform the role.
Shared principles might cover how essential skills are distinguished from those that can be learned, and how information about candidates is compared against the same job requirements. The specific assessment methods will vary by role. At company level, the point is to be able to connect the reasons for a hiring decision with the need that prompted the search.
Careful assessment and selection also require the employer’s time. Alongside job advertisements and any partner services, time is needed to assess candidates, make decisions and onboard the employee. Recruitment planning needs to account for these demands so that the company’s goals can be put into practice.
Review what happens after the employee starts
When reviewing recruitment, distinguish how a search progressed from what it ultimately achieved. Search duration, the availability of suitable candidates and applicant feedback tell you different things. A large number of applications does not by itself show that the company has reached the expertise it needs.
Once work begins, the company can examine whether the role matches the information given during recruitment and how the employee is able to use their skills. If expectations are not being met, the work itself, onboarding and management also need to be considered. The search method or the selected employee’s skills cannot explain every problem.
These observations can inform future recruitment. The company may need to refine its requirements, change the role it offers or strengthen its ability to onboard employees. Its recruitment strategy can then develop in response to what the business needs and what actually happens in its searches and subsequent employment.
