11 Recruitment Strategies and Best Practices You Need to Succeed

Recruiting strategies can be a lifesaver when your organisation needs to bring on quality employees in a short period of time. But managing recruitment isn’t always easy. The wrong strategy — or no real strategy at all — can lead to a disorganised system that disappoints candidates and employers alike. In this post, we’ll examine eleven hiring best practices that can help your company build strong relationships with potential candidates and ensure you have the right people where and when you need them.

1. Have Patience

Patience may sound like the opposite of what you need as you try to rapidly scale up your workforce. But anything worth doing is worth doing right. When you rush the hiring process and hire the first candidates to apply without thoroughly reviewing applications and taking time to assess candidates’ skills, your hiring strategy becomes a short-term fix rather than a long-term solution. Slow down and allow enough time for a comprehensive hiring process — it will simplify onboarding and increase employee retention.

2. Beware of Bias

Diversity in hiring remains a hot topic across the US (and around the world). 76% of job-seekers and employees say workforce diversity is a critical factor when evaluating employment options, and 32% say they wouldn’t apply to positions at a company that lacks diversity. Companies with a diverse workforce have a higher cash flow per employee, higher profits and a better chance of capturing new markets. Ensure all candidates undergo consistent screening processes aimed at discerning their knowledge, skills and experience relative to the position you’re hiring for.

3. Communicate Your Company Culture

Candidates are evaluating you while you evaluate them. Best hiring practices, regardless of how many people you need to bring on, include communicating your company culture to potential employees. A failure to establish your brand, culture and core values can leave more qualified candidates (who are more likely to have other options) disengaged during the selection process. Use social media platforms and “day in the life of” videos to help potential staffers envision themselves working with your organisation.

4. Explore Diverse Recruitment Channels

When it comes to finding the right talent, casting a wide net can yield exceptional results. Relying solely on mainstream job boards like might limit your reach. Consider diversifying your recruitment strategy by exploring various channels beyond the obvious.

Big-Name Platforms: Platforms like Indeed, LinkedIn, or Glassdoor are the go-to for many recruiters. These are excellent starting points due to their vast user bases and visibility. However, they might not always attract a diverse range of candidates.
Niche Platforms: Delve into niche platforms catering to specific industries or demographics. Sites like Stack Overflow for tech, Dribbble for design, or industry-specific forums often harbor talented individuals looking for the right opportunity.
Social Media: Leverage your company's social media presence to showcase company culture, achievements, and job openings. Engage with potential candidates by sharing employee stories or hosting live Q&A sessions.
Passive Candidate Engagement: Actively seek out passive candidates—individuals not actively job hunting but open to new opportunities. Utilize social media platforms like LinkedIn or professional networks to connect and engage with potential candidates.

Our Pro Tip:

Harness the power of programmatic job ad platforms to streamline multi-channel recruitment effortlessly. These platforms not only save time and money but also unlock access to diverse, previously undiscovered channels, expanding your talent pool exponentially.

5. Promote Flexible Work Options

Where available, offering flexible work arrangements can significantly impact both recruitment and retention efforts, providing a crucial edge in today’s job market. Flexible work options enable employees to better harmonize their professional and personal lives, mitigating stress and preventing burnout. This equilibrium plays a pivotal role in fostering employee well-being and overall job satisfaction.

Emphasizing flexible work arrangements not only attracts top talent but also retains it. In a competitive labor market, this benefit can serve as a crucial differentiator for organizations striving to secure and retain skilled individuals.

6. Leverage Rediscovery and Returnship

Don’t overlook great candidates that might be right under your nose.

Candidate Rediscovery

Review your database of candidates to identify previous candidates that might be good fits for the role you’re trying to fill. Look for potential hires who were qualified but not the first choice for previous hiring rounds, or candidates who accepted other roles during the recruitment process

Returnship Programs

Always consider existing staff before looking outside your organisation. Make sure your employees have a clear path for advancement — they may be able to contribute more to the company than they do in their current roles.

Our Pro Tip:

Understand the benefit of investing in upskilling current employees or providing training programs to align their skills with evolving job requirements. This could involve internal resources or partnerships with educational institutions.

7. Maintain Your Database

It won’t be easy to examine your database of previous candidates or existing employees if your candidate database isn’t well organised. Clean and update your database regularly to maintain a list of potential candidates for the future.

8. Build a Candidate-Centric Process

An unpleasant or inefficient hiring process isn’t just an inconvenience for your organisation. Candidates will abandon an application if the process takes too long or if they don’t hear from you regularly — and they won’t keep quiet about it. To succeed, your hiring strategy must offer candidates a positive experience:

Communicate clearly about your hiring timeline
Provide comprehensive job descriptions that include responsibilities and compensation
Provide insights into your organisation’s onboarding process
Ensure the application process is accessible and mobile-friendly
Inform all candidates (successful or not) of the results of their application

Our Pro Tip:

Many workers in seasonal, contingent, or blue-collar roles will search and apply for jobs on their mobile devices, so make sure to keep the mobile experience in mind with building your process.

9. Leverage Data and Analytics

Almost everything we do generates data. And if you’re smart, you’re leveraging that data to optimise your hiring pipeline and gain a comprehensive view of the recruiting process. Are you measuring the efficiency of your efforts with these metrics?

Time to hire – how long does it take you to fill positions?
Cost per applicant – how cost-effective is your recruitment process?
Sourcing effectiveness – which hiring channels are delivering the best ROI?
Application completion rate – how many candidates abandon the recruitment process?
First-year attrition rate – how many hires remain with the company beyond the first year?
Time to promotion – how long does it take for new recruits to advance in the organisation?
Diversity of candidates – how diverse a candidate pool are you attracting?

10. Streamline the Application Process

Simplicity in the application process can significantly impact candidate engagement and conversion rates. A user-friendly process not only encourages applications but also reflects positively on your organization’s brand and candidate experience.

Lengthy or complex procedures often deter potential candidates, highlighting the importance of a straightforward process to maintain candidate engagement and bolster your organization’s brand perception. By optimizing the application journey, even if your company doesn’t offer the role, you provide a positive experience, reinforcing your commitment to a hassle-free and candidate-centric approach.

11. Embrace Automation

Automation is not a new concept in the business world, and it can make managing your recruitment process easier and reduce time, cost and risk of human error in your hiring process.

The pandemic, rising demand for remote or hybrid work models and the Great Resignation have left hiring teams facing unprecedented challenges, and many are embracing automation tools to streamline recruiting while maintaining best hiring practices. 55% of human resources professionals report their organisations have increased investments in HR technology.

Streamline your recruiting strategy with automated tools that let you:

Once your needs are defined, programmatic recruiting solutions can aggregate data and target your searches in real time to collect quality applications from a segment as broad or as niche as you need. And, if you choose a solution with a pay-per-application fee structure, you pay for quality returns with a reduced risk of your recruitment ad budget being gutted by bots.

You save time and money, increase your reach in a global job market and free your team to focus on what they do best — working with people.

Optimise Recruiting Strategies with Hirematic

The challenges associated with hiring new employees are here to stay, but these recruiting best practices can help you remove roadblocks and ensure you’re recruiting the right people for your organisation.

The experts at Hirematic have developed an intelligent recruitment marketing solution that leverages artificial intelligence and automation to improve the quality of your applicant pool while optimising your recruiting spend. Contact our team to see how Hirematic’s programmatic solution can work for you.