King Recruit is a supporting partner for the Tech South West StartUp Studio, a virtual accelerator for early stage tech companies in the South West.
Do you have a strategic recruitment plan for 2022? Find out King Recruit’s Top 4 Steps to drive your success….
Why is it so important to plan ahead?
Putting a well-defined recruitment plan in place can increase hiring efficiency, making the process smoother, helping to keep your business on course and avoid costly time wasting exercises through on-boarding the wrong candidates.
Wherever you are in your business journey, whether a start-up, on your scale-up journey, or a larger enterprise, you need a considered plan to understand how your team is going to grow – who you are going to hire and when.
Retaining and recruiting top talent will be one of the most important priorities for businesses in 2022. Skilled professionals, especially those in the tech sector, are some of the most sought after competencies right now.
Employers need to focus on skill building, optimising benefits, remote and flexible working options, facilitating collaboration and prioritising employee engagement.
Seizing talent before a role in a business comes up is paramount to growing a successful company. If you come across a candidate who shines above everyone else and is in tune with your businesses ethos but doesn’t fit the role you are recruiting for, create a role. That person could be just the individual to turn your business from a start up to scale up.
A recent report by McKinsey & Company shows that closing skill gaps in their companies’ workforces has become a higher priority since the pandemic began and skill building is the most effective way to close the skill gaps, as well as redeploying talent to new roles.
Our Top 4 Steps for driving your recruitment plan are:
1) Analysing your recruitment needs and any skill gaps
What are your business goals and what roles and skills will be necessary in order for you to meet those goals? Identify which skills your current team can’t meet, and therefore what your hiring plan may need to look like. It’s a worthwhile exercise as by learning which skills are missing in your current team, you can employ a pre-emptive style that better aligns your hiring plan with staffing needs.
2) Plan your hiring process
You want everyone to be in agreement when it’s time to recruit, so when you have written your hiring plan, communicate it with all those that need to know. Consider your role requirements, salary and benefits, paying special attention to your employer value proposition, candidate selection and your interview process. Build a recruitment calendar to work alongside your plan to help you plan ahead and anticipate future needs. Make sure you are planning your recruitment months in advance and you constantly review your hiring needs. Don’t wait until the last minute to start the process as the cost of an unfilled vacancy is on average £500 per day, can you afford this?
3) Create a budget for recruitment costs
You can estimate how much your recruitment costs are going to be by reviewing your previous costs per hire. You can source a trusted recruitment partner if you don’t have an internal recruitment team. Working with various recruiters when hiring needs arise can increase your costs. But having one trusted recruitment partner who understands your culture will add value – they will ensure your salary benchmarking is correct so you don’t over pay for new talent, they will constantly keep a bank of the candidates that are right for you and will reduce your recruitment process by only presenting you with the right candidates for the role.
4) Review and adapt your plan throughout the process
It will take time to hone your recruitment plan but it is critical to adjust and optimise your plan based on your changing business needs throughout the journey. Throw a global pandemic into the mix and your plans may change! Your business may expand quicker than you expected or you might consider introducing a new technology. Reviewing and evolving your plan as you go will allow for a more flexible and practical implementation. Asking new team members for their feedback on the recruitment process once they have joined you will provide you with valuable insight into how successful your plan is and help to inform the plan going forwards.
Always be recruiting
We recommend always being on the lookout for top talent, even if you don’t need that person right now. Stay engaged with future potential candidates and put the right measures in place to retain your staff.
In July of this year, King Recruit joined forces with James Caan CBE and award-winning investment firm Recruitment Entrepreneur, one of the most successful private equity investors in start-up to scale up recruitment businesses.
From Start-Up to Scale-Up, King Recruit helps Tech SME’s expand by finding game-changing talent. With our partner-led approach and expertise in all aspects of talent strategy and hiring.
For more information about creating a recruitment plan or any hiring matter, you can contact Magda King on 07731 865565 or email magda@kingrecruit.com.