Innovative Career Resources & Staffing | 12 Ways to put the HUMAN back in Human resources... and to make your job much easier.

12 Ways to put the HUMAN back in Human resources… and to make your job much easier.

by | May 5, 2014 | Featured | 0 comments

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In seeing hundreds of HR teams, we constantly see the challenge of balancing time and energy between recruiting new talent, reading through applications, coordinating interviews, and putting out fires among other responsibilities that keep you busy throughout the day. We empathize with the hard working men and women leading the charge at HR departments across the nation, and we want to make your job easier.

In an attempt to assist HR Managers, Innovative Career Resources has put together a robust list of our TOP 12 TIPS to making your life in HR a whole lot easier:

1. Take advantage of membership with HR consulting firms like Employers Group.

If you’re managing the HR department of a company with less than fifty employees and you don’t have access to your own internal legal department, HR consulting firms are your golden ticket to a very good day in HR. For an affordable yearly membership fee, you can take advantage of the many resources available like the legal advice helpline, hiring and termination guidelines, research and surveys, references and tools, or training and certification programs. Most services are available online, so your pool of resources is just a mouse click away. Getting the legal items handled more quickly allows you more face time with potential and current employees.

2. Grab a SHRM membership if you don’t have one already.

SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) is a nationwide organization that makes sure you stay in compliance with the latest HR rules and regulations. Laws differ significantly from state to state, so if you’re looking to build an employee handbook or develop proper job descriptions, SHRM offers you the tools and resources to guide you through that process. Local SHRM chapters are located in just about every state across the country, so be sure to check your directory for your local SHRM organization. Again, less time on administrative work means more time in front of people.

3. Network and build a pipeline of talent.

Many HR professionals make the mistake of thinking that networking is unnecessary because applicants should come to them begging for a chance at a new job. This is no longer the case. Recruiting for your ideal candidate becomes a lot easier when you’re already tapped into a continuous pipeline of industry savvy professionals and associations. LinkedIn, SHRM, and the local Chamber of Commerce are always advertising networking events along with industry specific organizations. Remember – you don’t always have to network at HR related events. Sometimes that “diamond in the rough” is found where you least expected it.

Whenever the team at Innovative Career Resources attends a networking event, we often receive extra tickets. So you might also ask your staffing company if they have any exciting events on the horizon where you can tag along. (We’re always happy to help connect you with the next rising talent superstar, so contact us if you’re interested in joining us for a little networking fun.)

4. Your ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is your best friend.

Why start building a new pond of applicants when you’ve got a resource pool already in your backyard? When a position comes in, often HR’s first inclination is to start a new search on LinkedIn. More than likely, there is already a group of people who applied for previous positions with the experience and those exact skill sets you’re looking for. If they applied to your company once before, they’re already keen to join your team. You just have to dig them back up and resume the conversation.

5. Start thinking like a marketer.

You probably didn’t get into HR to work in the Marketing Dept, but it’s more important than ever to add this skill to your list of “yes, can do.” Learn to sell the brand of your company to the world so talented professionals can determine that you’re the best choice for their career path. This is now “the year of the employee” – people have a lot more options. You want to be the exciting company that stands out from the crowd they want to join.

6. Earn your social media badge of honor.

Tied into the marketing is your social media savvy. Within the limits of your company’s liability policy regarding social media use, it’s important that your company creates and maintains a current social media profile on the most popular and used online platforms: LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter being a few. Create a video that shows why your employees love working for your company. Companies like Zillow, Apple, and Starbucks have some great recruiting videos. Take social media seriously because that’s where the younger generation of future applicants are going to be hanging out.

7. Consider (and reconsider) your company interns.

Many times, interns are salivating for the opportunity to work fulltime for your company. You just have to prep them. When you build a strong internship program, it will help your company fill positions as they become available. Pandora, the streaming music company, has an internship program that really works – approximately 70% of their interns get hired full time. Not only does that alleviate a lot of recruiting stress, but your management team gets to mentor and train their future colleagues so they’re primed and ready for hiring.

8. Put “HUMAN” back in Human Resources.

A lot of times, candidates are going through the interview process and it takes forever to get a real response back from HR. Two to three weeks is a long time when you’re hanging onto every email and phone call. Maintaining an aloof communication style shows a lack of respect for the applicant’s time, which could leave a pretty bad taste in their mouths that will make them less interested in joining your company. Hold onto good candidates by staying in touch with them. Use your ATS system to send out an email and let them know if you’ll need a few weeks to get back to them. Then contact them when you say you will. This isn’t rocket science — it simply boils down to staying engaged with your pool of applicants, especially if they have the talent and skills your company is looking to cultivate.

9. Send your condolences.

When you have a group of talented applicants that don’t get chosen for the job, use your ATS system to send them a nice email letting them know they weren’t chosen. Thank them for applying and tell them there may be more positions opening where they might be a good fit. Ask them if they’d be interested in keeping their resume on file with your department, and then keep in touch with them as positions become available. Also request that they connect with you on LinkedIn and follow your company on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Showing signs of interest in them as an applicant will reap rewards when you contact them again in the future.

10. Partner with a staffing firm.

Identify one or two strong staffing partners to assist you when it comes time to hire fresh talent. At Innovative Career Resources, candidates go through a stringent pre-screening interview process before being submitting to our clients. We’re not a “resume shop” — we actually put quite a bit of work into every candidate we submit. We’re filtering a lot of candidates through a rigorous interview process before we even consider sending their resume to the client. This saves our clients a lot of time and energy. Whichever recruiting firm you work with, partner with a company that has your best interests in mind and who understands your culture. Make sure the staffing firm proactively recruits for your positions so when you call them with an opening, they have qualified candidates they can send you right away.

11. Does your recruiting company offer payroll servicing?

If one of our clients has interviewed candidates, but they don’t necessarily want to put them on their payroll or bring them on fulltime, see if your staffing company offers payroll servicing. (For example, the payroll team at Innovative Career Resources has the resources and skills to manage payroll for companies so they can maintain autonomy and not get hit with the liability of bringing on a fulltime employee.) An outside team can do all the backend payroll services for you, saving you and your accounting department time and money worth its weight in gold.

12. Implement a referral bonus.

More often than not, if your employee is a rock star and they’re working out well for your company, chances are they’re probably hanging out with other rock stars that have a similar work ethic and caliber of talent. Implementing a referral bonus for your employees will incentivize your top employees to tell all their cool friends about your company, enriching your pool of applicants with like-minded individuals.

Are you ready to make your life really easy as an HR professional? Contact us or call us today at 714-508-8620. Our goal and job is to make your life easier!

Innovative Career Resources & Staffing | 12 Ways to put the HUMAN back in Human resources... and to make your job much easier.
Keith Fiscus

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