Recently, we spoke on company culture and how sourcing the right people for your organisation in terms of your values is key to a successful placement strategy and a happy workforce. If employees are happy, retention rates are high and recruitment costs are low. Which is great for everyone.
Of course, to the highly skilled individual, this may sound rather worrying. All that time you’ve invested in training, never mind the hours spent actually performing your role, day in, day out! Was it all for nothing? The short answer is NO! Because there are times when cultural fit alone cannot outshine skill set. Highly skilled roles, in particular, rely less on culture and more on finding people who can take the job on with no training whatsoever aside to the usual company onboarding procedure (that is, where you’ll find the bathroom, break-out rooms and fire exits!).
When you’re talking extreme niche skills, those without which a role simply cannot be fulfilled, it can be difficult to know where to begin in your search for the next bunch of ideal candidates – never mind how…! Enter, skills-based recruiting!
Good Skills! As it sounds, skills-based recruiting places an emphasis on the practical skill-set of a candidate above all other attributes – for example, their educational achievements or additional experience which relates to the role on offer. For some industries, particularly those which rely on a niche skill-set, this is essential to the recruitment process in sourcing talent most suited to a role; and ensures the successful applicant is ‘on tools’ as quickly as possible – which, of course, saves on costs.
It’s a two-step process; first of all, you need to source the right talent before proceeding on to assess each individual according to the role on offer. And who better to assist with this? None other than your friendly neighbourhood recruitment agency! Here’s why.
Use Your Props When it comes to matching people to placements, recruiters have an abundance of tricks up their sleeves to ensure this is done effectively and with as minimal fuss – and cost - as possible. How?
Network Once over known as a little black book, now more typically a highly organised database packed to the seams with candidates suitable to a whole plethora of roles. This is a recruiter’s most safe-guarded resource, their list of ‘who’s who and what they can do’. Where an organisation has to start from scratch when looking for new talent, a recruitment agency delves directly into its data head on, knowing exactly where to look to find a certain skill-set and can prepare a list of potentials in minutes.
Insights Good recruiters will look beyond the obvious. Their first rule? Don’t overrule! There can be plenty of talent outside of the industry you're recruiting for, with people honing the very skills you need. Just because they sit outside of your industry, they should not be discounted - particularly if the skill you are looking for is niche and difficult to find in your average person. Recruiters will look beyond your sector, often to be rewarded with hidden gems elsewhere!
Global Prowess Have you thought to look internationally for new recruits? Again, this is not to be overlooked and a recruiter will know everything to do with global recruitment from where to look, to creating a contract and relocation package which is competitive and comprehensive. They’ll more than likely have technology and processes in place to search for, assess and interview global talent, finding that certain someone who fits culturally and more so, has all of the required niche skills too.
Stop-Gaps Does the role need to be filled permanently? And, if so, is it absolutely crucial to the day-to-day running of your business that you fill the role quickly? A recruiter typically has a bank of people on hand to fill gaps on a short-term basis which is often a great way to fulfil a skills gap – at least, until a permanent recruit comes along. After all, matching people to placements is their bread and butter, whether it’s a temporary placement or an ongoing relationship needed and they will likely have someone in their grasp to step right in.
Know-How Once armed with their list of candidates, recruiters have the systems and processes in place to make a thorough assessment of each one, ensuring they really do have the skills necessary to take on the role available. In short, your friendly neighbourhood recruiter will be able to utilise a variety of qualification methods – for example, competency-based interviewing, facilitate any technical assessments, conduct psychometric tests and of course complete candidate reference checks.
Looking for that special someone for your organisation? Arrange a chat with 121 today.