The Tribune

Recruitment is the process of attracting, short-listing, engaging, selecting and hiring employees. The successful and progressive company skillfully uses a wide combination of recruitment platforms. Successful recruitment, therefore, is a direct reflection of the professionalism of your business.

And employing the right people is vital to the company’s development. It is essential to have a good recruitment process to attract the right kind of employees your business needs. Your recruitment process should be cost-effective as well as time-effective. The following are common types of recruitment that all companies should be engaged in:

Publication

It is standard practice to publish available jobs in an open forum such as your website, the local newspapers and virtual public boards. This allows the public to see available jobs and creates an atmosphere of open competition for positions.

Databases

Accepting applications and employment inquiries through channels such as your website to build a database of interested candidates.

Internal Recruitment

Allowing your employees to apply for open positions tends to improve company culture as this provides opportunities for growth and change from within.

Employee Referral

Employees often have a large network of friends and former colleagues in the same profession. As such, employers commonly offer bonuses to employees who refer a successful candidate.

Social Media Promotion

Using techniques such as social media and advertising to create awareness of open positions and your firm as an employer.

Events

Using industry conferences and career events to connect with talent often proves quite effective. Sometimes a good “mix and mingle” is the right tool to bring possible employees to the table.

Internships

Offering students a chance to obtain valuable work experience in the workplace also serves as a great recruitment tool. A great apprenticeship experience sometimes lights the spark for bright young minds.

Graduate Recruiting

Establishing relationships with universities, colleges and other institutions to recruit students. Many schools hold career events that are open to qualified employers. Some firms have a culture of recruiting most employees as graduates and carefully retaining talent for the long term. Larger companies often have a standing arrangement with their local colleges and universities to hire their brightest and best.

Word of Mouth

Communicating information in an interesting way to encourage word of mouth. This is perhaps the oldest and most effective form of recruitment used in the workplace.

Recruiters

External recruiters who are in the business of discovering talent, and maintaining large networks of relationships, are deliberately moving through the marketplace to identify the ideal potential employee. Other competing companies, community organisations and associations prove to be a rich source of talent.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at iferguson@bahamas.com.