4 Innovative Staffing Practices to Jumpstart 2014

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businesspeople at presentation looking at virtual project With just a few weeks into the New Year, there’s no better time for employers to ensure they have all the necessary tools for a more efficient recruitment process.

It comes as no surprise that more and more companies are repelling top talent due to their hiring practices. Failure to offer receipt of job applications, the dreaded resume black hole, overwritten job descriptions and not having mobile optimized career sites have caused businesses to lose out on potential employees while simultaneously producing a negative candidate experience.

How can a business prevent itself from losing the war for talent and stay ahead of the competition? Simple. As the familiar phrase goes, “Out with the old, in with the new,” it’s high time employers started to ditch their old (and unsuccessful) recruitment practices for the newer, easier and more productive strategies. It’s called innovation, and Recruiter.com wants to offer your business four innovative staffing practices to jumpstart your year into success.

linium 1. Outsource recruitment processes

You know the time wasters of your hiring process ? Well, now is the time to get rid of them. Instead of spending hours on creating job ads, sifting through resumes and scheduling interviews, hire someone (or something) else to do these things for you.

There is also wide array of HR software that can make your load lighter. For example: Reschedge: helps streamline the interview scheduling process by using a unique algorithm that automatically crawls through calendars to connect the right people at the most convenient time and place. Scout: a recruiter marketplace connecting employers to specialized recruiters. It recently partnered with Oracle, allowing the software to integrate in Oracle’s Taleo ATS, which uses data and performance-based matching to connect companies with the recruiters proven to have the most success filling vacant positions. Career Cloud Premium Job Leads: social and mobile friendly online job fliers that help companies quickly announce their hiring needs while driving job applicants to their career pages.

2. Adopt new technologies

2013 produced a plethora of new software and HR technologies that will only expand throughout this year. One favorite in the recruiting field is the video interview. According to an infographic by Spark Hire, 6 in 10 companies are now using video interviews. For an enhanced staffing process in 2014, make sure your business adds to these numbers.

Not only are video interviews more convenient for job seekers, they benefit employers too. For example, the infographic says that a hiring manager can watch 10 one-way video interviews in the time it takes for just one traditional phone screen. And video interviews save up to 67 percent of the travel costs associated with in-person interviews. And what company doesn’t like to save money?

The Ladders 3. Increase contingent labor

Did you know that, in the U.S. alone, there are currently 34 million employees who telecommute? Gone are the days of the structured work schedule and cubicle environment. If you want to boost your staffing practices this year, you’ll need to be more flexible. In fact, reports show that 60 percent of large businesses plan to increase freelance hiring in 2014.

Hiring contingent labor—part-time, temporary, and contract workers—not only helps save your business money as you adopt a pay-for-performance model, but it also streamlines the hiring process so you can focus on other tasks.

Think about it: How much more work could you accomplish if instead of sifting through endless resumes, conducting interviews, and walking a new hire through the onboarding process, you simply hired contractors who are experts in their field? Agreements are made, paperwork is signed and tasks are off your hands in a timely manner.

4. Use non-traditional hiring approaches

Again, if we’re dumping the stack of resumes and in-person interviews, we may as well find other ways to hire too. Why not try a temp-to-direct hiring strategy where you “test out” a worker for a short period of time before fully hiring the person? Or perhaps you can adopt Zappos’ recruitment practice and start hiring for company culture? For a unique and innovative company in 2014, you’ll need to start implementing unique and innovative staffing practices—ones that will not only help you attract the right talent but keep your business at the forefront of your industry.

A special thank you also for this month’s Innovative Staffing Practices Leadership Sponsors, The Ladders and Linium Staffing. Please check our their innovative services!

By Shala Marks