In good or bad economic times, a company’s ability to successfully recruit, manage and retain the right talent is based on established principles and activities. Understanding your business needs and how your new hire is going to address those needs is not enough. It’s vital that you understand the mindset and the needs of recruits-your potential staff. While the time investment required developing this understanding can be significant, it is certainly a worthwhile business investment when weighed against the demands of high employee turnover.

Getting the Word Out
Hiring managers can look to a variety of sources to recruit talent. Today, the first place most employers post a job opening is on the career section of their company’s web site. These job postings can be an effective recruiting tool-anyone researching general information on the company can also conveniently view available positions. Web-site postings have the potential to reach and influence those who are exploring new jobs-as well as those who might not be-at the time of their visit.

It’s important to note that a company’s web site can have a positive or negative influence on the recruiting process. A potential candidate who arrives at a company’s web site will quickly form opinions about it. If the site is well designed, easily navigable and appears to meet the needs of the user, it might lead to a job inquiry. Conversely, a poorly designed site could turn off prospects.

In addition to company web sites, there are numerous ways to advertise in publications and commercial job boards that allow employers to post positions they wish to fill and job seekers to post their resumes along with the type of position they are looking to find. Some examples of these sites include canadajob.com, monster.ca.com, jobweb.org, careerpath.com and headhunter.net.

It’s important to gather as much information as you can about the publications/boards that you’re considering. Specifically, try to understand how successful they’ve been in your geographic region and industry. Publications or web sites that target your industry are, more than likely, going to reap better results.

If you’re not sure where to begin, contact a few colleagues to learn what sources they’ve used and the results they’ve achieved. In addition to classified ads and postings on commercial job boards, consider other forms of visibility on web sites, such as advertising banners.

Many commercial job boards charge a fee for postings. Unless you’re routinely recruiting a large volume of positions, you probably won’t be able to take advantage of volume discounts-but you should still inquire about them. If you have other departments or divisions in your company with compatible recruiting needs, you might be able to pool your financial resources and become eligible for discounted postings.

There are also job boards that do not charge for postings. Some examples of free sites are yahoo.com, flipdog.com, and commarts.com. Here, again, you’ll see a range of results.

What to Say
Some job boards do have specific “fields” of information the employer must post, however, classified or display ads do not. What should an effective job ad include? There isn’t any tried and true format, however, experienced recruiters know that the more pertinent information you include, the greater the likelihood that you’ll attract the right candidates. For example, if you include salary information, you might avoid losing a qualified candidate that might assume you aren’t offering an appropriate compensation range. Here are some other categories of information that will help potential candidates make an informed assessment:

• What does your company do? If it’s not a “brand name” company, a quick sentence describing what your company does.
• Title of position/Position requirements: Responsibilities, skills, education and any special professional experience (including the number of years) and/or training. Mention any special time commitments, such as travel.

Before posting jobs, make sure you have a system in place to handle a potentially large volume of responses. (Some boards make it easy for job seekers to respond to positions and it frequently leads to a “flood” of responses.) Responding in a timely manner is not only good “PR” for your company, it also reduces the possibility that you’ll miss out on hot talent. This is especially true during times of economic prosperity and low unemployment.

Going With the Professionals
In some cases, hiring managers take stock of their busy schedules and determine that they are unable to meet the demands of the recruiting process. If they have the financial resources in their budget, often they opt to hire a recruiter or placement firm.

What are the advantages and benefits? Professional recruiters deal with a large group of talent and companies on a regular basis and devote a significant amount of time getting to know both. Because their knowledge about each company and candidate is broad and deep they can leverage this information to help both the hiring manager and the job seeker to make the most informed decision possible. It’s in everyone’s interest to have the most complete picture possible before the hire is made. Otherwise, it can lead to a unpleasant surprise that casts doubt on the decision to offer or accept the position.

In addition, reputable recruiters offer both the potential employee and the hiring manager the closest thing to a neutral, objective perspective during employment negotiations. They hear the negotiable and non-negotiable points from both sides and can, therefore, keep the process moving in a productive direction. While it’s true most recruiters are hired and paid by the hiring manager, they also must represent the talent’s interests to ensure that a good match is made.

Reviewing the lengthy process for recruiting and hiring certainly presents a strong case for working hard to hold on to good employees. A successful employee retention effort begins with the implementation of the best possible management policies and practices. Companies that know how to successfully recruit, manage and retain talent enjoy a competitive advantage. Forward-thinking managers-those who consider their recruiting and retention strategies an important part of their business plan-will be best positioned to remove a fundamental obstacle to success.

Information about many employment topics can be found on the Ministry of Labour for Ontario’s web site, http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/es/ese.htm.

Christina Jackson is Design Evangelist for Aquent, the world’s largest talent agency for creative professionals. Aquent has 55 offices worldwide, including Toronto, Ontario, and Vancouver.