'If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail' - the most accurate statement when it comes to talent acquisition.
Whether you are a business owner, hiring manager, in-house talent acquisition, executive search consultant, or a contingent recruiter - the job intake process is the most important part of the entire search.
Without the lights on and a clear target in front of you, you are doomed to fail.
Too many people think a quick 5 minute conversation is sufficient to capture the information needed to execute a successful search. This couldn't be further from the truth!
Without a thorough job intake process your search is doomed to fail. Not only will you miss out on fantastic talent, but it will take you infinitely longer to complete the search with a deflating result.
And we are just scratching the surface here...The search isn't just about defining the 'perfect candidate' and then off you go. Far from it! You need to consider a number of other factors that contribute to a successful search.
Below are a few of them (not exhaustive):
Why you are looking and what are you looking for:
- Reason for the search
- Defining the role & responsibility
- Culture, Personality, Communication Style
- Experience, Qualifications, Pre-requisites
- Budget
Talent Acquisition Process:
- Timeline
- Who gets involved
- Interview Format
- Offer Process
- Reference Checking
Identifying & Engaging with Talent:
- How are you going to find the talent?
- Where are you going to find them?
- How are you going to engage with them?
- Why are they going to be interested in joining your company?
How to Interview:
- How many interviews will you need to conduct?
- What format will the interviews be (virtual, face to face, phone etc.)
- Who gets involved in the interview process (and are they the best people to not only identify great talent, but convince them that they should join your company)
- How to identify superstars - the difference between good and great talent will directly translate to your company's future success.
Offer & Onboarding:
- Once you have identified your top candidate, how do you go about hiring them?
- What is the offer process?
- Who gets involved?
- How do you get the candidate excited to join your company?
- How do you make the candidate feel valued through the offer process?
- Avoiding the dreaded 'counter offer' from the candidate's current employer
- Setting the new employee up for success with a seamless onboarding process, clear expectations, as well as support and resources to help them integrate into the business without any hiccups.
Having been in the executive search & talent acquisition industry for over a decade, it is relatively easy for me to identify potential pitfalls and where companies go wrong.
It is also easy for companies, recruitment agencies, and search firms to get carried away with excitement for the new search. They often skim over this very important part of the process and jump into a search all guns blazing hoping a lucky shot will hit the bullseye.
The job intake process is paramount
I emphasize the importance of the job intake to our clients at the beginning of every single search we engage in. If you don't have a solid foundation to build on, the end result will not be exactly what you are looking for. You need to have the right people involved and allocate the necessary time to ensure there is clarity throughout the entire search.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you found it beneficial. If you would like to learn more about job intakes / search kickoffs get in touch. I'd be happy to answer your questions and advise when appropriate.
