Hiring should be a strategic function of your HR department. More importantly, however, you should be building a Proactive Recruitment strategy tied to directly your corporate goals.

What is Proactive Hiring?

Proactive Hiring means being prepared, equipping your business for inevitable shifts in the workforce. Since 1998, Premier Talent Partners has helped organizations develop a Proactive Recruitment strategy to help get the right person for the job. Here’s how we’ve used Proactive Hiring with our clients.Stay connectedStaying connected means staying in front of an active talent pool while remaining relevant with the characteristics top-tier candidates are constantly searching for with an employer. You or your agency should constantly be interacting and engaging with both active and passive candidates to foster relationships that allow you to easily find and focus on the top talent when you’re ready.Stick to a scheduleHard deadlines will simplify your process. Create a timeline and stick to it. Every organization and industry operates on fairly independent factors that create differentiation in the recruitment process. What’s important isn’t that tighter scheduling will prevent you from reactive recruitment, rather that you must avoid letting existing systems prevent you from creating a better process.Be top-of-mindProactive staffing agencies are able to fill positions with the right talent and with the speed that hiring managers need. The success of staffing agencies may be tied to their ability to continuously create opportunities to support job seekers, fill gaps for hiring managers, and educate both through frequent communication. As a highly integrated partner with many Bay Area employers, take it from us that there’s no substitute for being a preferred vendor.Avoid a ‘Tipping Point’If you’re looking to improve your hiring process, be proactive. Some employers wait until a tipping point requires a change in organizational direction. Taking control of your hiring process, rather than reacting, enables you to evaluate current talent, assess recruiting activity, and identify challenges that require a further conversation with a staffing specialist.Have a backup planTurnover. It’s annoying, and you need to plan for it. The best position to put yourself in is where you have already connected with exceptional talent. Backup candidates may be equally (or more) qualified, so don’t lose time when your first offer is rejected. Plan in advance to avoid surprises.Of course, Proactive Hiring is not a perfect science. Each organization has nuanced needs. Having a well designed Proactive Recruitment strategy will help organizations stay competitive.From our perspective as a staffing agency, we see several bottom-line benefits to using Proactive Hiring practices with our clients (job seekers appreciate it, too!)

• Higher quality candidates - Proactive hiring doesn’t guarantee better candidates. Instead, it insulates the hiring process from the types of interruptions/delays that may prevent you from finding - or overlooking - the cream of the talent crop.
• Faster time-to-fill- The recruitment profession lends to organizations that are able to move quickly. Continuously working to shed time off of your hiring process is one of the best goals you can set for your organization.
• Lower cost-per-hire - Engaging with candidates will help you develop a larger footprint which will enhance your social influence outside of the traditional channels where you find candidates.
• Lower stress - Recruitment should be making your life easier, not developing complications.