Back to School, Back to Routine
It’s the middle of September, the kids are back to school, you find yourself stuck in traffic again and the evenings are getting shorter. I speak to people every day and this time of year you always hear phrases like, “The kids are back to school and I’m glad to be getting back to routine” or “That’s a lovely day sure wouldn’t you know that kids are back to school”.
For me, September is the start of probably the most productive time of the year, the holidays are over, and most businesses are back to full complement of staff. Orders are in and we are all focused on finishing out the year hitting our targets or being “up on last year” – so it’s a productive four months.
It’s also one of the busiest times of the year for recruitment and if you are planning on expanding your workforce it’s a good time to recruit but you will need to plan it carefully.
Why? Well, it can take up to three months to carry out a standard recruitment process, so you don’t want to be sitting at the start of December trying to get a new recruit started when you are at your busiest.
So, Why three months?
Well if you think about the timeframes involved, firstly you advertise the position for a few weeks and by the end of the month you have a shortlist and you are setting up interviews – therefore allowing for candidates to arrange time off a week has passed and by week five or six you are holding your first-round interviews.
If all goes well by week seven you are at the second stage of the interview process. You then make an offer and by the time all is agreed and signed off you are in week eight. Now, most employees have to work a months’ notice so by the time they start its hit twelve weeks or three months. If you have worked for your employer for one month or more, the legal minimum amount of notice you must give is one week.
Due to these time frames you need to be mindful of the time it takes to hire and how long it typically takes to get someone on board.
The three months can pass by very quickly and you are suddenly into the start of December, your busiest month. You could delay the start date until after the holidays, but this is not ideal as it prolongs the process for the candidate, and they may go elsewhere.
Managers or Senior staff may also be on yearly bonuses as The Works Search Salary Guide reported, “Overall 63% of in-house Corporate Comms professionals received a bonus”.
As a result, Managers or Senior Staff will be reluctant to leave towards the end of the year as they will lose their bonus, so you must bear this in mind also.
Ideally, get a head start now
Through careful planning, try and have your recruitment process completed by the start of December.
If you’re currently thinking about your hiring strategy for the rest of 2019, now is the time to get the wheels in motion.
I can help you get started on identifying candidates for the roles you want to fill and remember a delayed process can lead to additional costs and you might lose out on the best people.
