When it comes to recruiting new employees, now is a more important time than ever to be cautious of not only who you’re hiring, but how you approach the hiring process as a whole. With tight budgets and an unstable economy, there is little room for hiring the wrong “fit” at your agency. So, what should an agency be doing in terms of recruitment? Specifically tailoring the offer process is a final step too often overlooked, as you’ll see in the last of this five-part series designed to help you recruit top talent.

A place on your team
So you’ve found the perfect potential employee and have extended them an offer to work at your agency. With a few weeks to file paperwork and get your new hire on payroll, it’s a job well done, right? Too many assume that the recruitment process ends here. So, what else is there to do in terms of recruitment? A lot.

“Start with keeping in touch with them after the offer has been accepted,” said Heather Gaengel, recruiting manager at Zywave. Try to be attuned to what their apprehensions are, if any, so you know what to target from when they accept the offer all the way up until their start date. Ease their anxiety and concerns before their first day at your agency.

Understand their expectations and let them know yours as well. “Tell them that you want them on your team,” said Heather. This will help show them that they are not only valued as an individual employee, but that you see them as an asset to your team and agency as well.

Keeping them engaged
Almost always there is at least some lag time between a candidate accepting an offer and their start date. So, it is important for them to know that you’re thinking about their arrival during this lag time. “Keep them engaged until the start date,” said Heather.

“Encourage the hiring managers to make outreach calls in between making the offer and the employee’s start date,” said Heather. Let the new hire know what their team is currently working on. And if possible, explain briefly any projects that they will be contributing to when they do start. Let the employee know they have a place ready for them on your team and that their coworkers are anticipating their arrival.

Overall, keep the lines of communication open and frequent. “Don’t let any time pass where they might fall out of love with your agency,” said Heather. They should be just as excited about joining your team as you are about having them.

This is part five in a five-part series on recruitment at agencies.

©Copyright 2009 Zywave, Inc.