Tis’ the season for Christmas work to take over the world of recruitment.
The build-up to December is a traditionally hectic time of year for recruiters specialising in the retail and hospitality sectors in particular. Thousands of seasonal vacancies go live and have to be filled, fast, during this period. And this year will be a tougher challenge than ever before for temp recruitment specialists, with a shrinking labour force making hiring tricky throughout the year.
Most recently, figures revealed that more than 700,000 over 50s have quit work since the pandemic. The employment rate in this age group dropped from 42.3 pc to 41.pc in three years.
For non-temporary recruiters, however, November and December can hold a different type of focus.
This is the perfect time of year to put in place key planning and preparation measures that will give you a head start for quarter one in 2023.
Here’s our top four tips to give you an edge over the competition.
- Take the time to review and understand your client base and their requirements for next year.
What kind of vacancy will they be posting in January and what kind of candidate are they looking for?
When will they be looking to hire once the holidays are out of the way and how fast will they need to interview?
- Make sure to visit the most important clients on the list with your Christmas bundles.
It may sound like a small thing but even in 2022 corporate gift-giving is a smart business strategy when it comes to being remembered in the future.
The more considered and tailored the gift is to the recipient, the better. Go big with a luxury hamper or keep it casual with useful desk supplies, but don’t forget to include your business card under the wrapping paper.
- Talk to the candidates on your list and find out what motivates them.
Ask why they might be looking to change roles and what would give them the final push.
This could be anything from more flexible working to a better salary, condensed hours or better health insurance, so have an open mind as to the incentive.
- Once your candidate pool has been updated, start the behind-the-scenes preparation.
Interviews can be completed in advance and so can obtaining key documentation such as candidates’ right to work in the UK. Once you have it, file it away neatly, ready for the new year.
Busy periods in recruitment can mean the boring paperwork, HR and payroll services get a little bit lost. They soon mount up though. If you need to call in the experts to keep on top of it all, WeDo offers an array of back office services that can keep your business running smoothly, predictably and legally.