How to attract new talent

It’s up to employers how they recruit for their organisation. There are no set processes that are required by law. But employers must follow a fair process and certain laws that apply throughout the whole recruitment process, including discrimination and data protection. Employers should also follow good practice and any policies their organisation might have on recruitment and equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Recruiting new employees is administratively cumbersome and economic conditions mean there are fewer applicants, so now is the time to be a little “different”!

For example, some employers are now offering “Wellbeing leave” in addition to the usual holiday package. If you want to recruit more you have to get serious about the process and be on it 24/7, 365!

There are a number of actions you can take to make your business attractive to new staff. In addition to reviewing your pay and conditions to be as competitive as possible, these include:

• Tasking recruitment as a permanent process; 
• Regularly asking existing staff, customers and suppliers for introductions;
• Offering incentives for referrals;
• Making sure you are running constant online social media and local advertisements;
• Embracing flexibility in hours and location in your business;
• Introducing a “Golden Hello” and loyalty bonusses for length of service (typically one to three years);
• Advertising testimonials from existing staff;
• Making your company and the job sound as attractive as possible by outlining the position to sound prestigious and challenging. These two factors are big incentives for bright potential candidates;
• Knowing that job satisfaction comes from feeling respected and having the opportunity to learn new things and excel in the face of obstacles when advertising the role; and
• Conveying your business’s personality so potential employees get a feel for what it would be like to work for you;

Useful guidance on the procedures for recruitment can be seen in the ACAS guide “Recruiting staff” which can be seen here: Recruiting staff (acas.org.uk)