March 2021

In attracting the right talent, recruiters are tasked with finding candidates whose experience, knowledge, and character will be an asset to the company. When you have the right people in the right positions, your company is more apt to thrive.

With all the changes that have occurred over the past year, recruiting is primarily taking place online, as a majority of employees now work remotely. In a recent survey, 64% of organizations indicated the increase in remote working is a permanent change. Additionally, 33% of organizations have permanently reduced their office footprint as a result of the shift.

While this change to remote recruiting and working has altered the interview process, many of the tried-and-true practices still apply. As Tim Sackett, the president of HRU Technical Resources says, “You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. If a tactic works really well for someone else, copy it, and it likely will work really well for you, too.”

With 80% of companies looking to hire new employees in 2021, here are five essentials for recruiting the right candidate.

1. Discuss your company culture, values, and benefits.
   The top candidates want to know what makes your company stand out. They are people who are driven by a purpose rather than merely a paycheck. To ensure that your candidate’s vision and mission align with your company’s, discuss your company’s culture, values, and, of course, benefits in the recruiting conversation. Even if a person has the desired experience, they might not be the best fit for your company. “The mistake that most companies make during recruiting is hiring the person who’s capable of doing the job now, rather than hiring the person who can help the company achieve its mission in the long run,” says Dave Carvajal, CEO of Dave Partners, an executive search firm

2. Maximize employee referrals.

Tapping into your employee base for referrals often provides a variety of qualified candidates. Asking your employees for recommendations also shows them that you value their opinion. Tom Darrow, founder of Talent Connections, says, “Every employee should be a recruiter for the company.” Companies of all sizes rely on employee-based referrals. In fact, 86% of companies with 10,000 employees or more—and 80% of those with fewer than 100 workers—say referrals are their number one source of new hires.

3. Be transparent about pay, job duties, and expectations.

The more straightforward recruiters are about pay, job duties, and expectations, the more likely they are to hire the right candidate. Honesty and transparency must be present for recruiters and candidates to ensure alignment on important issues such as compensation and work responsibilities.

4. Create a strategic process in recruiting that offers an exceptional experience.

A positive recruiting experience makes a big difference for recruiters and candidates alike. From selection through onboarding, an exceptional hiring process demonstrates that the company values people. First-class recruiting practices also produce long-lasting benefits (e.g., loyalty, increased productivity, satisfaction) for both the company and its employees.

5. Communicate frequently.

At every stage of the recruiting process, it is crucial to clearly communicate with candidates. If a candidate is no longer being considered, inform that person promptly and provide a reason. Often, candidates are looking for feedback, so they can successfully secure a position. Encouraging open communication goes a long way toward establishing good rapport.

At BenefitElect, we help companies provide a seamless and exceptional experience for management and employees during onboarding and throughout the employee lifecycle. Our goal is to support businesses in their growth and to contribute positively to the company culture.

• How BenefitElect Supports HR
• How BenefitElect Supports Employees

New hires also bring a fresh perspective and new ideas. While much care and attention are devoted to new employees and most companies have an onboarding program in place, the opposite can be said for when an employee is “offboarded”. Offboarding is the process in which an employee leaves a company through resignation, termination, or retirement. According to research done by Aberdeen, only 29% of organizations provide an offboarding program. How an employee departs a company is just as important as how they begin. In looking at the life cycle of an employee, it is important to create a cohesive strategy from when the employee enters as a new hire to when they leave the company.

The good news is that opportunity exists for nearly three out of four (70%) of companies to improve their offboarding initiatives, and BenefitElect can help. To develop an offboarding program or upgrade an existing one, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Set clear goals and outcomes.
   Keep your company’s brand and values in mind as you create the goals and desired outcomes for offboarding. Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said, “We reinforce our culture every chance we get. Our Business Principles are at the forefront of everything we do, and we need to make these principles part of every major conversation at the company.” Reinforcing your company’s culture should be part of the offboarding process as well. Use the following questions as a guide:

• What do you want employees to say about your company when the leave?
• How do you want the offboarding process to be perceived?
• What would make the process smoother for all parties?

2. Create automation for the administrative tasks involved in offboarding.
   While discontinuing an employee’s access to technology and company information and collecting any outstanding company equipment are key during offboarding, one important area that can sometimes be overlooked is the termination of benefits. BenefitElect’s automated processes can make this aspect of the offboarding process a breeze. In addition to ensuring compliance, we automate your benefits administration and administer COBRA to eligible employees. BenefitElect uses automated text messages and emails to communicate significant dates and action steps. In addition, with our automated processes, HR never has to worry whether a terminated employee is still on coverage.

3. Ask for feedback.

   Conducting exit interviews with each outgoing employee gives HR staff an opportunity to end on a high note. Offboarding is the ideal time to ask outgoing employees about their experience with the company.

   Employees who leave your company, especially voluntarily, are ambassadors of your company’s brand. Moses Balian, an HR consultant at Justworks, said, “A smooth and amiable offboarding is so valuable in maintaining employees beyond active employment. You never know when you want to rehire someone.”

   Once employees leave, they feel free to share their opinions about the company, and there are a plethora of platforms and sites where their voices can be heard. Reviews on Google, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor, for example, can have a big impact on the opinions formed by potential hires, competitors and partners alike. In every interaction with outgoing employees, it is important to stay positive throughout the offboarding process.

   Creating an affirmative offboarding experience combined with seamless automated administrative processes will bring a positive completion to the employee life cycle.