The holiday season is often thought of as more or less of a dead time for recruiting talent to your team. Schedules become crazier, deadlines become tighter, and between holiday shopping, family gatherings and traveling to be with loved ones, your free time becomes almost nonexistent.
It’s safe to assume that many people are easily distracted and sometimes more focused on anything but work throughout the holiday season. It is the busiest time of year for most candidates and clients alike, but that does not mean you should put your company’s recruitment efforts on hold. You can deck the halls with top talent with the right holiday hiring strategy.
- Reconnect with Top Talent
Recruiters are always burdened with the tough responsibility of coordinating multiple schedules of different candidates and clients. During the holidays, schedules get busier and finding a time that aligns for everyone involved in the interview process becomes an almost impossible task. Therefore, interviews become less frequent this time of year. Which means your team can spend more time reaching out to candidates in more personal ways.
This is a great time to reconnect or really go the extra mile for top talent. Think about how many strong candidates you talked to this year compared to the number of candidates you actually placed. If you are wondering if all those strong candidates ever found a job that was a great fit, reach out and call them. Find out how they are doing and if they have any plans or goals for the new year. All of those great candidates you spoke to who weren’t interested in making a career move six months ago, could be ready to start actively job searching. And it is unlikely they are going to call and share this news with you. This season is the perfect time to rekindle the connection and spread some holiday cheer. You’ve got nothing to lose.
- Show Client Appreciation
In client relationships, it is easy to keep your head down and only converse about the project or aspect of the business that your partnership is centered around. Everyone is so busy in the day to day, and it is easy to forget that those voices coming through from the other end of the conference line are real people. The holidays are the perfect time to add more of a personal touch to the partnership and show your appreciation to them as a client.
Schedule an in person meeting with your clients. This is a great time to ask about their future growth plans as well as explain to them how and why your recruitment efforts are slightly changing during this time of year. This is also an opportunity for you to reconnect on this past year’s performance and look ahead to the future. During this conversation, you should work to smooth out any road bumps that may have occurred or highlight the major wins your teams have been able to create together. Depending on the industry, bringing a gift along to the meeting to really show your appreciation would be the icing on the cake.
Every client can make for a great referral and become the best brand advocate for your business. It’s all up to the members of your organization to make a positive impression on all of your clients. Having awesome client relationships helps build up your company brand. And great brands attract great people – candidates and clients alike.
- Meet Potential Hires at Holiday Parties
With all of the potlucks, holiday parties and business events you will be attending in the next few months, you will have plenty of opportunities to meet new people. Cram as many holiday events into your already crazy schedule, and make the most of the festive mood and frequent get-togethers this season provides. Every event is an opportunity to represent your team and talk to potential candidates. So do not be afraid to be surrounded by a sea of new faces. Get in the holiday spirit and work your way through the crowd in an attempt to meet top talent and boost your holiday hiring and business success.
- Make Recruitment Resolutions for the New Year
It is easy to get wrapped up in the holidays and caught up focusing on doing everything to end the year strong. Make sure you take some time to also reflect on this year’s achievements as well as the areas that need improvement. In doing so, you are setting yourself up for success as the new year kicks off. Make the time to improve upon your careers page, job descriptions, messaging and overall employee brand. Your team will benefit from it and the quality of your future candidates will improve because of it. Making the time to do a little extra will give you even more reason to celebrate this season.
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