New year, New rules
Recruiting and hiring may not have been priorities last year, but if predictions for a sustained economic recovery bear fruit, the collective "help wanted" sign could go up again this year. In fact, smart companies never stop hiring and even during the downturn have been strategically working to improve their odds of luring the best candidates from a labor market that, at least for now, more resembles an ocean than a pool.
"This is a unique moment in time that’s not going to last," says Joni Thomas Doolin, CEO and founder of People Report, which provides workforce intelligence to service industries. She adds that shifting demographics and aggressive hiring by other industries despite the downturn make now the time "to evaluate and build your teams."
Integrate social media.
Using sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for recruiting is now a must. Talent Revolution founder and president Amanda Hite says that entire demographic groups now live out large portions of their lives online. Too many employers don’t take that into account when it comes to recruiting, according to Hite. "It makes me weep when I see the talent that you all are turning down because of old hiring paradigms," she said in a recent keynote address to foodservice executives.
Marry HR and marketing.
Especially for online recruiting, these two functions need to work closely together, says Doolin. And while simply posting listings is easy, it doesn’t go far enough. "If the marketing department’s running a Facebook fan page, think about how that connects to people who may want to work for you as well as to eat in your restaurants."
Tap technology.
Old-school approaches to screening candidates from hand-written applications are inefficient even in good times. In this environment, with sometimes hundreds of applications stacking up for a single position, they’re nearly impossible. A result, Doolin says, is that hiring managers get overwhelmed and can easily miss prime candidates in the stack. "Savvy companies are turning to some kind of screening technology to lighten the load and make sure they get the best people."
Excerpted from Restaurant Business, January 2010
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