5 Ways to Constantly Attract Good People

Copyright (c) 2007 Mr Sital Ruparelia

Recruitment is one of those activities that you cannot just
‘switch on’ when you have a vacancy and expect instant
results. To attract the right people on an on going basis,
you must have some key steps or systems in place all the
time – even when you have no open vacancies.

1. Always be looking  – whenever attending a network event,
a social function or visiting your competitors – be aware
of the people you meet. Who impresses you? Who is
particularly successful? Who has impressed the people you
know? Like a football manager or basket ball coach – you
should always be looking at bringing in better talent into
your team so that you are constantly raising the bar and
making your business more competitive. In business, like
professional sport – if you stand still, your business is
at risk.

2. Keep On Advertising  – whether it’s a listing on your
website or a simply a poster in your reception area – never
stop advertising your positions .If you haven’t a vacancy,
you may word the advert differently. E.g. “We are always
interested hearing from x,y,x people” etc….

3. Always welcome applications -  regardless of whether you
have a vacancy or not, be open to receiving applications.
Make your friends, ex-colleagues and business associates
aware of the type of people that you look for when
recruiting and make it very clear that you are open to
hearing about people they know – even when you have not got
immediate vacancies. If you use recruitment agencies and
headhunters, then inform them that you are open to hearing
about strong candidates on a speculative basis – just be
totally clear on what you want and totally clear that you
do not want to be pestered with speculative CVs / resumes
every week. You only want a call or email when they have a
‘star candidate.’

4. Have a system to capture & store details – if you are
welcoming applications when you have no vacancies, then you
must have a system or process in place to store details and
be able to recall details when required. Depending on your
business this could be a database, an excel spreadsheet, a
diary or simply a “little black book” where you store names
and details of people you are impressed with or referred to
you. So the minute you have a potential opening, you have a
ready made list of potential people to start recruiting
from. Yes, some of them may no longer be looking – but many
others will. And even if they are not looking – they may
well know people who are and so if you have maintained a
relationship you have access to some very good people.

5. Inform The Team Your team may be sensitive about why you
are open to applications when you have no current
positions. So be honest and up front in informing them
right from the start. Explain that you want a ready made
pipeline of candidates (or to use a sporting analogy,
“substitutes”) so that it save time and money when you do
have a vacancy. And like sports, having people sitting on a
‘substitutes bench’ puts pressure on the existing team to
stay “on their toes” (i.e. to perform) – which may not be
bad thing….

So start putting these steps into practice and you will
save time and money when you are recruiting. But don’t
expect instant result, there is a time lag with these
things.

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Sital Ruparelia, The Recruitment & Retention Specialist,
works with businesses that struggle with recruitment and
retention issues and helps them implement strategies proven
to Find & Keep The Right People consistently.
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