If you have your sights set on becoming a CEO, you might think that human resources (HR) is out of your area of expertise. However, effective recruitment strategies can help businesses attract top talent that aligns with organizational vision and leads to improved performance and long-term growth.
In fact, a 2023 Forbes article notes a study that found organizations with a strong talent recruitment strategy reaped 3.5 times the revenue growth of those without. Additionally, organizations with engaged and satisfied employees see growth (23%) compared to organizations with disengaged and unsatisfied employees. These figures prove HR’s importance to business success.
Business professionals must understand HR and its impacts on organizational success. The University of South Carolina (USC) Aiken online Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Human Resource Management program equips students with foundational business acumen, including HR strategy knowledge. Graduates are prepared to support and maximize HR to propel business growth.
Understanding Hiring Challenges
While HR strategy is critical to business success, professionals must understand the existing challenges of modern hiring processes. According to HireHive, there are four common issues to address:
- Not enough training for new employees: New hires might not know everything they need for the job. Without good training, they might leave their jobs too soon.
- Hard to share tasks: In small companies, everyone does a bit of everything. However, as the company grows, it’s tough to divide tasks among employees who are used to doing it all.
- Finding employees who can grow with the company: It’s essential to hire people who can not only do the job now but also learn and adapt as the company changes.
- Limited money for hiring: New or small companies often have tight budgets, limiting hiring options and processes.
Understanding these challenges means HR professionals can anticipate and manage them with intention. While they might make the hiring process more complicated, HR and business professionals can follow a set of effective strategies to recruit and retain the right talent for a company, ultimately supporting organizational success and growth.
Choose Where You Look for Candidates Carefully
Picking the right spaces and channels to find candidates can make a big difference. Recruiter highlights the value of focused talent searching. Instead of trying to reach everyone, companies should look for candidates who fit well with their culture and job needs. Using the right technology can make this search faster and more effective.
Research shows that candidates you find through different channels are often better fits for the job. Here are a couple of ways HR professionals can seek candidates:
- Career fairs: Meet potential hires face-to-face.
- Job boards: Use websites like Indeed or LinkedIn to post job openings.
- Employee referrals: Ask your current team if they know someone great for the job.
- Networking events: Attend events related to your industry to meet potential hires.
- Social media: Show off your company culture on platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
Using a mix of methods and tools, like personality tests, can also help HR professionals understand if a candidate will be a good fit for your company. Additionally, HR professionals can reach out to people who have previously expressed interest in working for an organization. This approach allows HR professionals to connect with candidates who already know about the company without starting the hiring process from scratch.
Use Technology to Make Hiring Easier
Using technology can make the hiring process faster and more efficient. Tools like automated scheduling, management tools and AI-based software can handle repetitive tasks, giving you more time to talk to candidates.
Once you come across a candidate, there’s a pretty simple way to find out if they align with your expectations: social media. Using social media as a professional resource to identify promising candidates offers a new perspective full of helpful information, such as professional background, cultural fit, digital presence and identity.
HR Professionals Are Marketing Professionals
When using social media for hiring purposes, it’s crucial to approach the process ethically and responsibly. For example, you need to be transparent, meaning that candidates should be informed that their social media profiles may be reviewed as part of the hiring process. This means that hiring is largely about marketing.
According to Matthew Jeffrey, global head of sourcing and employer brand at SAP, “Recruitment IS marketing. If you’re a recruiter nowadays and you don’t see yourself as a marketer, you’re in the wrong profession.” It is important to understand that while HR vets candidates, those candidates are also vetting the organization and deciding whether or not the company aligns with what they are looking for.
How an Advanced Degree Can Help
All business professionals should understand the significance and elements of HR. In an advanced business degree program, courses in HR teach students workplace regulations, conflict resolution, employee management, marketing strategies for hiring, employee behavior and management approaches and more. Additionally, students gain knowledge in employee engagement, performance management and organizational culture — all crucial for business growth and success.
USC Aiken’s online MBA in Human Resource Management program has a Human Resources Management course to help students understand HR as a tool for decision-making and business strategy. Graduates are equipped not only to support HR in any role but also to use effective strategies for hiring the best organizational talent.
Learn more about the University of South Carolina Aiken’s online Master of Business Administration in Human Resource Management program.
