The Common Recruitment Mistakes Employers Make and How to Avoid Them

Recruitment is a core activity and an ongoing process in any organization. It does not just imply filling up vacancies. Instead, it goes a long way in defining the quality of your workforce.

Ironically, employers make some common recruitment mistakes that result in the loss of top talent. Check out the pointers discussed in the article to understand these common mistakes and the steps to avoid them.

Let’s get started.

5 Common Recruitment Mistakes and How to avoid them

Recruitment Mistake :1 – Crafting an inadequate job description

The job posting, which contains the job description, is the first touch point in a candidate’s recruitment journey. Quite often, unclear and ambiguous job descriptions act as a major deterrent for top talent to apply. 

How to Avoid?

• Prepare clear points on roles and responsibilities
• Highlight and focus on your company values and culture
• Emphasize must-have skills rather than nice-to-haves

Recruitment Mistake: 2 – Looking for a perfect candidate

Recruiters believe they can easily spot the “ideal” candidate just by seeing them. Well, this is a serious misconception. Instead of looking for someone with all the skills, you must have a realistic mindset like – “Even normal employees could take your business to newer heights.” 

How to avoid it?

• Revisit the job description and check if the candidate possesses the must-haves
• Don’t focus too much on qualifications, as certain skills can be learned on the job
• More than experience, check for the cultural “fit” and other factors like adaptability, critical thinking, etc.

Recruitment Mistake: 3 – Unconscious Bias

As humans, recruiters and hiring managers are also prone to be biased. Quite often, managers hire candidates based on their personal preferences and instincts rather than their skills and expertise. This could result in the top talent getting disqualified.

How to avoid it?

• Adopt a structured hiring process with shortlisting, screening, comprehensive rounds of interviews, and reference checks
• Educate your recruiters and hiring managers on diversity and inclusion hiring practices
• Include colleagues from different teams in the hiring process and encourage constructive feedback.

Recruitment Mistake: 4 – Looking for Cultural fit

Cultural fit refers to an employee’s skills that match the organization’s core values, beliefs, and practices. However, often recruiters and managers perceive someone with the same personality traits as the right cultural fit. This misconception could lead to losing the best talent in the hiring process.

How to avoid it?

• Create a persona of the ideal candidate, including skills, traits, etc., and the cultural fit that aligns with organizational goals and values
• Make use of this as a template in the screening and interview processes
• Ask questions in the interview to determine if the candidate is truly an ideal cultural fit – “what do you expect from your boss?”, “Which kind of work environment do you prefer to work in?” etc.

Recruitment Mistake: 5 –  Not Sourcing the right candidates

Sourcing forms the major cornerstone of recruitment. It’s very important to decide appropriately where to source the candidates. For example, new grads may be sourced from social media, while experienced professionals are found in headhunting agencies and job boards.

How to avoid it?

• Conduct thorough research on your industry and target audience
• Use a good mix of job boards, social media, and recruitment agencies to find the best candidates
• Get in touch with headhunting agencies to source the best professional candidates for experienced senior-level positions.

Final thoughts

Recruitment is a primary strategic function that determines the quality of the workforce. It’s, therefore, a crucial operation that must be carried out very professionally. Keep in mind the pointers outlined in the article to prevent committing any common recruitment mistakes in your hiring process.

About the Author

 BCjobs.ca is Western Canada’s largest job board, and host of “Innovators” a weekly podcast interviewing top recruiters in BC and across Canada. Check out our recent interview with Inga Jonsdottir, Engineering Manager at Wealthsimple (Podcast link) and DataDome’s Chief Marketing Officer, Aurelie Guerierri (Podcast link).

The post The Common Recruitment Mistakes Employers Make and How to Avoid Them appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.

Creating a strong workplace culture boosts employee satisfaction, engagement, innovation, and collaboration. When you invest in building a good culture, you get more loyal employees and greater productivity. But how do you make that happen?

6 Strategies to Create a Culture That Employees Want To Be Part Of

1. Prioritize Work-Life Balance

Offering flexible hours, remote work, and paid time off allows employees to manage their personal well-being while being productive. When employees can balance work with life, it reduces burnout. A study found that companies that value work-life balance see a 20% higher retention rate. Providing these options shows that you care about their personal lives too, which often leads to increased loyalty.

Pro Tip: Offer regular check-ins to ensure employees are managing workloads without feeling overwhelmed.

2. Build a Strong Sense of Purpose

When employees feel connected to the company’s mission, their work becomes meaningful. Clear communication about the organization’s goals helps align teams and build a shared vision. Companies that prioritize purpose see a 21% reduction in employee turnover. When work has meaning, engagement follows.

Pro Tip: Reinforce your company’s mission through monthly newsletters or town hall meetings.

3. Inclusive Leadership

In today’s workplace, diversity and inclusion are critical. Leaders who embrace diversity foster a culture of creativity and collaboration. An inclusive culture allows all employees, regardless of background, to feel valued. Companies that prioritize inclusivity have seen a 70% increase in employee engagement.

Pro Tip: Offer diversity training and set up an open forum for employees to discuss inclusion-related issues.

4. Lead by Example

Leaders set the tone for the entire company. When leaders show transparency, accountability, and approachability, employees are more likely to trust and follow suit. Leading by example builds a sense of security within the organization.

Pro Tip: Create opportunities for leaders to mentor employees, fostering open communication and trust.

5. Offer Autonomy and Trust

Employees thrive when they are trusted to manage their own tasks. Giving autonomy allows them to feel responsible and involved. Studies show that employees who feel trusted are 50% more likely to stay long-term. Trust empowers innovation and success.

Pro Tip: Implement project ownership where employees can manage tasks from start to finish.

6. Foster a Sense of Fun and Camaraderie

Culture isn’t just about work—it’s about building a sense of belonging. Hosting team-building events or simple “casual Fridays” can lighten the mood and foster stronger relationships among colleagues. Employees who feel connected to their coworkers are 45% more likely to stay engaged.

Pro Tip: Schedule monthly social events, whether virtual or in-person, to keep the sense of fun alive.

5 Companies with Excellent Work Cultures 

Here’s how five companies with strong workplace cultures:

Salesforce

Salesforce thrives by prioritizing purpose and inclusivity. Their commitment to employee growth and community involvement has led to a 125% increase in employee productivity and 59% less turnover compared to industry standards​

Google

Google’s innovative environment, full of creative perks like free meals and wellness programs, has led to 85% of its employees reporting high engagement. The company boasts a 90% retention rate.

Spotify

Spotify excels with its flexible work culture. The autonomy provided to employees has led to a 35% increase in employee satisfaction and a 20% boost in retention

Microsoft

With a strong focus on diversity and inclusion, Microsoft fosters an environment where employees from all backgrounds can thrive. This strategy has helped them achieve a 21% higher retention rate compared to peers​.

Zappos

Zappos’ culture of fun and camaraderie has helped them achieve an engaged and loyal workforce. Their unique approach to team-building has contributed to a 25% increase in employee engagement​.

Practical Steps to Start Building a Positive Culture

Ready to create a culture that employees will love? Here are a few actionable steps to get started:

• Start with a survey: Gather feedback from employees about the current work culture and what needs improvement.
• Define core values: Ensure the company’s values are clear and consistent across all levels.
• Promote open communication: Create open channels for feedback to foster trust and transparency.
• Recognize efforts: Reward employees who embody the company’s values, reinforcing positive behavior.

Measuring Success

To understand if your culture-building efforts are working, here are a few metrics to track:

• Employee retention: High retention rates suggest that employees are happy with the company.
• Employee satisfaction surveys: Regularly survey employees about their work environment and leadership.
• Productivity metrics: Increased productivity often reflects higher engagement.
• Innovation and creativity: Are employees contributing fresh ideas? A culture that supports creativity will see more innovation.

About the Author

BCJobs.ca is designed with the future of work in mind. Our platform connects job seekers with opportunities that fit their skills and preferences, whether that be remote work, gig jobs, or positions requiring advanced tech skills. Our goal is to ensure you are equipped to navigate the future of work confidently.

The post 6 Strategies to Create a Culture That Employees Want To Be Part Of appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.

Top Tips on How to Avoid the Cost of Bad Hires

As an HR manager, you would certainly not wish to waste your valuable time and money only to end up in a bad hire. To avoid the financial implications and other losses that come with bad hiring, read through and check out the points to include in your hiring process if not done so far.

What is a bad hire?

In the human resources arena, a bad hire could include anyone but not limited to:

• Not a perfect match to the job description
• Misleads the hiring team by providing false data about one’s experience etc., in interviews
• Lacks the potential to grow and develop the skills needed on the job
• Showcases inappropriate behaviors like gossiping, bullying co-workers, and such

While these are some of the general attributes defining a bad hire, it could even be someone excellent in skills and who performed well in interviews but lacks the personality traits to gel well in a strong work culture.

Research indicates that the average cost of making a bad hiring decision is at least 30% of the individual’s first-year expected earnings.

Lack of productivity, dissatisfied customers, and damage to the company’s reputation are just some penalties resulting from a bad hire.

Top tips to avoid the cost of bad hires

Consider looking at the larger picture

Study the trends of hired candidates in your organization across various levels and check the percentage of bad hires. A couple or so would not lead to any solid conclusion. However, if you have significantly experienced bad hires, that may flag some shortcomings in your hiring processes. Besides, do look into the engagement levels of employees and if they are aligned with your company culture.

Focus your strategies on hiring the best fit, aligned with the culture 

Don’t get carried away only by the skill sets or professional qualifications on a candidate’s resume. While hiring, you need to focus on their future growth potential and not just meet today’s needs. Check the motivation levels, enthusiasm, and outlook of the candidate before you arrive at a decision. 

Be Clear on the Job Description and the Desired candidate

Quite often, employers end up wasting a lot of time and effort on screening thousands of profiles as most of them don’t match the requirements of the job. A primary reason is the unclear or ambiguous job description. Make sure to create a clear and crisp job description outlining what qualifications, experience, skill sets, certifications, etc., are expected from the incumbent.

Perform a rigorous screening and selection process

Different jobs demand different skills from the applicants. That said, to avoid the cost of bad hires, employers must resort to multiple tests, assessments, and interviews to thoroughly assess the potential candidate’s abilities. Adopting a laid-back attitude towards conducting interviews or screening procedures could prove costly later.

Conduct third-party background checks and collect references

Background checks carried out by professional vendors hired by the companies are the norm. These vendors collect all information on the potential candidate, including their personal details, education, work history, criminal checks, drug testing, and more. Besides, employers must collect details of the professional references of the applicant and speak to them before confirming the candidature.

Conclusion

The cost of bad hires could lead to considerable losses to the company as a whole. Check out the pointers outlined here and find the ideal fit for a job role.

About the Author

 BCjobs.ca is Western Canada’s largest job board, with majority of the jobs coming from Vancouver. For nearly 20 years, BC Jobs has connected job candidates with companies looking to add talent to their team. Here at BCJobs, we understand that looking for a job is difficult. To support our candidates, we recently launched a podcast to help you stand out during your job application. Listen to weekly episodes on our podcast to hear what recruiters are thinking and what companies look for when considering their next hire.  

The post Top Tips on How to Avoid the Cost of Bad Hires appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.

There are times in the year when you have a better chance of getting a notice from the hiring managers. This increases your chances of grabbing an in-person interview and, eventually, the position.

Best time of the year to apply for a job

The start of the year, January and February, is the best time to apply for a job. You might want to begin your preparations in December, especially if you have a particular company in mind.

Hiring managers receive their new yearly budget during this time. Holidays ended a few weeks ago, and the workload is slow. But, everyone’s back on the job too. Hiring managers can finally sort through the positions they have yet to find talent for and have more time to post job openings.

Compared to January, February is even more favorable for job search. However, the first two weeks of January can be incredibly slow, so you might have to wait for ages to get a call from HR.

Try to apply to job posts within the first 4 days. The longer you wait, the more your application is sorted to the back. Monday and Tuesday are the best days to send an application, especially early morning or after lunch. The inbox of hiring managers isn’t flooded with emails yet, so they have time.

Time to apply for jobs by season

Fall

September and October closely resemble January and February regarding the sense of urgency in recruiters. It is almost year-end, and they’re hoping to find people to fill in some positions before November comes with Thanksgiving and the tide of holidays. 

Spring

March to May, the recruitment fever is still present. Mangers hope they can train the new hires in time so they can go on vacation without worrying about the office when summer comes around.

Summer

Grabbing a job from June to August is the toughest. Summer vacation means most of the important people are on their precious family trip. So unless there is an urgent position, they won’t look through the applications in their mail for job posts they made in February.

Final Thoughts

December is the worst month for hiring. Everyone’s busy preparing for Christmas and New year. The company does not see any point in hiring someone new, negotiating salary, and such when they will have a new budget next month. The budget also gives them a better direction on how they will go about hiring. Lots of employees stay until December to receive the annual bonus too. So, companies know they will have to hire new people in January anyway.

About the Author

BCjobs.ca is Western Canada’s largest job board, and host of “Innovators” a weekly podcast interviewing top recruiters in BC and across Canada. Check out our recent interview with Jonathan Watson, CTO at Clio, (Podcast link), and Erica Rizzo, Director of People and Culture at Metafy (Podcast link).

The post When is the best time of the year to apply for jobs? appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.

If you’re looking to expand your teams and you’re in need of savvy professionals who can enrich your company culture, try taking a closer look at this particular generation. Their many useful traits in addition to their education and experience make them truly indispensable in the business world. Here are a few reasons to support your decision to hire Millennials during your next growth spurt.

Meaning over money

We all know that profitable careers always attract top talent and well-educated, well-rounded individuals. When it comes to motivation in general, money has always been a key incentive for people to devote their time, energy, as well as creativity to delivering stellar work. With Millennials, it doesn’t boil down to the number of zeros on their paycheck. Although their financial independence comes high on their list of priorities, purpose and meaning are still more relevant when choosing a career.

In a sense, when a Millennial applying for a position in your company shares your values, you’ll know that you have a long-term employee on your hands, since they’ll feel motivated to stay under your wing. 

Audience and customer insight

Since Canada is home to over seven million Millennials, appealing to such a major portion of the population comes with a lot of challenges. They are not only a unique bunch as a whole, but they are made up of individuals with very specific needs and preferences, making them all the more complex and challenging to market to. This is precisely why having one or more Millennials working with you will help your business grow. 

Working with Millennials will help you gain more hands-on experience about the generation, and you’ll be able to harness their knowledge to market your brand to that particular part of the population. Make sure you always seek feedback and inspire transparency, and rest assured their contribution will fuel your success.

Digital literacy

To get a better idea of the impact Millennials have on the global market, let’s hop over to the other hemisphere. Millennials make up 22% of the Australian population, and their digital preferences are the ones dictating not just your brand’s online presence from that customer perspective, but also your recruitment trends and best practices. Australians are learning from their Millennial population by changing their recruitment methods as well as their channels of communication based on their location. 

If you take a closer look at this fast-growing market, you’ll see, for instance, that finding jobs in Brisbane via digital channels such as dedicated job platforms is more prevalent than their more traditional alternatives. We’re well beyond the times of posting ads in local papers alone – we need reputable websites, business review sites, and social media to expand our reach as employers, and more Millennials will come to our doors. 

Diversity in education and skillset

Unlike their predecessors who would mostly focus on a single expertise, Millennials like to mix and match. They don’t stick to a single language, they are typically bilingual, they are able to pick up new tech trends, and they like the ability to learn as they age. Although college still plays a role in their lives, Millennials think of education as a lifelong journey of expanding their knowledge and abilities, beyond a degree.

Four in ten American Millennials have a bachelor’s degree (or higher), which gives them a major advantage in the employment world. Add to that, their ability to meander the complex digital world allows them to keep taking online courses, making them better prepared for the market. 

Thriving on transparency

As we’ve mentioned earlier, feedback is vital for Millennials. Knowing that they are entering a transparent work environment makes them feel welcome and wanted, and they will be all the more interested in staying loyal to your business. Transparency is a key prerequisite for many Millennials to even consider working within a business. How do they know if your company is transparent?

They’ll check you out on social media, how you interact with your followers, they’ll read online reviews about your business, and they’ll ask you a few questions during the interview to see how open you really are. They’ll want to know if you have regular performance reviews, how you ask for feedback, and if you ever implement any of the suggestions your employees make. Without transparency, you won’t be able to keep them on the team for too long.

Collaboration over competition 

Finally, one of the traits that make Millennials true team players is their preference for collaboration over competition. While some companies still encourage healthy levels of competition in their teams to inspire productivity, Millennials will rather work in a “we” mindset. 

Millennials, unlike earlier generations, have a greater tendency to build social bonds with their colleagues. They know that innovation will happen as a result of putting several heads together rather than working against one another, so they’ll always choose an environment that lets them be creative and collaborate. 

The Millennial lifestyle has greatly affected how we hire them and how we work with them. They bring many benefits to the workplace and to each industry, so do your best to create an environment that will make them feel welcome, and they’ll help your business thrive. 

About the Author

Jacob Wilson is a business consultant, and an organizational psychologist, based in Brisbane. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for Bizzmarkblog.com.

The post 6 Reasons You Should Recruit Millennials appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.

Try these 3 actionable tips to build a sales team that consistently delivers high performance:

1. Sourcing Candidates on Social Platforms

Social networking platforms are perfect for tapping passive talent at scale. The best salespeople on the planet are always employed and also actively delivering results at their current company but this passive pool of talent is too big to be ignored. If you plan to improve the quality of your candidate pool, shift your talent acquisition efforts to social professional networks and review performance sites like LinkedIn, Vault and Glassdoor. These platforms provide extraordinary sales talent a perfect platform to showcase their merits, personal stories and standout track records. So, if they are casually looking for another job, you can offer them a fulfilling role by researching their profiles. Recruiters can make this entire process faster and efficient by using applicant tracking software to automate job posting and candidate screening. ATS also tracks your recruitment reach on a centralized cloud account so you know where to focus your time and effort for tangible results.

2. Screening Resumes At Scale in a Fraction of Seconds

Recruiting software can dramatically reduce the time, effort and resources spent on screening top sales talent. Instead of surfing through a sea of resumes, let algorithms do all the legwork as they slice and dice applications to narrow down your talent pool by the experience, skill set, and the performance you desire. Online recruitment software does a great job at sorting candidates to deliver more diversity and better outcomes while eliminating bias. So switch to applicant tracking software and lighten your load. The smart filter intelligence of an ATS actually delivers a 500% ROI in terms of time and cost savings as compared to manual screenings so use this advanced technology to your advantage and catch excellent sales professionals before they pass over.

3. Shortlisting Top Sales Performers with More Accuracy and Less Bias

HR analytics offer reliable insights into who will stay productive and stick around for longer. This is why more and more companies are using recruitment reports and HR analytics for digging deeper into the hiring processes and taking informed decisions based on accurate and objective results rather than relying on gut feeling.

Another reliable way to screen stellar sales profiles is by teaming up a behavioral-based interview questionnaire with psychometric tests that meticulously test the candidate’s sales DNA. Online screening tests can efficiently filter out candidates based on their sales performance, consistency, soft skills, aptitude, persistence and other relevant traits. Algorithms and analytics are also critical to eliminating human errors and biases that creep into the sourcing process and impact the quality of new hires. Recruiters can accelerate their sourcing speed and use their productive time more effectively by employing technology and data to do all the heavy lifting like posting jobs, screening, evaluating, analyzing and shortlisting sales talent based on unique requirements and preferences.

Applicant tracking software has become the new backbone of busy recruiters who are expected to fill the sales force with A+ players consistently while reducing the hiring costs. ATS integrates with popular social networks and preferred job boards to expand the talent pool, automates everyday recruitment tasks, screens applications in seconds and accurately narrows down the candidate pool by matching the traits of top performers. This is why HR thought leaders are embracing advanced online recruitment software and taking a seat at the table as progressive strategic partners in their organizations.

About the Author

Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager specializing in HR and is responsible for leading Jobsoid’s content and social media team. When Kelly is not building campaigns, she is busy creating content and preparing PR topics. She started with Jobsoid as a social media strategist and eventually took over the entire digital marketing team with her innovative approach and technical expertise.

The post Leveraging Technology to Acquire Top Sales Talent appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.

What if you don’t only have to communicate with them, but you’re responsible for the good fit in your company? When you work as a recruiter or in HR, this crucial mission of finding and onboarding perfect candidates is assigned to you. You are a psychologist, as have to shape a mental portrait of the potential employee; you’re an analyst, who has to shift all the details from hundreds of CV and find the best fit for your company; you’re an investigator, who needs to be able to get references and hidden details, maybe even to identify a lie and fraud; and finally a marketer, who has to be able to hunt professionals and promote your company to them. It’s a tremendous responsibility, isn’t it? You’re not alone here.

This case of hiring outstanding and trustful candidates has become easier to handle with a breakthrough in technologies and social networks. Here are 5 ways you can research candidates.

1. First point contact

The long hours of looking through a full stack of CVs and cover letters of potential candidates are tiresome, and when you finally manage to find a good one, the first thing you want to do is call this person and invite them for an interview. You want to grab this bluebird, but we would advise you to do some simple precautionary research before taking a step forward. The one common detail which every candidate provides is a phone number. With a reverse phone number lookup service, you can cut and paste the cell into a search line and get a brief record about this person. You will be provided with social profiles and media records and data spidered from the web. This is an easy step that saves you time and nerves, which is even more important.

2. Google search

When digging into details about a potential employee, the easiest thing you can do is turn to Google search. You may get some vague result and find people with the same name. If you have an email address, your searches can be much more clear, as you can benefit with cross-references from here. When we are asked to sign up at media platforms or blogs, even social networks, we try to speed up this process. And when we are offered an option to use our existing accounts from Google or FB, we do it doubtlessly. Having just an email, you can track the interests of the person and their public profiles.

3. Make the most of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the dream of every recruiter. People use it so intensively nowadays to search for job positions or even to attract new clients to their businesses. They share their resumes, including employment records and current work status. It has been a significant step forward in the professional community, as members can take part in professional discussions and express their engagement in their industries. LinkedIn may give the clearest picture of what sort of employee a candidate might be.

4. Analyze their social life

Reputation is a valuable record, which can’t be rewinded or regained. Every single detail of the social puzzle can be analyzed to form a snapshot of the person. The info Page on Facebook will help you to understand how a person describes themself. The choice of details is robust: check-ins, attended events, shared public posts and interests, the frequency of posting, style of pictures and its censorship, hobbies, friends, and connections in addition to obviously verified job experience. Scroll for no more than 5 minutes through the timeline of the candidate and frame it out to a general portrait.

5. Get in touch with previous employers

The last (but definitely not the least) important research resource is gathering feedback from previous employers. Be careful about contacting people outside of those references that the candidate has provided. If they are not openly searching for new job opportunities, then contacting someone from their current company may put their employment at jeopardy. References are critical as they can offer you a full picture of the candidate and what kind of employee you can expect them to be. Be sure to ask them relevant questions rather than personal ones – keep it professional.

About the Author

Valerie Malecha is one of the content managers for Spokeo – a people search platform helping users know more about the people in their lives through access to social media profiles, phone numbers, marital status, and more.

The post 5 Ways To Research Candidates Every Recruiter Should Know appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.

Be genuine

The hiring process for larger companies can feel quite impersonal. When an applicant goes through the application process then the interview process, they can tell that the hiring manager has rehearsed their spiel a thousand times. Most individuals want to work for a company that is honest, engaged and communicative. Attracting ideal applicants can be as easy as being genuine. When you market for your business’ open position all the way through the interview process, be authentic. Banish all distractions and give your full attention to applicants, always.

Emphasize the importance of small business employees

Applicants know that if they work for a larger company, they may be important, but they often aren’t highly valued. When there are hundreds or thousands of other employees, a slip up from one won’t matter much, but neither will an accomplishment that may seem huge to the employee. If applicants want to work in an environment where they have a large impact and are treated as such, they should apply to work for small business. If you want to attract talented applicants to your small business, you need to emphasize how important they will be to your company. When a candidate can tell how much the company want to apply to cares, they’re more inclined to both apply and accept an offer

Use recruiting software

It can take smaller businesses much longer to sort through applications than larger businesses. If small businesses are still embarking upon the hiring process while doing everything by hand, they are bound to fall behind. Recruiting software can help small businesses to attract the best applicants simply because software cuts back on the time it takes small businesses to sort through applications. Recruiting software can upload and sort resumes quickly so you can spend more time focusing on the applicants you’d like to pursue. In order for individuals to be interested in working for your company, they need to feel as though you value them. If all of your time and energy goes into sorting applications and narrowing down your final applicant pool, by the time you have that final group of applicants, you won’t be able to give them the attention they deserve

Highlight the perks of your workspace

There are many larger businesses that are able to offer their employees perks ranging from on-site restaurants to free gym memberships. All of these luxurious perks may draw applicants in and even convert them to employees, but then what? What is the purpose behind these kind of perks? Many of these “free” perks offered by large companies end up encouraging employees to work longer hours at the office. After all, why would they need to go home at 5pm if there is an on-site restaurant and gym around the corner that they have a free membership to attend? At the end of the day, these benefits could end up costing employees. Small businesses may not have the resources to offer such extravagant perks, but that’s okay. Maybe you don’t have a free barista on-site, but your employees work 7 hours per day on average. This in itself may be a powerful benefit, especially for employees that have families and would like to be home early.

To attract the best applicants to your small business, you’ll need to put in a good deal of work. However, all of these ideas can get you one step closer to having the most driven and dedicated group of employees. Remember to be genuine, emphasize the importance of small business employees, use recruiting software and highlight the perks of your workplace. You’ll have the right candidates flocking to you in no time.

About the Author

Laura Greene is one of the content managers for TrustedEmployees – creative people who provide businesses, non-profits, and volunteer organizations with a tailored and compliant approach to background screening through personalization, innovation, and dedication.

The post 4 Ideas For Attracting Great Candidates (For Small Businesses) appeared first on BC Jobs Blog.

Short staffed? There’s an app for that

Here we review 10 HR apps for transforming stressed managers into weapon-savvy productivity ninjas during those busy periods, because your job needn’t be so stressful!

1) Tribe HR $$

With multiple tools in one app, Tribe HR offers features such as applicant tracking, recruiting, performance reviews and absence management. It is suitable for small to mid-sized businesses with 250 employees or more.

The perks

• It comes with a 60-day free trial
• It includes great features such as ‘skills tracking’ where organizations can build a list of skills for each employee by position

The downsides

• Midsized businesses may end up paying more for the service, since its price is based on the number of employees
• Transparency of the pricing is unclear

2) IEmployee $

Available to download free from iTunes, this web-based time and attendance management app can track expenses, travel, leave and purchases whilst on the move.

The perks

• It’s free!
• Ease of use makes training new users relatively simple

The downsides

• Only compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
• Limited range of features compared to other apps

3) Salesforce Labs – Employee Manager $

One of Salesforce Labs range of apps, this one is perfect for managers specifically and helps them to keep track of employee info, salary history, benefit info, unpaid time off etc.

The perks

• Easy to customize for your own needs
• Great for organizations with a large staff turnover, e.g. those hiring seasonal employees

The downsides

• Basic design
• Limited functionality

4) Workable $$

Workable is great for HR teams with multiple managers as it allows users to designate others to take over the process. Users can also attract candidates, track applications and prepare for interviews.

The perks

• Extremely intuitive
• Easy to organize information

The downsides

• Can’t include attachments on email templates
• Can’t link Twitter accounts to Workable

5) Job Science $$

The number one choice for those organizations hoping to boost their social profiles, this staffing and recruitment app allows users to create job listings and post onto sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.

The perks

• Easy to upload attachments such as resumes
• Great customer service team if you encounter any issues

The downsides

• Desktop view is easier to use than the mobile version, so may not be the best choice for managers on the move
• Inability to drag and drop documents with email

6) Financial Force HCM $$

A great app for organizations looking to use technology to improve HR delivery without investing in a large system.

The perks

• Free trial available
• Self-driven and customizable to your organization

The downsides

• This app is upgraded frequently, so features may be harder to get to grips with
• Users can experience low load times

7) Effortless HR $$$

Effortless HR helps employers to manage the most important asset in their organization – their employees. This app features such as an employee portal, where employees can update information and request time off

The perks

• Three flat-rate plans (no per-employee pricing)
• Great range of training in person, online and through webinars

The downsides

• No payroll management feature
• Price dependant on size of organization

8) Zoho Recruit $$

Find the right person for the job with this recruitment-focused app.  With Zoho Recruit, you can promote job postings, publish career pages and even communicate with potential employees.

The perks

• Lots of add-ons available
• Easy to use – employers only need a short demo to understand its features

The downsides

• Users say mass email can be difficult to set up
• No automatic job alerts sent to candidates

9) Nimble Schedule $

Versatile, and easy to use, this app is great for managing the day’s schedule, with a snapshot of hours and shifts scheduled.

The perks

• Easy to use for both managers and employees
• Great layout and extremely visual!

The downsides

• Some tasks require extra steps, which cuts down on efficiency
• Difficult to compare your schedule with others

10) Bamboo HR $$

This easy to use, user-friendly product can save your organization a great deal of time when it comes to managing employees. Organizations using Bamboo HR don’t have to worry about maintaining records of their own.

The perks

• Great customer service team and support staff
• Extremely user-friendly

The downsides

• Limited calendar functionality
• Staff can’t update their own training information

Are you a weapon-savvy HR professional? Make sure you use the right tools to keep on top of your game!

Dawn O’Connor is the Director and Master Productivity Ninja at Think Productive Canada, personal productivity and time management training company serving knowledge workers across Canada. With a team of Productivity Ninjas in most major cities, they deliver a range of stress-reducing and time-savings workshops including their most popular session—Getting Your Inbox to Zero, where participants walk away with transformed inboxes, increased focus, and a greater drive for productivity.

Ready to find some great candidates? Set up your employer account on BCjobs.ca!

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