THE REASONS

There’s a phrase in HR circles that goes, “always be hiring.” Considering the challenges many practices are facing with hiring and retaining good employees, I find this to be excellent advice.

The traditional approach involves reacting to staff attrition by scouring through resumes on job boards, but I’ll mention a few more proactive approaches that could help you build a pool of qualified candidates before you’re “forced” to hire.

THE IMPLEMENTATION

Here are a few ways to stack your list of qualified candidates:

• Ask trusted friends or colleagues for recommendations
• Invite a patient (with the right qualities) to submit a job application (for more information on hiring patients, read my July 2022 CEO Challenge at bit.ly/CEOchallenge0722 )
• When you receive great service at a business, hand that person your business card
• Ask trusted employees for recommendations
• Ask sales reps to send great candidates your way

The list above assumes these are people that either you know who display the right qualities, or people you trust to refer only those who would be a good fit.

It also expands the pool beyond current job seekers. Job ads tend to be seen only by those actively looking for work, however a lot of people currently employed are not actively looking but could be swayed toward a better offer. OM