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Marketing Matters: A book to help you recruit

Last year, I had the pleasure of working with Denis Cauvier as he facilitated a workshop I was co-ordinating for Ontario Farm Fresh. He was professional, practical and enthusiastic about his Human Resource workshop.

He also came with great credentials. Cauvier is a globally-recognized talent management expert. For over 30 years, he has been doing field research and implementing the best business ideas and practices that he has garnered from around the world.

Cauvier is able to provide proven low-cost, high-impact methods to decrease costly employee turnover, increase levels of productivity, enhance performance and boost profits. He is also the author of 13 best-selling books.

Today, I would like to focus on one of these books, entitled “101 Low Cost/High Impact Recruiting Methods”. A topic that should catch the attention of every employer. By providing a bit of a book review, I hope to tempt you into purchasing your own copy to have as a reference whenever you find yourself looking for new staff.

As the title suggests, the book is filled with recruiting ideas, one per page, with room for you to add notes and inspirations of how each one could be modified and used for your particular situation.

Cauvier starts off by asking whether you really need to recruit at this point at all. He recommends reviewing your present situation to see what exactly you’re hiring for and if perhaps there is someone already in your business who could perform those tasks or if some tasks could be streamlined to make current employees more efficient.

If you still feel you need to hire, the next step is developing a detailed job description. He emphasizes the importance of this with a relevant short story that is summed up with the statement, “You can’t hit a target you can’t see.” And then offers a simple template to get you started in developing your job description. This template can also be used in your letter of agreement once your recruitment is successful.

Here are a few other recruitment ideas Cauvier shares that you may want to consider:

#4 Employee referral
One of the best ways to recruit great people is to ask the top performers in your business for referrals. A current employee will generally look for the best people possible given that they may be working with them in the future. Existing employees are also able to share valuable information about the workplace, enabling a recruit to consider a position with realistic expectations. Many companies find this such a valuable strategy for new hiring, that they offer a ‘finders fee’ to employees for successful referrals.

#20 Secondary job seeker
‘Moonlighters’ are individuals whose primary employment commitments allow them to take on part-time or casual work. Some examples are: pilots, teachers and/or firefighters. Shift workers are often talented individuals who may want to supplement their regular income or expand their work experience by working part time. Seasonally-employed workers such as fishermen, coast guards or landscapers may also be interested in filling their available time with alternate employment.

#40 ‘Help Wanted’ sign at the register
Retailers have long understood the power of point-of-purchase displays to increase sales. Have your recruiting message take advantage of that critical time that your customers are at the checkout by posting eye-catching ads near by. This can be most effective if the recruiting message is reinforced by a positive professional experience with the cashier.

Whether you are looking for summer staff for a few months or long-term help, your employees are the heart of your business as well as the face if you have a retail outlet. Make sure you take the time to find high quality applicants. Try implementing some of these ideas. Good luck with your search.