Lifestagerecruitment
Best Practices in recruitment
A powerful recruitment strategy goes beyond the job fair.
Organizations need to use varied recruitment strategies to reach the strongest candidates. Best practices include strategically seeking referrals, effectively using social media, and creating pipeline programs for high-quality, diverse staff.
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1
Assess Current State & Need
An effective recruitment strategy begins with a comprehensive assessment of the previous year's efforts. Start by reflecting on last year’s strategy, analyzing data from your recruitment tracker, and identifying which goals you were or were not able to meet. Next, critically assess the effectiveness of existing candidate-sourcing partnerships to pinpoint which partnerships sourced the highest quality candidates and ultimately led to successful new hires. Then, seek input from key stakeholders to identify your staffing needs for the upcoming school year and align the current staffing model with long-term goals of your organization.
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Analyze last year's recruitment sources by demographic factors and candidate quality to understand which pipelines are supporting your recruitment goals – and which are not. Then, double down resources in those places where you are seeing diverse, high-quality candidates.
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Step
2
Define Success Metrics
Optimize your recruitment process by defining key metrics for success. Set measurable benchmarks, including number of applicants per role and posting job announcements by January. Consider incorporating more challenging goals as well, such as increasing the number of diverse candidates or boosting the effectiveness of established pipeline programs.
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Establish ambitious yet achievable goals for enhancing equitable recruitment practices. If you don’t do so already, start tracking candidate demographic information (provided voluntarily by candidates) and sourcing strategies.
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Step
3
Define Your Recruitment Strategy
Defining a robust recruitment strategy is critical to meeting your staffing needs. Talent leaders should start by identifying priority roles, recognizing unique hiring needs, and outlining candidate sourcing plans. Use findings from your current state assessment to inform where to dedicate your time and budget for efficient and successful sourcing of diverse, high-quality candidates. Secure strategic contracts with the agencies and websites that have proven effective to design a comprehensive and well-planned recruitment approach for this hiring cycle.
RESOURCES
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Consider offering an on-demand webinar to provide potential candidates information on your open roles. This approach equitably disseminates information and eliminates reliance on networking or pre-existing relationships to promote a fair and inclusive opportunity for all.
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Step
4
Leverage Others
Leaders can strengthen their recruitment pipelines by leveraging their greatest assets – staff and community. Solicit referrals during staff and one-on-one meetings, prioritizing referrals from high-performing and diverse staff members. Additionally, cultivate existing and new partnerships within your community by targeting local or regional universities that have teacher residency programs, student teaching opportunities, or student volunteer expectations.
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People in our networks typically have similar demographics and experiences as us. Be intentional about requesting referrals from staff members across various identity groups to diversify your candidate pool.
EdFuel can design recruitment systems and processes for you.