You've got to ditch the lazy shopping list and think critically.
In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that if you follow my approach consistently over a year, it could save you hundreds of hours as well giving you a very hefty saving on your annual recruitment bill.
And best of all, you'll be targetting talent that your competitors are highly unlikely to be targetting.
So, how do you do this?
Think laterally and hire from a related category vertical. And crucially one which has talent motivated to move into your space!
Do this on as many junior and mid-level roles as possible and you will reap those chunky savings in man-hours and recruitment spend.
What do I mean?
Imagine you're hiring NAM - you're in branded grocery goods and your budget is tight - £55,000 all in. This role is supporting an Account Controller on Tesco and they need someone sharp, who will be a great no2 in the team.
Tesco experience is a 'must', as is 'branded grocery' experience.
8 weeks into the search and you realise that your budget won't give you what you want.
So, you interview NAEs with Tesco and a branded background. They're ok, but they lack the cut-through and the gravitas you need from your NAM to handle the buyers...
So what do you do? You can't wait all year to recruit this job...
What YOU NEED to do is to target related industries where talent actually want to make an aspirational move into your space.
So, take a NAM from Toys, DIY or Homewares.
A sideways step into a branded grocery environment will be highly compelling for NAMs in this space; they come with a ready-made knowledge of retail and consumer, and have a great work ethic honed in much leaner team environments.
And ditch being picky on the 'Tesco' thing too....
You don't need Tesco experience.
You need Tesco fit.
This fit exists in other adjacent category verticals and it will cost you less.
Now, the approach above isn't a magic bullet.
It will fail if you don't exercise critical thinking.
It will fail if your process is lazy and doesn't assess skills and fit in a robust manner.
But, if you create the right framework for assessing candidates on skill and fit, and keep an open mind - the savings will follow, as night follows day.
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