Successful hiring presents complex challenges for your business - unless you have the inside track! Use these strategies to dramatically improve your hiring process:

Hiring is never easy. Yet many businesses make the hiring process more challenging than it needs to be.

In 2024, give your hiring a boost by implementing proven strategies to improve the hiring process. Use these techniques to improve your process and secure better talent in the coming year.

Problem: The workforce is shrinking.

Solution: Understand what candidates want.

Fewer people are competing for more jobs in several key sectors of the United States economy, from teaching to tech. This means that the best candidates know they can hold out for the job and benefits they want - and they can negotiate for compensation that meets their needs and hours that offer work-life balance.

Employers that understand what candidates want and offer it will recruit this scarce top talent. Those that do not will be left in the cold.

Currently, top talent increasingly seeks workplaces that offer:

• Work-life balance. Flex time, telecommuting or remote work, and similar options are in high demand for workers seeking to meet their career goals and raise families.
• Improved candidate experiences. Top candidates evaluate a company's work-life by its candidate experience. If they have a good experience in hiring, they're more likely to believe the job will be similar - and if the candidate experience is poor, they're more likely to look elsewhere.

To better understand how candidates' needs are changing, work with a recruiter. Your staffing partner can help you target the top concerns of top talent - encouraging them to work with you rather than a competitor.

Problem: Retention is tougher than ever.

Solution: Hire for fit from the outset.

The "Great Resignation" is more appropriately termed the "Great Reshuffling," as most workers didn't actually leave the workforce - they just switched to roles and employers that offered a better fit for their existing needs.

One thing is certain, however: Today's workers are used to switching jobs frequently. Whether due to economic disruption or personal preference, workers are more willing to change jobs and employers than ever before - and employers are having a tougher time keeping workers than ever before.

To improve your employee retention:

• Know what makes employees stay. Talk to your existing staff to ask them why they stay - and what might make them change their minds.
• Hire for fit from the outset. Put your current employees' reasons for staying in your employment branding and job postings. Doing so will attract applicants who are willing to stick with a company like yours.

Work with a staffing partner to identify why your company loses workers and address them proactively in hiring.

Problem: Competition for skilled talent is tight.

Solution: Offer a superior candidate experience.

Competition for skilled talent is tough. Top candidates often field several job offers, which means they frequently drop out of the hiring process before its completion - only to take a role working for a competing organization.

You can improve candidate retention by creating an outstanding candidate experience. Elevate the candidate experience and keep top talent engaged by:

• Improving communication. Many top candidates drop out of the hiring process when radio silence leads them to believe an employer doesn't really want them or doesn't care about their time or skills.
• Speeding up the hiring process. The longer the process drags on, the more likely it is a candidate will drop out or take a competing job offer. Streamline the process to keep top talent engaged through the end.
• Making it easy to apply. Complex application processes frustrate many candidates. Use streamlined application forms - or work with a recruiter to reduce application hurdles.

Staffing recruiters specialize in enhancing both the candidate and hiring team experience. Your staffing partner can serve as a line of communication, streamline tasks like resume review, and make it easy for top talent to reach you.

Need help meeting your hiring goals? Work with CornerStone Staffing. Your staffing partner provides the insight and resources to target and eliminate hiring problems - so you can hire the talent you need to stay competitive in 2024 and beyond.