.svg)
.png)
It’s no secret that recruiting can be a challenge in real estate. We’re constantly hearing that our clients are looking to grow and scale their teams, and their need to hire happens fast and furiously, sometimes almost overnight. But any successful recruiter will tell you that the hiring process takes time… usually the kind of time that you don’t have. As a business owner, “recruiter” is just one of the many hats that you have to wear, so it’s no surprise when recruiting ends up taking a backseat to the dozens of other tasks that you’re managing on a daily basis.
That being said, there are a handful of glaring signs that your recruiting plan may need revamping. If any of the below signs hit you a little close to home, it might be time to take a step back and rethink your recruiting strategy.
You’re Not Taking Advantage of Your Existing Social Networks
It’s thought that as many as 80% of jobs are never actually published or advertised anywhere. How can that be, you ask? The answer is that savvy recruiters aren’t afraid to reach for the low hanging fruit. In other words, pro recruiters leverage their existing social and peer networks to fill open positions prior to advertising the job to strangers. The benefits of reaching out to your existing social network first is three-fold; It’s much cheaper than advertising, job candidates are immediately more credible and responsive to the job given that there is already an established relationship, and hiring someone with whom you already have an existing relationship is much more efficient than having to start building that relationship from scratch. So don’t be afraid to put out some feelers via your personal and/or business social media platforms and to encourage your team members, friends and family to do the same. You could be one email or direct message away from your star employee and not even know it!
You’re Not Clear on Your Hiring Needs
Have you taken the time to create a dynamic and compelling description of your exact hiring needs? You should have a very clearly defined set of roles and responsibilities for your new hire before you even begin looking to fill the position. It’s important to outline in detail exactly what success in the role looks like, as well as how the new hire would contribute to the overall company vision and end goals. Only when you have clearly articulated those hiring needs, are you equipped to hire the right individual to do the job. Remember, the hiring process is a two-way street, so in the interest of not wasting either party’s time, the candidate should be clear on what you’re looking for ahead of time, which allows them to determine whether or not the job is the right fit for them personally prior to applying.
There’s a Great Deal of Turnover on Your Team
It may be entirely true that former team members who’ve left your firm were struggling with work/ life balance, were under-compensated, entitled, unwilling to do what it takes, or any one of the many reasons people leave a job. But at the end of the day, if you notice your team developing into a revolving door, what it most likely boils down to is that you’re hiring the wrong people to begin with. You should be clear and transparent from the beginning about what you’re looking for in a team member.
Paint a picture of a day in the life, detailing your management style, company culture, expectations, and the team dynamic. If you truly take the time to vet candidates out of the gate, you’ll save yourself a great deal of time, money, and headache in dealing with turnover down the road. It’s important to focus on employee retention as much as recruitment, because once you factor in the cost of training and onboarding, interview expenses, advertising costs, and the like, employee turnover can cost you big. Not to mention that being short-staffed will soon overwhelm your staff, bringing down morale for your remaining employees in the process.
If the above is any indication that it may be time to step up your recruiting game, stay tuned for our upcoming blog on hiring and training successful ISAs. Earlier this year at Inman Connect NY 2017, Megan McManus, General Manager of Appointments Inc. by CINC, revealed how her team of 30 ISAs set 18,604 appointments in one year! We’ll be sharing Megan’s 7 tips for Hiring and Training the Best ISAs in the Business next week.
Join us for this on-demand webinar with Josh Cunningham, CEO & Founder of Rokerbox, as he shared his proven methods to recruiting, training, and retaining millennials in the workforce!
