Take a different approach to find talent for hard-to-fill positions
Posted on June 20th, 2013 Read time: 1 minutes
Occasionally, recruiters or staffing firms are hired to fill difficult vacancies. Whether due to an odd schedule or a specific set of requirements, these positions are hard to staff. When they are confronted by these jobs, human resources administration professionals need to think differently.
This process starts before the job search properly begins, in conversations with clients. "Help them think the thoughts they've never thought before," staffing consultant Scott Wintrip advised in an interview with Staffing Talk. "Just because they don't have the title, doesn't mean they don't have the skills."
He recommended looking closely at job descriptions to isolate which skill sets were necessary and which were optional. A hotel hiring banquet servers for an early morning shift, for example, conceded anyone could be trained to do the work, but desperately needed the availability at early hours. Wintrip eventually hired school bus drivers, who were able to come in and do the work before the start of their driving shifts.
Similarly, whether in a search for permanent or temporary workers, recruiters should try to think creatively. If there is a need to staff a position that is difficult to fill, it is wise to speak to the client ahead of time about which traits are absolutely essential. Often, these traits give recruiters a constellation of qualities that matches other jobs that may not at first glance be closely related.
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Posted on June 20th, 2013 Read time: 1 minutes
Occasionally, recruiters or staffing firms are hired to fill difficult vacancies. Whether due to an odd schedule or a specific set of requirements, these positions are hard to staff. When they are confronted by these jobs, human resources administration professionals need to think differently.
This process starts before the job search properly begins, in conversations with clients. "Help them think the thoughts they've never thought before," staffing consultant Scott Wintrip advised in an interview with Staffing Talk. "Just because they don't have the title, doesn't mean they don't have the skills."
He recommended looking closely at job descriptions to isolate which skill sets were necessary and which were optional. A hotel hiring banquet servers for an early morning shift, for example, conceded anyone could be trained to do the work, but desperately needed the availability at early hours. Wintrip eventually hired school bus drivers, who were able to come in and do the work before the start of their driving shifts.
Similarly, whether in a search for permanent or temporary workers, recruiters should try to think creatively. If there is a need to staff a position that is difficult to fill, it is wise to speak to the client ahead of time about which traits are absolutely essential. Often, these traits give recruiters a constellation of qualities that matches other jobs that may not at first glance be closely related.
