As workers are spoiled for choice, the crux of the matter is being able to attract their attention, says Audrey Chrétien, certified human resources advisor (CRHA) and director at the St-Amour firm in Montreal. “The key is to differentiate yourself in your recruitment marketing strategy,” she says. You have to find an angle to adapt to the employees you are looking for. If our products are ecological or use recycled materials, we must make this known. If we are a 4.0 or highly automated company, we must focus on this. Distribution channels are also important. Depending on the employees sought, should you advertise on TikTok, Facebook or Instagram? I have already seen a food company write recruitment messages on the cans it sells. We start from a need, we identify the profiles sought and we find ideas accordingly. »
“Before even posting positions, a company must be able to answer the following question: why come work for us? », explains Benoit Lévesque, human resources consultant and member of the Order of CRHA. “You have to know who you are, what you offer and identify the practices that are aligned with the company’s values. All job offers posted are attractive, because no one is going to say that the position is average, that the atmosphere is average, etc. You should avoid selling things that you cannot offer. It is better to do less (like identifying two or three strong company values), but to do it better. »
“We put a lot of effort into recruiting, but sometimes we put less into integration,” says Benoit Lévesque, whose offices are in Sherbrooke. “Why do people stay” and “what motivates retention” are questions that need to be asked. There is the job interview and the exit interview which, unfortunately, comes too late because the employee leaves. Now, we do job interviews to survey our employees. This can be done through short internal surveys, but nothing beats a face-to-face meeting like at the time of hiring. I make sure I know what my employees want and experience, and I make decisions accordingly. This exercise allows us to define the strengths of the company which we can then present to future candidates. »
A recruitment process can be expensive in terms of time and money, says Audrey Chrétien, who has specialized in human resources for 16 years. However, when you manage to attract candidates for an interview, you must be well prepared before, during and after the process. “It should be like inviting someone over for dinner or going on a date,” she says. You have to take care of the person applying. You have to ask intelligent questions and know the person in front of you as much as possible. You must have read her CV and be interested in her. Feedback is also very important. If the person is not selected, you must still follow up with them. If she feels that someone is interested in her, she could apply for another position or recommend someone she knows. »
Audrey Chrétien and Benoit Lévesque both had the same thought: there are no better ambassadors for a company than its own employees. “Having an internal recommendation system should be valued in all companies,” believes Ms. Chrétien. I know of an SME where 80% of positions were filled through internal referencing. As soon as a position opens, you must tell employees and ask them to talk about it to those around them. » For Benoit Lévesque, the thing no longer needs to be proven. “Employees know the internal culture, the benefits, the quality of the leaders,” he says. They really are the best ambassadors. Organizing open houses, offering referral bonuses or including the presence of employees during interviews with candidates, there are plenty of recipes. »