Getting the right people into any key position can be a serious challenge for any organization. Here’s an excellent article about getting the right people in the right places in a quick and timely manner. Below are some of my favourite take-outs from it.

1.Compress the “white space” in your hiring process.
White Spaces are delays in your hiring process that are unproductive, waste time, and virtually assure you’ll lose talented candidates. Find inefficiencies in your hiring process and you’ll save time - both the candidates and your own.

2.Know what you’re looking for in candidates.
Amazingly, a quarter of all organizations surveyed don’t define what they’re looking for in candidates before they begin searching. You will want to define the entire job scope and their desired qualities before you start looking around.

3. Decide what sets your company apart and market it.
Approach the competition for employees the same way your sales and marketing departments approach the competition for customers. You have to deliver meaning to your work, and pride in your organization before the most talented will consider you.

4. Use multiple recruiting sources.
Savvy organizations use a battery of recruiting channels and methods, including in-house recruiters, employee referral programs, headhunters, advertising, temporary staffing agencies, campus recruiting, and of course, the Web. Don’t limit yourself.

5. Remember the best predictor of behavior is behavior.
Give the candidate example problems and ask them how they would solve it.

6. Always select for “can do” and “will do”.
What a candidate can do, and what he will do are two completely different stories.

7. Blend technology into every aspect of your recruiting and hiring process.
Web-based technology lets you increase hiring speed and quality while reducing costs.

8. Hire an all-around athlete - the game can change tomorrow (Important).
Organizational structures used to be static, jobs rigid, and work organized around functions such as marketing, finance, and manufacturing. Hiring an all rounder ensures the candidate can navigate through any complex organizational changes.

9. Give recruiters and hiring managers the new skills they need to land talent.
To win the talent war, your hiring staff needs a new arsenal of weapons. They need technical skills so they can use the Web for sourcing, or their desktop computers for online interviewing.

10. Build and manage your candidate pool as a precious resource.
A “candidate pool” is a group of individuals who have shown interest in working for your company and are qualified for and ready to fill certain positions. Just because one of the candidates to not match up to one of your positions does not mean he is not fit for another. If you are impressed with his credentials, keep in touch with the candidate.

What are your favourite recruitment methods?