5 Farewell Flat Fee Recruitment Tips

Farewell folks! The very word and meaning of “goodbye” is by far my least favourite term in the English language, which is why I prefer ‘farewell’. In a picture-perfect world, the idea of goodbyes would not exist, and we could all gladly move on with our lives without any goodbyes ever needing to be said. But alas, that is not the world we live in! As many of you are aware, I have taken a new opportunity, closer to home in Harrogate and whilst I am excited about this new chapter, it is never nice having to say farewell to fantastic clients and my wonderful team. This blog marks my official farewell to Flat Fee Recruiter but is really my top pieces of advice for not only existing clients but also – anyone who may be toying with the idea of changing your recruitment strategy for 2018, anyone wanting to save some money when it comes to recruitment and anyone looking for a very smart way of hiring staff at a fraction of the cost and with little work. So with that being said, here are my top tips to remember when using Flat Fee Recruiter;

The absolute necessity of having the right job title

You are going to be advertising your vacancy online, across all the top job boards for a month and with this, you need to ensure you are using a specific, searchable and recognisable job title. There is no point advertising for a vacancy when the job title is one, which is only used internally, or one, which you have just made up because it sounds right! This will not get searched and the chances of you finding the right candidate are slim to none. The operations teams are there to help you with this, and they have the knowledge and experience of knowing what works and what doesn't. My advice is to listen to them. They work on not only experience but also statistics and have the key tools to speak to all the job boards to get their feedback to know what candidates are currently searching for. Bottom line, you will not get the candidates you want, using a vague, combined role, job title – so take your time over it and make sure you have it right from the beginning.

Salary & Benefits 

Understandably, this can be a sensitive area when recruiting but what you need to keep in mind is, the very simple fact that everyone goes to work to earn a salary, make a living and work with a company that can offer an all-round great package not just in a salary sense, but a good culture, annual leave allowance, work perks and travel schemes. Generally, the majority of people don't go to work for the fun of it! So do your research, be realistic for what your competitors are paying for the same roles, what they offer in terms of benefits, what their culture is and ensure to match it as much as you possibly can. Whilst sometimes necessary to keep the salary withheld and use ‘competitive’ or ‘negotiable’ it is important to be aware that you generally will get fewer applicants then if you were showing the salary and benefits package on the advert.

Keeping your applicants informed

It is easy to let your advert run for a whole month and not respond to any applicants. It is a common mistake made by many using the service and while you will have access to the applicants for up to 6 weeks from the date of posting, you will need to ensure you are keeping on top of your applicants and starting your recruitment process, pretty much as soon as the advert has gone live. The vast majority of applicants will be applying for roles every day and when you have a role which requires X amount of years of experience or certain qualifications, you need to ensure you are ready to respond and invite for an interview any potential candidates as soon as possible. A simple email will suffice to buy some time, to let candidates know you have received their application (this can all be done through Mr.FFATS –  Flat Fee Recruiters applicant tracking system) and will be in touch in due course. Additionally, however, if you have an applicant you want to invite in for an interview, call them. Do not rely on an email to for them to respond. Remember you want to sell the company to them and want them to come and work for you as much as they want to find a role within the right company with the right culture and attitude. So picking the phone up is essential!

Utilise the Applicant Tracking System

I really cannot express enough how strongly I advise clients to use the applicant tracking system when recruiting. The system is there for a very good reason and that's to make your recruitment process as seamless and easy as possible. Applications come into one system rather than clogging your inbox and ensure you can easily track CVs, move applications into the relevant folders and keep up to date with what candidates sit where and what CV'still needs to be reviewed.

Don't Panic!

My final piece of advice and one of the most important pieces I can offer you is  - do not panic should you not fill your position with the first advert.  In 80% of cases you will, but like anything in life, it can be hit or occasionally miss. You may advertise one month and get plenty of excellent quality CV’s and you may run the exact same advert, at the same time the following year and get substantially less. Each month will vary with applicant numbers and there are several factors, which contribute to reduced applications on the market. Too often, we have clients worrying that the campaign has not worked when it had worked for them previously, then why such a change? Whilst the team ensures to look at every element including advert views & clicks, applicant registration figures across job boards and keywording, sometimes it just comes down to timing. Some months there may be plenty of job seekers in the market, and other months, it may be very quiet. Even the snow can affect the job seeker market.  Unfortunately, it is how the world of recruitment works and sometimes it will not go to plan the first time, but Flat Fee Recruiter will work to ensure we are covering all bases for you and have lots of other solutions up their sleeve to give your jobs that extra push, so just talk to them. So, with my top advice dished out, it has been a wonderful experience working with the team at Flat Fee Recruiter and of course getting to know the clients and your businesses’ (and more often than not, non- work related chats too which were the highlight of my day!) and I will look back fondly on the last two years with Flat Fee Recruiter. Having come from a marketing role to something entirely different in the world of recruitment, I have learned so many valuable lessons and it has been a wonderful experience. I have no doubt Paula and the team will continue to look after your account exceptionally well. Many Thanks for all of your support and I wish you the best of luck with all of your future recruitment! If you like this, you may also like these Flat Fee Recruiter ideas:

• Get Control of Your Recruitment Process with Mr FFATS
• Debunking Six Myths of The Application Process
• 10 Tips to Recruit The Best Person For The Job