Developing a Recruiting Strategy - 6/30/2009
It is often said in business that employees or human capital are the most valuable assets of an organization.
The fitness and recreation industry is based on relationships. It is extremely important to foster healthy relationships; as member/customer retention is directly related to employee retention. If your organization is struggling to recruit or retain quality staff members, it may be a good time to evaluate your recruiting process.
The first step to developing a successful recruiting strategy is to evaluate your current situation, creating some benchmarks. Determine if your problem lies in recruiting, retaining personnel, or both. Someone in your organization needs to be responsible for this process. Quite often, retention of employees is directly linked to the hiring process. If you are in the ready-aim-hire mode, you may be creating a retention problem through ill-conceived hiring decisions. Refine your hiring process:
Create a Managers Tool Kit
Give your hiring managers the tools to succeed. A good hiring tool kit should have 6 components:
1. Comprehensive job descriptions
2. Interviewing guidelines and questions (appropriate and inappropriate)
3. Compensation and benefit outlines
4. Employee handbook
5. Skills and assessment tests (as required)
6. Background check resources (becoming increasingly important)
Additionally, the team member responsible for evaluating the recruitment process needs to hold regular training sessions for all supervisors, in order to make sure that all parties are comfortable with their new tools.
Recruiting for the Next Generation of Health Club Personnel
Finding great staff should become an obsession with your organization. We know the feeling when we look around our clubs and see staff not measuring up to the standards we have set. Where are they? Many are right in front of our eyes: members, relatives and friends of employees. When this pool of talent doesnt fill our rosters, whats next? The Internet!
Why the Internet?
The Internet is the greatest resource for anything, especially finding qualified staff. There is no more cost efficient recruiting vehicle anywhere that reaches so many people so quickly. If you havent used the Internet to recruit, now is the time.
In this manner, you can really sell your organization, and tell a story that inspires people to want to work for you. By using the Internet as a recruiting vehicle, you can write a comprehensive ad without worrying about the cost per line. Try doing that in the newspaper: EXPENSIVE! Additionally, including specific job qualifications saves time and money during the hiring process.
Recruit like a Pro
Take your time to create a GREAT AD. Remember, you are selling your club, company culture, compensation/benefits, community, lifestyle, and career potential; in essence branding your company. Where you place your ad is also part of branding. Are you posting ads on reliable, professional sites where the industries top talent looks for career opportunities? Or are you posting on Free Sites just because its free?
Once the resumes start rolling in it is important to reply to all candidates queries in a timely fashion. If they are qualified, interview them quickly, so they do not accept another position. All candidates should receive acknowledgement for applying - they may be a future hire or customer!
Recruit 3-4 times a year whether you need to or not. Just when everything looks great, several openings may come up. You should ALWAYS know where your next hire is for EVERY department. Your annual recruitment plan should be in writing, with specific timelines, just like your marketing plan. Eliminating staffing problems will accelerate your ability to create a healthier bottom line.
Alan Cohen is the Founder and President of FitnessJobs.com and The Career Collection. He can be contacted at 800-259-4397 or by e-mail at alan@fitnessjobs.com.
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