How to Recruit for the Busy Season & Grow Your Business

Recruiting for the busy season seems like a daunting task, but companies who do so reap success and see ROI. While home service companies are seeing a boom in business, the problem they are facing is that they are understaffed when peak seasons begin.

We often hear:

"I have more leads than I know what to do with, but I can't find employees to bring onto my team to handle more leads even if I wanted to."

So, how do we fix this major pain point home service companies are experiencing?

Currently, businesses wanting to actively recruit should look into inbound marketing. Why? Inbound recruiting. This simple concept is delivering a significant impact throughout businesses wanting to take advantage of growth.

Just like inbound marketing tactics, inbound recruiting finds great candidates — and gets them come to you. This tactic for hiring is a crucial aspect of searching for the right people while also giving companies more qualified candidates.

Get ideal candidates to come to you

So how does inbound recruiting get ideal candidates to come to you? By allowing them to find you.

Sounds pretty simple, but if your company is searchable in every single way, you’re one step ahead. Make sure you're promoting your company on search engines and social channels.

By making yourself findable, those seeking employment are able to find your company and learn about what you do. While this part isn’t complex, it does take time and effort. In today’s digital world, this is also important for brand recognition.

"Companies used to be in control of the recruiting process, but now, over 75% of job seekers start their search on Google." —CareerBuilder, 2015

First up, create a company profile and highlight it on your site. Typically a company profile lives on an "About Us" page. Once you have that built, ensure the same information is relayed across social platforms and any site you have a company profile. Majority of people looking for jobs will begin their search via Google. So, if your potential candidates are seeking employment and don’t find you, it’s likely they won’t apply for an open position—and you miss the opportunity for strong talent.

“If you don’t have [a] company profile built and optimized for mobile and social media channels to showcase who you are and what are you standing for, top talent will definitely question whether your company is an attractive place to work.”—Talentsquare

It’s essential to note that having an online presence affects your sales and your hiring pipeline. There are two things you need to include for your presence to be noticed online:

1. Who you are
2. Why you do what you do (values)

Express who you are as a company to find talent that wants what you want and understands what you do.

Getting applicants is easy; successful recruiting isn’t

It’s easy to get applicants but companies say they have a harder time getting qualified candidates. This creates a big pain point, but what businesses don’t realize is that they should be recruiting for various job positions year-round. You’ll receive more applications throughout the year so you won’t feel rushed to find talent that fits with your company culture and goals in a short (and busy) time period.

Once you have figured out how to get more applicants, you’ll be one step ahead when it comes to recruiting successfully. Although it’s true that successful recruiting isn’t the easiest thing to do, there are ways to help ease the process.

Five ways to improve recruiting and create a thriving environment for talent:

1. Utilize budgets appropriately, the key is using money wisely to attract people.
2. Shrink the size of the top of your funnel. More candidates don’t always equate to more talent. If the top of your hiring funnel is incredibly broad, chances are you’re finding talent, but not the quality you’re ultimately looking for.
3. Understand the changing needs of both your company and the potential employee whether it’s who to hire or specific skill sets needed.
4. Spend time during the slow season looking for qualified employees during the busy season.
5. Measure the ROI of your new hires. Quality candidates will stick around, and good talent will want to return if they believe in your company's who and why, because they bring more value to the forefront of the business.

Why utilize inbound for recruiting?

The inbound methodology for recruiting attracts higher quality candidates more efficiently and effectively. It allows you to connect with those who are actively and passively job hunting by engaging, converting, and delighting potential employees. As a result, your business is sure to see growth and ROI.

Plus, when using marketing strategies that align perfectly with recruiting steps companies are able to build lasting relationships with top talent throughout the application process.

Similar to marketing strategies, recruiting the inbound way is not just about active candidates — passive candidates are also important. It’s crucial to note that these steps should not just be done online. Companies who use a multi-channel approach in both print and digital capture ideal recruitment leads.

There are a few things you should focus on while gathering ideal prospective employees. Inbound recruiting builds trust through connections and relationships. By utilizing technology, social platforms, websites, and other channels to your advantage, you'll be able to see metrics of who views career pages and makes inquiries. Don’t forget that commitment to your brand and creativity will get you far with prospective employees.

“Inbound recruiting is a way of finding and hiring top talent the way people find jobs today.” —Hannah Fleishman, Inbound Recruiting Manager at HubSpot

HubSpot coined the term "inbound marketing" roughly a decade ago. Since then, the inbound methodology has blown up and continued to expand in popularity. Companies are continuously taking advantage of the inbound process with 4 stage steps to garner more leads effectively.

Just like with inbound marketing, for inbound recruitment to be successful, all companies need to do is to correlate the four steps above with the four steps below:

1. Attracting Job Seekers

More than ever before, posting job descriptions is only a small piece of the hiring process. Today, those seeking employment will often look to Google, reviews on sites like Glassdoor.com, and recommendations from family and friends. If you’re not on multiple online channels, you’ll lose out on an excellent way to market your company to potential candidates.

2. Converting Applicants

If candidates already know who you are and why you do what you do, imagine how much easier it will be to find the right person to work for you.

Tell your company story from the start, but ensure value is present. Prospective employees who see the value of what you have to offer will be more likely to apply. Highlight your company's perks, amenities, culture, etc. through great content, this will easily match a candidate to your company.

At Denamico, we use an Utterly Cool Lexicon to show what it’s like working for our Denami-fab company.

3. Closing Candidates

Finding the ideal candidate is probably not going to happen the day you post a job opening. Unfortunately, chances are a potential employee's first visit to your site is not going to be the time they apply. Just like during the buying process, candidates search for recommendations and reviews before committing. A potential candidate might view your career page once, but not apply that day.

Nurturing relationships and staying in touch with those who do seek out information about open positions at your company is vital. 

Oftentimes, top talent isn't even looking for new work. So, how do you get passive candidates to consider your company? Continue to nurture contacts through their decision-making process by providing them with additional resources about how to apply.

Forrester Research states that it may take as many as eight brand touchpoints to influence decision-making. So, utilize how you communicate with prospects — send information, thank you's, and anything else that engages a candidate through their decision.

4. Delighting a Successful Hire

Creating a top-notch hiring experience turns your prospective employees into promoters.

Don’t have a boring interview or application process. Take a fresh approach — by doing so, you are going to be leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. Ask for feedback, recommendations, etc., or simply keep in touch with candidates who don’t receive an offer. Plus, reap the rewards of having quality talent!

Need help recruiting for the busy season?

Inbound marketing helps companies attract leads more efficiently and effectively. Inbound recruiting does the same for those looking to make new hires.

At Denamico, we know that people are most likely to search for the solutions to their particular pain points, so addressing the connection between marketing and recruiting will help improve ROI and attract quality employees.

While we don’t always suggest inbound recruiting, we understand that for home service companies being well prepared for the busy season is critical.

Overall, don’t forget that utilizing the Inbound Methodology for recruitment will attract active and passive candidates to help you find employees who are a good fit for your growing company!

Need more information on how to thrive this busy season? Chat with us today, and we’ll get you started on a path toward success.