While January is the traditional time for hiring sprees, you could be losing out if you wait. Timing is of the essence when it comes to recruiting.
“Counter cycle” recruiting is similar to contrarian investing–it means recruiting when everyone else isn’t, taking advantage of reduced competition. Here are five good reasons to get yourself some new talent for Christmas.
- Your competitors are snoozing
With most companies starting interviews in January, people looking for work in December are relatively short of opportunities–so if you’re hiring, you’ll have an advantage not to be missed in the current talent drought. It’s also the best time of the year to reach out to passive candidates for the same reason.
Hiring in January is bound to be a bloody battle for talent, and you’ll probably need to offer higher pay and extra benefits to secure good staff. You’ll also need to move incredibly fast, with little time to reflect on the best choice. Hiring before Christmas allows you to relax and spend January onboarding your new hires while your competitors scramble for your leftovers.
- It's a great time to welcome new recruits
If you manage to hire someone in December, they’ll be able to bond with their new colleagues at the Christmas party, getting them happily integrated into the culture. It’ll also take the strain off the rest of the team, as there’ll be more time for you to train your newbie and have them ready to hit the ground running in the new year.
- Happy holidays all round
Getting your job offer finalised before Christmas not only means your winning candidate can relax and enjoy the season, but also takes the pressure off you and your hiring managers, allowing all of you to have a good break and hopefully come back refreshed, happy and ready to go.
- You’ll be ready when it gets busy
The New Year tends to bring piles of new responsibilities–adding hiring and training a new recruit to that list can be overwhelming and lead to a bad hire or inadequate onboarding, a major reason for losing new hires in their first six months.
- The proof is in the pudding
Hiring in Q4 works: some of our clients have found that hires who start earlier in the year are slower to make an impact and harder to integrate, so they’ve taken to doing most of their hiring in Q4. This enables them to get the pick of available talent and to get the maximum business value from new hires over a full business year.
If you’re thinking about your hiring strategy for 2023, get a head start by contacting us now and discover how we can help you.