Here at Baillie Lumber, we understand the importance of preparation. We’re working hard to ensure we have the skills and manpower on hand to seize growth opportunities as they arise in the new year.

To better prepare yourself for bringing on new staff in 2021, here are a few recruitment techniques we found valuable to keep in mind when recruiting new employees:

Position your company as an employer of choice. Skilled job applicants have many options to choose from, so giving your company high visibility in the job market is imperative. One approach is to look into businesses ranked as “Best Places to Work,” and see how they handle recruitment and retention.

Additionally, put employer branding at the top of your recruitment initiative efforts in 2021. A logical place to start is by repurposing the “Careers” page on your company website. This page should be informative, easy to navigate and have eye-catching graphic design, photos of happy employees both at work and at play.

Make the “applicant experience” favorable. Job applicants learn pretty quickly (from responses to applications, quality of interviews, etc.), which businesses treat them well and which don’t.

As YourStory notes, the quality of this experience is “solely based on the candidate’s feelings, behaviors and attitudes … during the whole recruiting process, right from the resume screening to on-boarding.” Furthermore, “happy and satisfied candidates will most likely accept the job offer, reapply in future” and “recommend it to other valuable potential candidates.”

In other words, treat every applicant with dignity and respect by:

• Responding promptly to applications submitted and/or questions asked
• Being prepared for both phone and in-person interviews
• Following up with every candidate, so no one is left hanging

High-quality candidate experiences also go a long way towards establishing your company as an employer of choice.

Attract millennials to the hardwood lumber industry. To stay healthy and competitive, hardwood lumber companies must find ways to attract and recruit young men and women who may not presently have our industry at the top of their lists as a place they want to work. Here are some specific recruiting tips to keep in mind:

• Millennials are drawn to companies they can identify with on a personal level. They want to get a sense of your internal culture, how the organization is structured, whether employees feel like part of the growth strategy, and so on.

• After coming across your job posting, the first thing Millennials will do is check out your business website. A sophisticated and engaging site instantly lends credibility to your business, particularly with respect to ease of user interface, lively content about your current workforce and plenty of images. They’re also checking for signs of a thriving social media presence.

• Focus your interview questions on their motivations and ambitions. Ask them about previous job achievements and what part of their jobs made them feel most engaged. Dig deeper into why they might want to work for your company and what would likely inspire them in their new position.

Like our customers and colleagues in the hardwood lumber industry, Baillie Lumber continually strives to evolve with the times and integrate new employees into the workforce. We are constantly looking for new ideas. What ideas and hiring practices do you have in mind for 2021?

Brett Del Prince
Baillie Lumber
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.