Difficulties in recruiting personnel and how to deal with them

Many managers believe that by providing decent wages and good working conditions, potential employees will come to work on their own, and each of them will become an excellent salesperson. Unfortunately, this is not the case: applicants come reluctantly, and in most cases, none of them are suitable for the position of salesperson. Therefore, personnel selection requires a professional approach. SR expert in the field of fashion business management and development Maria Gerasimenko talks about the employee selection algorithm and non-standard methods of searching and interviewing candidates.

The main reason for the low influx of applicants is the fierce competition of employers for decent personnel. Currently, the choice is made not by employers, but by job seekers. Today, on average, there are 1,89 candidates per sales vacancy. And the recruitment period increased from 9 to 57 days. It is not surprising that in such conditions the mission of selecting a good seller seems almost impossible. What to do in such a situation?

Before you start selecting, compare your conditions with your competitors. If your company is less attractive to candidates than your competitor’s company, reconsider the working conditions, and only then start searching for future sellers.

Factors to consider: company values, work schedule, location, company attitude toward overtime, intangible benefits, and financial terms.

Based on these factors, create a portrait of the employee. The portrait includes such aspects as the employee’s values, job expectations, skills, gender and age characteristics, work experience and personal qualities.

Elaborating on the company’s values ​​and employee profiles will be a good basis for creating a vacancy.

"Skeleton" vacancies:

1. About company. Write a short and memorable description of the company. It is advisable to keep it to one sentence. Potential candidates need to understand who you are and what you do.
2. Position. Indicate the position and reason for searching for a new employee.
3. Benefits. Give potential candidates tangible reasons why your offer is better than others.
4. Capabilities. Generate interest in your position by demonstrating the opportunities it offers.
5. Duties. Clearly outline the functionality that needs to be performed in the position.
6. Requirements. Communicate what expectations you have for the future employee.
7. Conditions. Tell us in detail what working conditions you offer.
8. Deadline for receiving responses. Be sure to include it and create a sense of urgency, encouraging applicants to submit their resumes before the specific date.
9. Call to action. Indicate what actions the candidate needs to take to send a response, indicate the direct contacts of the employee responsible for the selection.

When writing a vacancy, try to avoid dry and formal language. Show that your company is modern and vibrant. This will attract members of Generations Y and Z who are currently looking for work. Remember that they grew up in a world of social networks and smartphones, and not in line for scarce goods.

Another common question that employers ask is: what salary should I indicate if it depends on the implementation of the plan and achievement? Write the average salary, which will not create unnecessary illusions and, at the same time, will not scare away the base low rate. The main thing is not to write “by agreement”: the absence of a clearly indicated salary has never prompted anyone to quickly send a resume.

Employee search methods

Let's start with what is familiar to many entrepreneurs and has lost its relevance - passive personnel search.

Passive search means that you place an ad on job search sites, do not make any effort and just wait for responses. The method, in general, is quite working, but this is the only way you will wait a very long time for responses.

Active search is when you pay for access to contacts on a job search website, pick up the phone and start calling applicants personally. Today, more and more often, candidates post their resumes and wait for an invitation, avoiding responses and independent calls. Usually good salespeople are already working somewhere, and if they start looking for a new job, they do it anonymously and slowly.

IMPORTANT! Be prepared before you call. You need to prepare a speech to present your brand, interest the applicant and bring him to the “Interview” stage.

Interview or mass selection?

When we talk about an interview, managers usually think of it as a personal meeting with a potential employee. What if we move away from this idea and take a different approach?

Take a bold step - invite 10 candidates for one position at the same time, without first warning them about it. In my opinion, a great way to find gems in a haystack. Additionally, it will make your company appear sought after among candidates, increasing your chances of finding the best candidate.

So, the day of the interview arrives. You have invited several candidates for the same time and are looking forward to their arrival. When the future sales sharks arrive, they are surprised to see all the people and ask: “Does everyone have an interview at 13.00?”

Someone may be confused after hearing the answer, but will maintain composure and wait for the beginning. Others may react negatively and leave. Those who leave are not your employees.

Mass interview plan:

1. Express gratitude to those present.
2. Introduce yourself, name and position, and say a few words about your career in the company and achievements.
3. State the protocol: duration of the meeting, order of actions, how events will develop.
4. Sell the opportunity to work in your company. Don’t forget that you are fighting for employees with federal and even global brands. Tell potential candidates why they should choose you. Your speech should be so effective and persuasive that every potential employee would understand that working for your company opens up benefits and great opportunities.

Tell us why you opened the vacancy, list the qualities that a potential candidate for the vacancy should have, describe the working conditions and show that working in your company is profitable and interesting.

The mass selection process consists of three stages:

• Filling in the form
• Answers to questions
• Summing-up

The application form should contain 10-15 criteria that applicants usually rely on when choosing a vacancy.

1. Stable salary.
2. Remuneration in accordance with industry standards.
3. Opportunity for career growth.
4. Opportunity for professional development.
5. Comprehensive employee benefits.
6. Flexible work schedule.
7. Convenient place to work.
8. Discounts on goods.
9. Official employment and benefits.
10. Reimbursement for food and travel expenses.
11. Good, friendly team.
12. A clear and working motivation system.
13. The attitude that sellers “like the product.”

When recruiting new employees, it can be difficult to figure out what criteria they consider when searching for a job. To clarify, give each candidate a questionnaire in which he must write his full name and select three key points that are important to him.

Aleatherg questions: 30 seconds about yourself

An effective way to quickly get an idea of ​​the qualities of applicants is to ask each person to talk about themselves in 30 seconds. Give them the opportunity to say whatever they want about themselves and set a timer to keep track of the time. Let candidates decide for themselves in what order they will present themselves.

As practice shows, the most ambitious and active sellers present themselves first. Be prepared for the fact that some presenters will not be able to finish the presentation in 30 seconds, while others can do it in 10. It is the quality of the presentation that is important, not its length. To be successful, you must be able to demonstrate the desired traits (which you identified at the beginning of the meeting).

Aleatherg questions: 3 questions to fill

Prepare questions of your own, for example:
· What do you consider your greatest achievement?
It is desirable that the candidate’s answer be related to the complexity of the check, the amount, or customer focus.
· What does selling mean to you?
There is no perfect answer to this question. Among the suitable ones: “Monetary result”, “Identify a need, work with objections”, “Make the client happier”.
· Three pros and three cons of working as a salesperson.
The answer to this question is usually: “The opportunity to interact with customers” or “You can make good money.” Disadvantages usually include: “You have to stand on your feet for a long time,” “Work after hours,” and “Sometimes you have to deal with difficult clients.”

To avoid confusion when evaluating responses, mark the respondents' questionnaires.

Let's move on to the final section of our group interview.

1. Express your gratitude to everyone for their answers.
2. Retire to a separate room and select the lucky ones who will move on to the next stage.
3. Publicly announce those who managed to advance to the next stage based on the results of the mass interview.
4. To defuse the situation and end the interview on a pleasant note, give mini-gifts from your company.

How to draw conclusions after a mass interview?
First, focus on the self-introduction (30 seconds about the candidate), then move on to the questionnaire (how compatible their values ​​are with yours) and finally evaluate the three answers (what type of thinking the person has).