8 Key Action Points for Your 2022 Hiring Plan

This has been one of the most tumultuous years in hiring. From resignations, to record hires, to remote and hybrid working, we’ve all found ourselves with a new perspective from this time last year. Now, 2022 is here and things are still heating up. 

So how can you make a feasible hiring plan for 2022? 

To learn more, I sat down with Michael Varley, ACELR8’s CEO, and asked him for his thoughts on this year. You can find the full interview here. From that interview, we devised 8 Key Action Points that every business should adopt in their 2022 hiring strategy. 

Action Point #1 - Create an In-Depth Hiring Process

In 2022, hiring plans need to have a solid structure. Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. Make the most of remote hiring and, when possible, use the experience of the experts to help you pave the way. We offer a wide range of playbooks, how-to’s, and guides, all for free for you to make the most of. 

We also recently created an in-depth guide on how to kick-off a new role in the best possible way. Remember, hiring processes are reciprocal - think about how your candidates will feel and react to your hiring processes before putting them into action. 

Action Point #2 - Focus on the Why

Your hiring plan should begin by focusing on the source of why you’re hiring. If you can improve retention and churn, then you will have considerably fewer hires to make. 

After the chaos of the Great Resignation, companies should be more aware than ever that it’s time to take a deep dive into how to truly value their employees. Take the time to figure out how to make your company a better place to work, and create learning and upskilling opportunities so that your internal team can be your first port of call when hiring. 

Action Point #3 - Listen Up

In your hiring plans, take the time to see what style of working suits the position best. Then, listen to your candidates and see what style of employment fits their approach. Remote working is not always the answer - try to dig deeper into how you can make a truly effective job proposition for your candidates.  

In our recent Recruitment Trends study, Isabel Strijland, our co-founder, gave this piece of advice: 

“Hire conversationally - have meaningful conversations with people you hire, really get to know them. Take it slowly and make sure you all share the same vision and they bring a new perspective.”

Having meaningful conversations with your applicants will not only help you understand them better, it will help you understand yourself. Listen, really listen, and you will often learn more about yourself than the person speaking to you.

Action Point #4 - Look Past the Conventional

The world of hiring is changing, fast, and it’s important that no matter where you are based, you keep a finger on the pulse of new trends, movements and ideals. As Michael said in our interview, active upskilling is easily one of the best ways of noticing candidates that want to stay relevant, skilled, and desired in this job market. 

Hiring for potential instead of for experience is becoming one of the new movements in hiring. It’s much easier to train someone up than to find the superstar candidate who already has years of experience. In your hiring approach, don’t just look at time served - look at the qualities of the candidate and what they can contribute to your company. 

Action Point #5 - Hiring Externally is not Always the Answer

Hiring and talent organisation should always begin internally. Look at the team you have now and how you can improve them. Then, look outward and see what you actually need to do to get your company to the next level. 

Your employee’s growth should be at the very core of your business. A company is not a single entity, but a collective of people working towards a common goal. By improving the skills of your employees, you’re helping you all achieve your collective ambitions. 

Take the time to find out where your employees’ passions lie - where do they want to be in five years? Can you provide that outcome? How can you help them achieve that?

Action Point #6 - Create an Unbeatable Onboarding Process

The best way of creating a solid onboarding process is by creating one, three, and six-month goals for all your new hires. If you and your employees know their development path, it makes the experience much easier to manage and improve upon.  

Additionally, create an anonymous survey at the end of the onboarding process to ensure that it is continuously being improved. At ACELR8, thanks to the feedback and input we received from our hires, we’ve created ACELR8 Launch. This two-week onboarding process takes every aspect of the job into account, ensuring that every hire fully understands our company, regardless of their role. 

Action Point #7 - Promote New Opportunities

As a company, it’s important to embrace this new remote dynamic and create new learning opportunities that all your employees can benefit from. As an employee, it’s important to look at work as a learning and development opportunity. Overall, this will help you gain so much more purpose from your role. 

The best way of implementing this (and, in turn, improving your retention rate), is through upward feedback. Let your employees tell you what they think and how they feel - it’s the only way you and the company can improve. By seeing things from a new perspective, you are sure to be able to improve the availability of learning experiences within your working environment.

Action Point #8 - Get Smart

Be smart about how you hire. Always remember how much effort is needed to bring in new employees and how to allocate hiring projects. 

Once you’ve decided who you need to grow your business, take the time to budget out how many hours of interviewing, sourcing, and planning you will really need. This, above salaries and all other aspects, is the most important, especially for startups. 

Above All? Plan Ahead

These 8 action points can help you create a solid yet versatile hiring strategy that will have you well-prepared for the year ahead, and beyond. But the most important thing to keep in mind is that if everything in your hiring process is meticulously planned, you and the candidate are sure to have an exceptional experience. 

In our conversation with Michael, we shared plenty of other excellent tips, which you can find here. 

In summary, here are the eight actions that you need to take to add stability and versatility to your hiring process.

1. Create an in-depth hiring plan that is inspired by the experts. 
2. Focus on why you’re hiring. Improving retention should be at the core of your business.
3. Listen to your candidates and see what style of working fits their approach. Remote working is not always the answer - try to dig deeper.
4. Look past the conventional - the hiring world is changing, broaden your horizons
5. Hiring is not always the answer - sometimes you just need to upskill your current team. 
6. Hiring is only Step 1 of the process - focus on creating a stellar onboarding experience to improve retention and performance.
7. Promote learning and development opportunities within your companies to attract young and diverse talent.
8. Be smart with your time and money - don’t unnecessarily waste resources when creating the hiring process. 

With this advice, you and your company can create a thorough hiring plan that focuses on the short, medium and long-term aims of your business. From finding out why you’re hiring to attracting the right people, it will all fall in line after using these action points.

Looking to improve your remote hiring strategy? Check out our in-depth playbook to learn more about the best ways of hiring your ideal candidates remotely. Or, take a look at our embedded service and let our expert Talent Partners hire your dream talent for you. 

Like our hiring approach? Then work for us. We’re always on the lookout for new and exciting talent to help us hire better.