When your business is madly intent on hiring staff, they probably do like many others do and follow a standard formula…

Advertise  - get responses – sort – send a note back saying “we have received” – Then a “thanks but no thanks” note to the short listed ones… – interview etc… Oh what a hassle.

Some of you will be Thinking cut out the note sending part…  “I just ignore the people it’s my business and why should I care”. Sorry to feel you might think this way, however a short letter can at least let the good folks know you do care and respect their time and effort for applying, after all their efforts in your business could make you extra $$.

However if things are done a little differently you could make things a little easier and in the process possibly speed things up.

Recently I saw something, which turned the standard formula slightly on its head. First the company asked for short email responses to a bunch of simple criteria (less paper up front, and it shows they have SOME degree of computer literacy.) Then they replied to the email with the following email letter.

The response letter simply read…. “Thanks for your application, if you are required for an interview we will call you.”

Nothing more to say, no need for a second letter out, no need to say “The standard of applications was high etc.” none of that.

The other thing they did, was not ask for a resume or long responses to a heap of selection criteria… They asked for just short responses in the first instance. If the person then “made the grade” they got a phone call for a brief phone interview.

The good thing about this from my perspective was the way they would have probably caught a heap of people off guard, those who are used to the selection criteria bit… They would have had to think outside the square.

Interesting, they saved paper, they saved time, tested some IT skills and therefore saved money…

Are there other ways we can all recruit staff which will save us time and money and probably show a little creativity to boot? Yes.