Reactive Recruiting Vs. Proactive Recruiting
Companies and government agencies use one of two recruiting techniques to fill vacant positions: proactive or reactive. Proactive recruiting involves actively seeking out qualified applicants on an ongoing basis to build a pool of talent prior to positions becoming vacant. Reactive hiring involves waiting until positions become vacant before recruiting. Proactive recruiting costs more upfront; reactive recruiting can prove costly if positions remain unfilled for extended periods.
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Upfront Cost
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Proactive recruiters usually employ human resources personnel who try to identify skilled employees at other companies. Some companies hire surplus employees so that if an employee leaves, the company already has a trained replacement ready to fill the void. Some employers use employment agencies to recruit or establish graduate programs to hire students straight out of college and enroll them in fast-track training courses. Proactive recruiting costs are significant and ongoing. Reactive recruiters avoid all of these upfront costs and do not necessarily even have to employ full-time human resources recruiters.
Long-Term Cost
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When an employee leaves a position, it can cause production to slow down, which can prove costly. From the time an employee leaves, it usually takes at least a few weeks for recruiters to find job applicants and arrange interviews. Background checks, drug tests and reference checks cause further delays even after the employer identifies a suitable candidate. Depending on the complexity of the role, training the new employee could take days, weeks or months. A company that hires proactively would experience no disruption in production and therefore see no dip in revenues.
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Skilled Positions Versus Unskilled
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Candidates for highly skilled positions are scarce. Employers that do not proactively recruit scientists, surgeons and people to work in other specialized areas may have to stop production when a employee leaves until a new employee fills the role. Conversely, candidates for many entry-level positions are numerous. Companies that employ high school students and part-time employees often are able to very quickly fill positions. Additionally, entry-level positions often involve minimal training so employee departures are not necessarily disruptive.
Other Considerations
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Employers should adapt hiring practices based on economic factors and societal trends. During periods of high unemployment, skilled candidates in some fields are abundant, in which case companies can cut costs by moving to a reactive hiring model. If fewer and fewer students enroll in specialized degree programs at colleges, employers relying on people with those degrees should move to a proactive hiring model to prevent staff shortages. Generally, successful companies modify hiring practices on an ongoing basis because no one recruitment technique works for all companies all of the time.
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