‘Tis the (silly) season to nail your hiring process

We are approaching the sprint finish to the year. The last month before Christmas, at which point the hiring market takes a little breather until late January. Employers can often get side-tracked with year-end activities, and let recruitment fall by the wayside — until it’s too late.

This is your guide to hiring over the silly season.

1. Start your recruitment process now. Whatever that looks like for you —advertising, engaging internal recruitment teams or external agency partners. Now, more than any other time of year, is the time to prioritise your recruitment needs.

2. Candidates typically park their job search for a few weeks in January. The end of school holidays – around Australia Day – is often the time we re-connect with job-seekers. Engage with candidates early, to ensure you are reaching the right talent before they turn the out of office on.

3. Engage with stakeholders relevant to the hiring process to ensure they are all available for interviews. Is there someone crucial to decision-making taking an early Christmas break? Get them involved at the first round of interviews, not the last.

4. Get offers out (and accepted) before Christmas. Candidate’s will typically have to serve a 4-week notice period on accepting a new role. Knock off two of those weeks during your end of year shutdown period – maximising continuity for you and your team.

5. Christmas gatherings can be a great, low-key way to introduce your new hire before they get started in January. Build that familiarity to give your new team member a comfortable onboarding process.

6. To expedite the whole process, engage with your preferred recruitment partner. This may be done in conjunction with your internal hiring process, or as an exclusive partnership. Either way, your likelihood of a timely, successful outcome is increased greatly when supported by the experts.

If you’ve got a crucial hire to be made, reach out to one of the Atlas Partners team, to ensure you are resting easy over Christmas.