Recruiting for the New Year – Act Now

“I completely underestimated the time to recruit!"

Many business owners and directors kick off the New Year with fresh energy and ambition to grow their company. After a hard year they recharge during the Christmas break and wham! 2024 starts with a bang.

New markets, campaigns, products, offers, systems or processes; whatever’s planned to take the business forward in 2024 may need more resources and new skills to make them happen. You’d imagine recruitment might be in the project plan but it is frequently missed off the critical path, especially at this time of year.

Businesses commencing the recruitment process beyond November for an early January start are likely to experience a disjointed, longer process. Many job-seekers take a break from job-hunting during the Christmas period and arranging interviews and communicating with people generally takes longer and extends timings.  We're also seeing longer notice periods with 3 months not being uncommon for more senior positions.

We’ve often heard “I’m really happy to interview between Christmas and New Year” from panicking clients in their desperation to complete the process.   But this can be avoided with a little advance planning.

Get ahead of the game

We’re working with thoughtful Clients on their flexible, part-time and hybrid recruitment needs right now for January start dates. But there’s still a few weeks to kick the process off and get ahead of the game. For 2024 part-time professionals, get in touch now with Jane O’Gorman for a chat about getting your recruiting process up and running. Our team takes the effort and hassle away from you at every stage so even if you’re busy, we can take the strain.

Don't forget onboarding prep 

It’s worth highlighting another critical consideration for a January start date and that’s developing the onboarding programme. Many of the business and HR leaders we know emphasise the importance of a smooth and engaging onboarding process in helping new employees become effective and productive quickly. They recommend involving members of your existing team to welcome new colleagues and create a collaborative environment but during a hectic January period, finding time in diaries can be a challenge so we'd recommend pencilling in welcome and briefing sessions well in advance before things go mad in January.