We recruit exclusively for high-growth, innovative FMCG brands in the UK and are constantly asked the question ‘What are the best practices for a recruitment process?’. So here you have it:
We are in an incredibly candidate-driven market with thousands of FMCG businesses fishing in the same pond of talent. That means most candidates will be offered a job during your interviewing process. If they are great, it will be a good offer and they will be tempted to take it. As a result, get through the interview process as quickly as possible so your favourites do not disappear. Slow brands sit on a hamster wheel of interviewing and losing candidates, which wastes time and leads you to settle for subpar candidates.
YF recruiters are used to working with SMEs and know the mentality required to build a high growth brand. They have hired hundreds of people into brands and built some of the most successful teams in the industry. Trust them to do their jobs – if they recommend you interview a candidate (even if they are not 100% to the brief), there is a reason they have done so.
We only recruit for brands exclusively. Why? Three reasons.
Firstly, it shows the brand is committing to us like we are to them; secondly it drives the right behaviours in our team (reduces CV blasting); and finally it leads to a better candidate experience which serves all our long term interests best.
Any recruiter worth their weight in salt should have a full market read, a powerful database and excellent knowledge of your roles. Having 2-3 recruiters on 1 job increases your fees, gives you more work to do and ultimately leads to less commitment all round.
As you know, it is a small world. If one candidate tells their friends about a bad experience with you, it can get out quickly and really make it hard to hire the best people. This extends to absolutely every candidate you touch base with. Employer branding is king.
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If you do these things, you will find great candidates and have good employer branding.
1) Respond to us within 24 hours of a CV being recommended for an interview so we do not keep candidates waiting. If we do not hear back, we will assume it is a rejection
2) Book in interviews to take place as quickly as possible (within 48 hours is ideal)
3) After an interview, provide feedback and next steps on the same day
4) Provide detailed, actionable feedback – “they aren’t right” does not give the candidate much to go on and this can risk your brand equity. This also helps us adjust our search and learn what works
5) Offer any roles ahead of the weekend with a Monday offer deadline (a deadline is always a smart move)
6) Carry out a task in interviews to test the candidate’s capability against the specific work
7) Remain competitive with salaries and use perks to deliver more
8) When you agree an interview time, stick to it
9) Keep job titles mainstream and simple – no one identifies with an off-piste job title so they will not apply
10) Be ready to move to offer – even if you are offering a role to start in 3 months, never drag out the process just because you feel like you do not need them right now. It is completely normal to offer for the future
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Our Recruitment Team are the only specialist recruiters for high-growth FMCG and consumer brands.
From junior roles to executive positions such as Heads of and Directors we can help you find the right talent for your business. Get in touch with us today if you have any open roles or would like to talk to our team about your recruitment strategy.
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