Resolutions are drawn up, new products launched and strategies start flying around at record-breaking speeds. Suddenly everyone needs a new budget, a new department and new teams for the upcoming challenges of the year.

But before you start throwing out the old, stop and take a second to think about whether you really need to. The only thing that matters to any organization is the people who sit within its walls, so if you want to look at anything, it should be your hiring strategy.

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However, if it’s working and your business is attracting and retaining talented individuals, then don’t fix something that isn’t broken. Leave it well alone, even if it is the new year.

If it’s not working for you, then now is the time to fix it up and look sharp. Whether you’ve got an RPO solution in place, your HR department is working to build teams, or your hiring managers are scaling up, a solid hiring strategy will be the reason they all find the people they need in the new year. Try implementing a few of the below strategies into your hiring processes, and you might find that you don’t need a bigger budget after all:

Self-selection

Applying for a job is the easiest thing in the world nowadays. With a few clicks, Google auto-fills a resume template, and you can apply for a hundred jobs an hour. (We’re expecting it to become an Olympic sport any day now.) So while you might be excited by how many applications you’ve received, it stands to reason that a lot of them are going to be a waste of your time. To eliminate the time wasters, add another step between application and interview that relies on candidate interaction. Group open house nights are a perfect way to do this. It’s not a ‘formal’ interview request, and you’ll find that only the ones truly dedicated will turn up. This will often half your numbers. It also gives you the opportunity to chat to candidates in a relaxed environment and really get to know them.

There’s no ‘ego’ in ‘hiring strategy’

Get rid of the interview steps that are currently a part of your hiring strategy for no other reason than they make someone feel good. Does Deidre really need to interview the candidates, even though they won’t be reporting into her? Probably not. Situations like this can cause bottle-necks in your process and serve the people inside the organization, as opposed to your customer, the candidate. Deidre will get over it.

Tell a story

When writing a job description, it’s easy to slap down a list of key skills and attributes, and then stick it online. While this may have worked once upon a time, it’s no longer a viable solution. Entice your candidate in with a good plot, a thrilling climax, and a cliffhanging end. Give them a reason to laugh, smile or even cry—anything that gets a reaction out of them. Give them a reason to want to hit that ‘apply’ button. And no, you do not need to have a green-room full of writers to produce material like that. There are budding writers to be found everywhere, and somewhere in your organization sits Jack who’s always dreamt of writing a sitcom. Or Mary who’s dreaming of writing a book one day. These people exist, and more importantly, they want to write. Find them and give them a reason to write during their working hours. They’ll thank you for it, and in return, you’ll have some Oscar worthy job ads that actually attracts talent.

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Best person for the job

You wouldn’t send a plumber to fix the lights. That would be ridiculous, everyone would end up in tears. Similarly, don’t send forward an interview panel that is unsuitable for the job of vetting your candidate. The amount of times we’ve sat in job interviews as candidates and ended up conducting the interview is unbelievable. Make sure the team you send in to interview candidates is confident, capable and understands the right questions to ask. This might not include the hiring manager, but having the foresight to put the right people in that room will make a remarkable difference to your hiring strategy.

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