What is Lateral Hiring? | Meaning & Definition | Akrivia HCM

What is Lateral Hiring?

Lateral hiring is the practice of hiring candidates with specific skillset you are looking for from within the company or externally. It’s considered a specialized hiring strategy that involves hiring individuals with the same kind of experience you are looking for from a competitor. The plan is to focus on hiring people with some work experience instead of someone without any work experience.

Lateral recruitment is challenging for human resources departments because candidates want to upgrade their career, and many people seek additional benefits and compensation commensurate with the added responsibilities of their new position. Unlike a mainstream hire, in which the candidate being considered for the position does not possess the requisite skills and expertise, a lateral hire sees an individual brought on board who has already demonstrated these characteristics.

Steps of Lateral Hiring

You can follow these few steps for lateral recruitment

1. You must explain the industry: The person you hire should have a thorough knowledge of the industry and an in-depth understanding of the opportunities, challenges, and situations. They must have worked in the industry for several years and have a record of professional accomplishments.
2. You must define the skills your company requires: Before you hire laterally, you must determine what skills the person brings to the company and confirm that your targeted candidate is knowledgeable and experienced.
3. You must identify potential employees: With the first two steps completed, you can begin to identify prospects who meet the criteria. You might have to cast your search net far and wide, perhaps even into other states or countries. The cheat code for lateral hiring is looking for candidates who occupy similar roles with competitors.
4. You must research about the candidates: Researching your prospects thoroughly at this stage will reveal any detail about them and the organizations they have worked for. Follow that paper trail, and you will find helpful information.
5. You must reach them at the right time: When you first contact someone, introduce yourself and ask if they will take a few minutes to talk with you about an appropriate opportunity for their skills and position.
6. You must schedule the interview: If you have responded positively to your initial contact, the person will likely be interested in your proposal. Try to schedule an interview soon so that you can engage the candidate. It is important to schedule meetings that can accommodate their schedules.
7. You must negotiate intelligently: Lateral Hiring often progresses quickly to the negotiation stage. Since these workers are in high demand, you must make them an offer they can’t refuse. These candidates will look for employee benefits beyond just a cash salary.
8. You must offer quickly: Once a prospect becomes a candidate, you must formulate an offer to lure them away from their current job. You must keep them interested until you present them with a contract. These people are usually successful and do not need to bargain for what they want; therefore, you should make sure your offer meets their expectations.

Ways for retention improvement in Lateral Hiring

To improve your lateral hiring retention rate, you must understand that the issues are usually related to a company’s failure to integrate its employees into the company culture. The following are five steps to help ensure successful recruitment strategies:

1. Lateral hires must be thoroughly welcomed and onboarded into the organization. Employers should plan for senior managers to introduce them to the team and plan socials and other events for employees to meet the new hire.
2. New hires should be provided with all the information they need to do their jobs. A concise introductory document that explains relevant files, folders, and processes can be very helpful to newcomers.
3. To help new hires settle in, assign them a peer guide. You can introduce your friends to the various clubs and organizations they can join.
4. As a new employee, it’s essential to have a sense of belonging and feel like an integral part of your company. One way you can do this is by inviting them to join a cross-departmental group project and assigning them challenging projects.
5. Work with your new employee to set goals and timelines for how often you will provide feedback and how they will provide you with feedback. Also, make sure they have the tools they need to succeed in the role.

Benefits of Lateral Hiring

Companies can reap many benefits by hiring experts in the lateral recruitment process. Let’s explore them below.

1. Appointing a professional in your field who is already familiar with the work process and has top-tier experience can significantly boost productivity.
2. You can be assured that all new employees have already been carefully screened for their qualifications and suitability for the position.
3. Hiring an executive or expert can be an excellent way to start a new project with a fresh viewpoint.
4. Hiring employees with different backgrounds increases the likelihood of having access to new ideas.

Lateral Hiring can help you in various ways to hire the top talent, but it requires continuous HR attention to find them. You can apply the above-mentioned steps to leverage lateral recruitment to grow your company.

Lateral Hiring – FAQs

Is lateral hiring good or bad?

Lateral hiring is good because it helps you build a brand reputation amongst competitors. Hiring top talent and retaining them is like making a statement about brand loyalty. Moreover, hiring the right candidates with the required skillset is better than hiring candidates who have little to no experience in the field.

What is the difference between lateral hiring and vertical hiring?

Lateral hiring is about hiring candidates with similar roles/duties, while sourcing them internally or externally. But vertical hiring is about hiring candidates in higher or lower roles to assume roles within the organization.

What is an example of lateral recruitment?

An example of lateral recruitment is hiring a product marketing manager from a competitor brand for your brand. Lateral hiring is most suitable for higher executive roles where a specific skillset is required.