Most companies’ recruitment strategies boil down to posting job ads and waiting for the right candidates to apply. While the competition launches space rockets, your company gazes at the stars, hoping for miracles. As you probably learned by now, your approach is not efficient or profitable. We know you employ plenty of recruiting strategies already, maybe starting with building a powerful employer brand. Nevertheless, we are here today to discuss other best practices you could incorporate into your recruiting process to reach your goals. So let’s see some modern recruiting strategies you might have left out from your hiring plan!
Recruitment Strategies and Best Practices to Consider in the Long Run
When it comes to implementing talent acquisition strategies, you know the drill: employer branding, using an ATS, and optimizing your employee referral program are the building blocks of your success. However, you can always step up your game to make sure you don’t forget anything or allow elite candidates to fall through the cracks. So, let’s see what you should consider besides posting your job ads on all possible platforms!
1. Build an Extended and Diverse Talent Pool
We have mentioned building a talent pool and the benefits of this recruiting strategy before getting into too many details. The issue with this method is that it takes time, effort, human resources, and a budget. Even in the current talent shortage landscape we all live in, most companies do not have such strategies yet, which is a shame.
A talent pool is a database containing the profiles and information of all candidates that interest you or who showed an interest in your company before. Talent pool databases usually contain two distinct candidate categories:
- Individuals who did not apply for a job at your company yet, but whom you keep an eye on and track because they interest you.
- Individuals who had applied with your company before but did not get a job because they were not a good fit for the position in question; however, these candidates fit your company’s culture overall, thus being still of interest to you.
Sometimes, a talent pool also contains former employees that you still consider for future positions in your organization given the right circumstances.
Among the many benefits of an Applicant Tracking System, talent pool building is exciting and profitable. An ATS helps you design and manage a talent pipeline in advance, saving you time and money with candidate sourcing.
Nevertheless, most companies make the mistake of not communicating actively with their talent pool. Having a list of names and contact details is not enough. You must keep the candidates interested and build a relationship with them. We will discuss such matters in an upcoming guide.
2. Harness the Power of Social Media Recruiting
All companies post job ads on LinkedIn or in job-dedicated Facebook groups. It is common sense to use social media for advertising your company and open positions, but are you doing it right? With more than half of recruiters mentioning social media as the best source for elite candidates, it would be a great idea to jump on this bandwagon.
The digital natives (the ones we call Gen Z) know how to use technology in every aspect of their lives. They also are now entering the workforce market as Millennials move towards leadership positions. How do you approach individuals who know more about social media than anyone else on the planet? By using it in your favor!
Here are some tips for using social media for recruiting to help you design your recruitment strategies:
- Profile your ideal candidates and learn where they are most likely to be. Younger candidates stay more on Instagram and Twitter than on Facebook. On the other hand, regardless of their age, the creatives might spend most of their time on visual platforms, like Instagram or Pinterest. Sales representatives, project managers, and financial officers might use LinkedIn as their primary source of career-related news and opportunities.
- You should adapt and adjust your job ads and hiring discourse to match the platform and its candidates. Many companies make the mistake of using copy-paste to post their job ads on social media. Tailor your message depending on the platform and audience.
- Use your employees as social media influencers. We call them “employee advocates,” but it is almost the same thing. All your employees have social media accounts (more than one). As marketing experts know already, people trust more in other people than in branded content or advertisements. So, get your employees to share your job ads on their SM networks and increase your employer branding success rate!
3. Find Passive Job Seekers and Keep them Close
Passive job seekers are not looking for a job yet but might consider working for you if the right opportunity arises.
Here is where your Applicant Tracking System and your social media recruiting efforts come in. A few years ago, research showed that passive candidates made over 70% of the available job market. Moreover, 80% of passive candidates would like a change, even if they are not actively searching for a new job. It means they are waiting to hear from you.
The numbers change over the years, but one thing is for certain: some of the best people at their jobs are likely working for someone else. So, what do you do to find them, track them, and make them an offer when the time comes?
- Keep a close eye on your direct competitors. Follow their activity, monitor their top performers, learn what they offer and how they approach employee retention, etc.
- A little friendly stalking did not hurt anyone. Once you put your eyes on some passive candidates, check out their social media platforms, online resumes, portfolios, and descriptions. Look beyond skills and experience. Learn more about their pain points, passions, attitudes, beliefs, values, etc., and decide if they are good fits for your company culture.
- Adjust your offer depending on the things that make them happy both professionally and personally. Focus on helping them achieve a better work-life balance, engage in a personalized approach, and stay away from cliches.
Elite candidates will instantly delete all emails starting with “upon checking your LinkedIn profile, we saw you have the right skills for us.” Instead, try leading with “just like you, we also love reading/traveling/spending more time with the family.”
4. Source from Other Industries
One of the most common hiring mistakes companies and recruiters make is to stick to what they know, in this case, not sourcing candidates from related or different industries. Regarding advanced recruitment strategies, focusing on employability skills is one of the best ideas to tap into new and unexplored talent pools.
As we said above, Gen Z is tech-savvy since the day it was born. A computer skills test might reveal extremely talented candidates. You can offer them a marketing position, even if they worked in customer service until now. Recruiting across industries is an untapped resource. Good copywriters are good copywriters, regardless of their position in a marketing firm, an SEO agency, or an advertising startup.
The same goes for other positions. An excellent project manager with all the competencies will manage any project anywhere. Most companies are eager to find candidates with proven experience and aptitudes; unfortunately, in their rush, they forget all about transferable skills, personality traits, integrity, attitudes, and behaviors, and so on. The companies that do not emphasize using employment tests and inventories are prone to waste time and resources when looking for candidates.
5. Recruit from the Contingent Workforce
While the best practices and recruiting strategies suggest that companies start recruiting from the organization’s ranks, you sometimes can’t. Sometimes, you just need to fill a position quickly – albeit temporarily. In this case, with the hiring process taking weeks, you can turn to the contingent workforce for help. You find it in your talent pool, of course, and it contains freelancers, independent contractors, part-time job seekers, and other companies.
If you need to fill a position on the shortest notice possible or don’t find someone to take the job permanently, the contingent workforce is a new talent pool you should consider.
When you hire a freelancer or a part-timer, you might enjoy the surprise of finding great talent to hire permanently if both parties agree. The same goes for company interns and even independent contractors. Even if you don’t make an offer, you can keep these collaborators’ details in your talent pool. Next time you need help, you can access the database to get the right person for the job.
6. Answer All Candidates’ Questions Before They Ask Them
One of the many ways to find employees faster and establish efficient recruitment strategies is to meet the candidates halfway. In other words, build detailed FAQ pages on your company website. The reason is simple: passive job seekers or candidates coming your way via your referral program want to learn more about everything before they agree to an interview or fill in your application form.
Here are a few tips on how to create an FAQ page for all potential candidates:
- Please answer all the questions candidates asked you during your interviews; they can refer to the hiring process’s steps and deadlines, feedback, required paperwork, etc. You can also add some info on performance rewards, flexible hours, work-from-home opportunities, etc.
- Ask your current employees about the things they wish they knew when they applied with your company. Encourage them to be honest and tell you what they think you should do better when recruiting new people.
- Get your inspiration from the competition (the companies retaining the talent you want to hire). What FAQs do they feature? How do they answer? Where can candidates find these answers (company website, social media, career websites, etc.)?
It would be best if you tried addressing some of the most pressing concerns potential candidates might have related to the industry, your company, employees’ benefits, career opportunities, etc.
7. Reroute Candidates
Just because a person is not an excellent fit right then and there doesn’t mean you should lose a talented candidate altogether. Rerouting is different from building a talent pool. It means that while you keep the details and info in your database, you also recommend that candidate to another of your locations or even departments.
Rerouting works best for retail and hospitality and other organizations with multiple offices in the same city. Maybe the schedule of another of your shops or locations is a better fit for a candidate. In this way, instead of losing good employees to the competition, you get to keep them within the organization.
Modern Recruitment Strategies: Final Thoughts
Most companies have some recruiting strategies in place. However, in a candidate-driven market, organizations must adjust and enhance their recruitment strategies to find and retain elite candidates. Some companies rely on AI and automation, others treat recruiting as they treat marketing for products or services. However, since the one-size-fits-all principle is old and inefficient, recruiting strategies resemble marketing. Test all solutions, see what works, adjust, improve, repeat.
Are you currently running any or all these methods we discussed today? Do you have other suggestions for recruiters and CEOs?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter!
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