There’s been a major shift in the recruiting world over the past few years and any company needs to adapt its hiring practices to the new paradigm. The job market is now 90% candidate-driven, which means companies no longer enjoy the luxury of sifting through piles of applications making their pick. It’s the other way around – the company needs to make itself attractive to potential employees. This refers primarily to highly-skilled candidates, but it’s not restricted to that.
Focus on Recruitment Marketing
Many believe it to be similar to general marketing, but it is not. All major companies rely on their marketing divisions to advertise their products or services. Brand marketing is directed to the general public, the consumer, while recruitment marketing is aimed at creating a good name for a company as a workplace.
It’s been known to happen for a company to have a solid image to the general public, but a lousy reputation as an employer. Think about Amazon, everybody uses its services, but as a workplace, the company has a rather poor image.
Employers with a poor reputation will struggle to attract the most desirable candidates.
Employer Branding Techniques
The simplest way for a company to promote its image as a good employer is to first build a strong company culture, then share it with the rest of the world. One recruiting method that’s becoming and more and more prevalent is social media recruiting, especially for employers who are looking to target the younger generation.
A company looking to attract new talents to its organisation will dedicate a part of its website to present its mission and its vision, as well as offer glimpses into the company’s life – stories about its employees, pictures from important events, workshops or team building adventures. It is essential to also share this type of content on the company’s social media.
The goal is to make a potential employee want to be part of the team.
Read More: Things to look for when recruiting new Employees
Start a Talent Pool
One of the trickiest moments in a company’s life is when an important position becomes suddenly vacant. The whole process of finding a good replacement is time-consuming and often nerve-wracking, especially if that position needs to be filled in a hurry.
A good recruiting strategy is having a talent pool or a database of highly-skilled individuals who might be interested in a new job.
People in the recruiting business need to do a lot of networking to create such a talent pool. Studies have shown that only a third of prospective employees are actually looking for a job. The vast majority are people who already have a job but might be interested in another offer, especially from a company with a good reputation as an employer.
Don’t Forget Background Checks
Even if highly-qualified employees are hard to find, this does not mean a company should forego normal background checks and a national police check. Extensive checks using a reputable organisation, like Australian National Character Check, are essential especially when the future employee will be in contact with vulnerable people. Running a candidate’s name through a police database is a good way to prevent identity theft.
