These days the job market is forcing many professionals to rethink their recruitment process. The difficulties of attracting and hiring the right talent calls for leaders to change the way they engage and evaluate candidates.
The majority of recruiters believe that hiring is expected to become more competitive next year, and the greatest challenge in hiring is the lack of high-quality, skilled candidates. Although, it’s been said for years that it’s a tough talent market, we’ve reached the tipping point. There are more jobs than there are people to fill them, the market is nearly at full employment, and recruiters must find new ways to reach prospective hires.
Retention rates are of a higher priority than the time and cost per hire and for many in the business this will force a re-evaluation of exactly what success looks like.
Here are a few tips for recruiters moving forward.
Hone your marketing skills
Instead of focusing solely on promoting open jobs, company’s values and cultures should be brought to attention. There are now new roles being created for recruitment marketing, in hopes of promoting the culture and values of the workplace effectively. Because it’s harder than ever before these roles are designed to attract candidates who fit the bill for the positions that need filled.
The two ways that companies grow their employer brand are through career sites and social media. While LinkedIn is still the most-used platform for recruitment efforts, its use by recruiters has declined. Instead, recruiters are beginning to use social media platforms where the candidates they’re searching for seem to be the most active. These sites include Facebook and Instagram.
Recruiters that have fallen behind in using social and digital strategies will find themselves at a major disadvantage when it comes to the competition of finding talent.
Maintain Employer Reputation
Potential clients are using anonymous employer review sites to get an idea of what life is like at a company. Marketing the brand isn’t enough, it’s important that companies realize the power of reviews. Sites such as Glassdoor deliver insight and feedback about workplaces from those that have been employed there, and it’s free.
To maintain a good reputation follow your company’s Indeed or Glassdoor profiles and receive notifications when there is a new review. You should develop a plan to respond to reviews and encourage more by addressing what is said and providing a thoughtful response. It’s not necessary to respond to each and every one, however having a presence on these websites is helpful for maintaining the employers reputation.
Be flexible
It’s definitely a candidate-driven market at the moment. There are multiple offers and more options than ever for those seeking employment. This has made recruiters a little less picky when it comes to choosing who they hire.
For instance, those recruiting for technology roles are finding that employers have become more relaxed about the years of experience or knowledge of specific systems that a candidate has. While before there would have been required expertise, now if the candidate has knowledge of related software it keeps them in the running.
It’s also become more common for non traditional educational backgrounds to be accepted. Employers are investing more in training programs as the skill sets needed have been shifting. Furthermore, recruiters are taking things such as experience, certification programs, and self-education into consideration.
Consider texting
There has been positive feedback from job seekers who have had communication between recruiters via text message. Everyone values their time and there are certain things that can be communicated over text faster than with a phone call or email. Recruiters have found that it’s a great way to get in touch quickly, especially with candidates who are working.
It’s recommended that recruiters ask permission from candidates first to figure out their communication preferences. While most conversations still need to happen over the phone, there are instances where texting can be a replacement for certain subjects. For things such as simple scheduling information texting has improved communications between recruiters and those seeking employment.
While candidates information and data need to be protected properly, in the future texting can be used to help formalize certain processes of recruitment.