If you want to attract the best and brightest talent, take a closer look at your recruitment strategy. Building a holistic recruitment strategy can position your business to find and hire top-level candidates. With some research and planning, you can quickly boost your recruitment efforts to land the right candidates. Here are six key elements of a recruitment strategy to serve as a framework to set you up for success.
Workforce planning
Before you even write a job description, plan and align your expectations with hiring managers. That means leveraging data to help you target the right candidates and conducting intake meetings with hiring managers using that data to guide the conversation. Intake meetings are crucial so human resources and hiring managers understand the recruiting goals and ideal candidate profiles, especially when hiring for new or unique positions. Come prepared for these meetings with data on the number of potential candidates available in a given market, insights on salary expectations, and the market cost of each position.
Candidate sourcing
Rather than waiting for candidates to come to you, be proactive in your recruiting. Start by considering the employees you already have working for you. Internal recruiting can save you time and money and increase employee satisfaction. Identify the top-performing employees who may be interested in a promotion or, in some cases, a new role on a different team.
In addition to internal recruiting, you can develop a talent network of candidates interested in learning about job openings as they arise. According to Lever, a recruiting software company, only 36% of people in the workforce are actively looking for jobs, but 90% are willing to learn more about opportunities. A talent pipeline can help you go after those passive candidates who may be great fits for your business.
Applicant data
Simplify the recruitment process by having one place to search your candidate data. Use a database that harnesses the power of having all your candidates together in one location instead of logging into your applicant tracking software, inbox, or multiple systems to find people. This database can also identify applicants who have already engaged with your company in the past instead of starting from scratch.
Additionally, take advantage of semantic search, which means selecting a system that understands what you mean, not just what you type. For human resources managers, one of the biggest time wasters can be seeing candidate search results that don't match the profile of what they're seeking.
Matching technology
Have you invested in candidate matching technology? It will save resources by removing a step in the sourcing process. When you don't have to spend significant time on Boolean search strings and updating searches, it results in a shorter time-to-hire.
Matching technology eliminates the wait for candidates, allowing you to go after them proactively based on their suitability. You should be able to see all the jobs you have to fill and automatically view matched candidates who are more likely to respond to your offer. In this way, matching technology shortens the time it takes to reach out, interview, and make the hire.
Candidate experience
The next step in your recruitment strategy should be to get your message to suitable candidates and keep them engaged. The candidate experience includes creating campaigns and sending targeted marketing emails to encourage top candidates to take action. You should be able to access real-time analytics to determine who to contact next based on their actions. That way, you'll be ready with a list of the top candidates so you can pick up the phone and call them straight away.
As you engage with candidates, remember they're also getting their first impressions of your business. Provide a good candidate experience by offering detailed specifics about the role and answering their questions transparently. Aim to follow up with interested candidates quickly to avoid dropouts.
"As you engage with candidates, remember they're also getting their first impressions of your business."
Quality interviewing
Choose the initial candidates you want to interview and set up phone screenings. Keep these phone interviews short, around 20 minutes or less, to learn about a candidate's interest in the job, top skills, and communication abilities. Though brief, a screening interview can help determine whether a candidate may be a good fit for your business.
Once you narrow down the initial candidates to your top choices, conduct full interviews, either in-person or through remote video technology. Ensure you have a list of questions to ask each candidate. Interviews are two-way conversations, so be prepared to answer candidates' queries about the company. These provide an opportunity for you to sell the job to candidates. Some benefits you can highlight in interviews include:
- Career growth
- Company culture
- Employee benefits
- Diversity and inclusion efforts
- Professional development opportunities
- Work-life balance
A holistic recruitment strategy focuses on workforce planning, proactive sourcing, and a positive candidate experience. Make sure you consider each element as you recruit candidates for open positions. This strategy can ensure you're successful in finding and hiring the top talent for your business.
More tips for a successful recruitment strategy:
Building an inclusive workplace starts with a recruitment strategy that prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Your employees can be a powerful recruitment tool, so consider starting an employee referral program to find under-the-radar candidates.
Stay on top of the latest hiring technologies. Learn how artificial intelligence is changing the recruitment process.
