Recruitment experts agree that the current job market isn’t just candidate-driven, but that candidates also have an advantage when it comes to choosing their ideal positions. At some point, the number of job vacancies surpassed the number of candidates who are actively looking for work or new opportunities. And this means that current candidates have more options than ever when it comes to choosing the right company to work for.
Nowadays, it’s not enough to simply know how to identify top talent. Hiring managers also need to be able to entice these highly desirable and sought-after individuals. Gone are the days when candidates were vying for highly competitive positions with top companies. Now, the companies are the ones vying for the attention of the candidates. Every company has its own unique ever-evolving hiring process in place—and that’s exactly how it should be. But recruitment strategies in 2019 dictate that companies need to work harder when it comes to identifying and attracting candidates, as well as increasing their employee retention rates.
How to Identify Top Talent and Expand Your Candidate Pool
There are a few key steps you can take to guarantee that your talent pool is packed with the crème de la crème of professional candidates within your industry.
Create an Ideal Candidate Database
This may seem counterintuitive considering the objective is to attract candidates you don’t have access to, but it actually makes a lot of sense once you work out the logistics. The idea here is to amass the contact information of as many candidates in your industry as you possibly can and then narrow the list down.
As grueling as this may seem, it’s better to start off with a large list of candidates and keep your options open rather than limiting your hiring capabilities. Sometimes, even when you think you’ve hired the right person for the job, things don’t always work out as planned. People end up quitting, under-performing, or leaving to pursue a better opportunity. It’s always better to have a strong backup plan. Keeping a candidate database means you have a list of excellent candidates to refer back to, even if they weren’t your top choice to begin with.
Find Out What Skills Are Needed for Optimal Job Performance
Defining the ideal skills that the position you’re hiring for requires is important. Candidates need to know what they’re getting themselves into. But you should also have a good idea of what you’re looking for and prepare for that. After all, it’s impossible to make good hiring decisions if you don’t even know what type of skill and level of experience each role in your company requires. You could end up repeatedly onboarding the wrong candidates and this will cost you a great deal of money in turnover rates and training in the long run.
Look for Candidates That Fit within Your Company Culture
To add to the last point, it’s not enough to hire people who have the right skills and experience. While this is a great starting point, the candidates you consider for any job should fit within your company culture. So how can you determine this? Try hosting a few public company networking events and encourage your current employees to act as brand ambassadors for your business. Take special note of how prospective candidates interact with your employees and whether they’d be a good fit.
Connect with Referred Candidates
A great way to find top-tier talent to work for your company is to ask your current employees for referrals. Not only is this an excellent method for expanding your existing talent pool, but no one knows what it’s like to work for your company better than your employees. They have valuable insider insights that they can use to persuade other talented candidates to work for you. And, they can also offer valuable feedback to help you strengthen your hiring process and gear it toward greater hiring successes. It’s a win-win because your employees will feel valued and flattered because you’re asking for their help and you get potentially great hires out of it.
Tips for Attracting Candidates That Are Right for the Job
Establish an Efficient and Thorough Interview Strategy
Thanks to a growing job market that favours candidates more than businesses, hiring managers have to be vigilant when conducting interviews. Candidates now have online forums on which they can air their grievances and provide feedback about their application experiences with your company. Straying from the standard and cliché interview questions can help you earn some major points with your top choices. It’s best to personalize your interview questions based on each candidate’s professional experience. This shows that you took the time to actually review their application and it indicates that you’re truly interested in getting to know them.
Assess Their Experience Level
We’ve talked about the difference between skills and experience before. Even if candidates don’t have a certain amount of experience, there are other ways of determining if they’re worth pursuing. Are they willing to learn new things? How passionate are they about what they do? Are they adaptable to new working situations? Come up with pertinent questions that are relevant to your business and try to find candidates that tick off at least most of the items on your list.
Reach Out to Candidates through Social Media
Social media is one of the most popular communication tools used today and by the looks of it, it’s not going anywhere. With more and more web sites and apps springing up, leveraging social media communications is the best way to reach out to potential candidates. Most candidates are more likely to respond to a Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn private message than they are to answer the phone these days. Use this to your advantage.
Proven Employee Retention Strategies
Keeping talented employees is just as important to your business as recruiting new ones. These employee retention tips can help you reduce your turnover rates in 2019.
- Provide opportunities for career advancement
- Offer competitive salaries
- Build a positive and welcoming company culture
- Promote a fair and desirable work-life balance
Working with a Professional Recruitment Agency
For over 20 years, Resolve Recruit Inc. has been matching top-tier working professionals with their dream jobs across a variety of sectors. Our proven recruitment strategies can help you lower your turnover rates, boost employee retention, and help you find the ideal candidates to work for your company. Contact us today to learn more!
