A 2016 SHRM survey of more than 2,300 HR professionals reported that recruiting was their top challenge. When it comes to talent acquisition, originality is far from the key factor. If you come across a strategy that works, adapt it to your own organization. As SHRM Talent Acquisition blogger Tim Sackett says, “You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. If a tactic works really well for someone else, copy it, and it likely will work really well for you, too.” That’s why the strategies provided by these talent acquisition leaders are versatile and affordable enough to be incorporated into your familiar practices.
Branding and Building Talent
These strategies are all about making your organization look good to the people you want working for you.
- Maximize employee referrals. “Every employee should be a recruiter for the company,” says Tom Darrow, chair of the SHRM Foundation’s board of directors. In companies with 10,000 employees or more, 96 percent claimed referrals were their number one source of new hires; in companies with 100 employees or less, 80 percent listed referrals as their number one.
- Brand your company as a great place to work. Prospective employees aren’t going to make the effort to join your organization if they don’t know what to be expecting, not only in terms of their specific job position, but also your company culture in general.
- Be willing to spend just as much on talent as your competitors, and be transparent about what you offer. Your compensation for valuable talent should be comparable to that of your competition so it is clear how highly you value true talent.
High Tech and High Touch Approach
These strategies are meant to keep you in touch with modern technology so that all aspects of your organization are easily accessible.
- Simplify job applications. According to career builder, about 60 percent of job seekers quit in the middle of filling out online applications based solely on length or excessive complexity. Today’s jobseekers are used to fast, simple, and mobile-friendly—your job applications should have those same qualities.
- Retain the personal touch. Just because it is online doesn’t mean it needs to be cut-and-dry professionalism. You still want to give off a vibe of welcoming and enjoyable company culture, especially through your online platforms.
- Embrace the idea of remote employees. Allowing for remote work, even if it’s only part-time, can expand your applicant pool twice as wide. Over 80 percent of today’s workforce wants to work remotely in some way—offer that flexibility, and you’ll have more applicants than you expected.
There is an endless amount of talent out there—you just need to attract it and maintain it. A great way to determine if your current and future employees have the talent your organization calls for is by implementing an employee assessment. Companies that offer assessments for everything from incoming entry-level employees to management roles, such as Talexes, can be a valuable tool in your acquisition and hiring processes.
