Blogs by Jesna Mathews

Recruitment Strategies and New Trends

13 Oct 2020

In today’s world of rapid technological advancement and its unique set of challenges like the ongoing pandemic, recruitment has become very difficult. Hiring employees has become much more difficult now than at any other time in modern history, mainly for two reasons. The first is that openings are now filled more often by hiring from an outside source than by promoting from within. Less promotion internally means that hiring efforts are no longer concentrated on entry-level jobs and recent graduates. The second reason hiring is so difficult is that employee retention has become tough.

Here are some best practices in recruitment which can be implemented in your organization to improve hiring of talented candidates:

Diversify your applicant listing when recruiting employees

Diverse candidate pool will flock top talent to your organization which can be achieved by different strategies mentioned here:

  • Make the listing interesting by choosing relevant job titles and keywords in the job description.
  • Use your creativity to make the job advertisement more appealing to potential candidates as it goes a long way in recruiting the best fit for the organization.
  • Utilize different social media channels while recruiting. Although LinkedIn is the most popular choice among recruiters, the other channels like Facebook or Instagram are also very beneficial. Talent communities like Stack Overflow, GitHub are great for engineering roles.
  • Make your employees the sales people of your company by engagement so that they represent the current face of your organization in terms of business, technology, benefits, culture and job security. They can market the organization at job events, job fairs and social events as well as informally through the contacts in their network to the interested applicants which would simplify the process in getting the best fit for the job role.
  • Market your company culture through the company website and social media channels to attract top talent who are aligned with the mission, vision and values of the organization.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion is the latest trend as diverse executive boards generate better returns for the organization. Diverse groups bring breadth of mind and opinion and are generally happier thus leading to lower attrition rates. Diverse groups produce more revenue and are more agile. Folowing are the different ways in which you can ensure you are sourcing candidates diversely:

  • Look in the right places by posting on websites and forums like Diversity Jobs, Hire Autism and Pink Jobs that cater to diverse and wide range of talent.
  • Write an inclusive job description.
  • Make your commitment to diversity clear on the careers site.
  • Teach yourself how to avoid unconscious biases.
  • Be authentic about your diversity goals.

Here are technological trends that recruiting professionals need to take advantage of in their quest to attracting the top talent:

  • Recruiters are turning to recruitment software to help them increase the efficiency of the process.Most of the organizations are using some form of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).ATS help document employee records, and the associated recruitment history and activity. And most importantly, it helps ensure compliance under different state laws that government talent recruitment and onboarding processes.
  • Hiring Managers are using Big data analysis to provide insights to businesses to make strategic hiring decisions.In HR, utilizing a data-driven approach to people analytics allows employers to discover valuable insights on employee performance and satisfaction and what influences their productivity and motivation.
  • Artificial intelligence(AI) is being used to take care of your most repetitive tasks like CV screening, searching candidates that match criteria like LinkedIn recruiter which is an AI enabled recruitment software. Other AI-based technologies – Chatbots – helps you respond to different candidate questions. AI helps reduce the workload, especially where you have to handle repetitive tasks. And, that simplifies your job, improves the general ‘customer’ experience and also leads to huge savings of time resource.

Hire the Best Fit when recruiting employees

“As Past Behavior is a predictor of future behavior”, it is best to look for proven record of applicants with good background in place of selecting potential candidates. Look out for the following traits in the applicants:

  • Competency.
  • Long Haul or commitment to the company.
  • Team Player.
  • Culture Alignment.
  • Attitude.

Give Preference to Internal recruitment/In-house employees

If you hire candidates from an outside source first , existing staff may get demotivated, this may lead to employee turnover. Internal candidates already know the operation of the organization, so it is best to utilize them to their fullest potential before recruiting externally. Hence, Internal recruitment is the best place to start because of the following reasons:

  • Saves time and money.
  • Reduces training and development time.
  • Improves productivity.
  • Improves morale and motivates the employees.
  • Facilitates promotion or succession planning.

Employer Branding/Recruitment Marketing

If your organization has a good reputation and image in market, top talent will automatically be interested in vacancies in the firm. Employer Branding or recruitment marketing can be achieved using the following ways:

  • Know your company’s unique value proposition or Employee Value Propsition (EVP) which includes salary,compensation and benefits (supplementary compensation, values, mission & purpose, people and culture)
  • Conduct an employer brand audit.
  • Write an employee value proposition.
  • Leverage current employees.
  • Cultivate a strong onboarding process.
  • Offer learning and development (L & D) opportunities.
  • Use video, blog posts, photos and slideshows to tell your company story.
  • Create a strong diversity and inclusion initiative.

Involve your employees in the Hiring Process

Utilizing the network and contacts of your existing employees can drastically improve the recruitment process and esnure the benefits mentioned here:

  • Creates more accountability.
  • Connects employees with company success.
  • Eases onboarding.
  • Makes for a stronger cultural fit.

Pay better than you Competition

Make sure to stay on top of industry trends regarding compensation, and make sure that your organization is at the head of the pack in terms of offerings. The following strategies can be used to ensure better pay:

  • Take note of the competitive advantage of the employers in the same line of business.
  • Analyze how they approach marketing.
  • Understand their financial standings and budget.
  • Analyze their onboarding and T& D programs.
  • Project positive image of the company.

Use the benefits the firm offers to your advantage in recruiting employees

Everything other than pay package ranging from reimbursement for continuing education to vacation discounts, PTO,401k, health benefits which includes HSAs, FSAs & HRAs and free snacks/meals can help attract top talent and sway them your way when making a job decision. Organizations can take the help of a Professional Employer organization(PEO) which can help with the benefits

Hire the Person best fit for the role you can Find

It is best to use the approach mentioned here for finding the smartest person you can find. “Hire for strengths; don’t expect to develop weak areas of performance, habits, and talents. Build on what is great about your new employee in the first place.” Following strategies can be employed to find out if the applicant is best for the job:

  • Figure out what role they will play beyond job description.
  • Have some basic idea of what their job duties and responsibilities in their current firm.
  • Watch out for an ego or attitude problem.

Use Your Website As a Powerful tool for Recruiting

If there’s a clear, well designed website marketing the company and user-friendly career section with information on open job opportunities, it will be easier to attract top talent to the organization. A website can be become a powerful tool for recruiting by incorporating the following features:

  • Your company’s history.
  • An easy way to look at open positions.
  • Display the current work and achievements of the firm.
  • Introduce the management team.

Check references when recruiting employees

Eventhough an applicant is the best match for the job and you are super excited to onboard them, make sure to devote time to do background check of the prospective employee.The folowing are benefits of checking references:

  • It helps in verifying the information already provided by the applicant.
  • Offers additional information on an applicant’s skills, performance, knowledge and work history from a source other than the candidate themselves.
  • Helps you assess the applicant’s potential for success in the position.
  • Helps you rank the applicants and move to a final selection.
  • Protects the organization from claims of negligent hiring.

Remote Working

When COVID-19 forced companies all over the world to send their employees home to work virtually, remote work had a big moment. Working remotely can give employees the time and environment needed to make healthy choices and the following benefits:

  • Better Work-Life Balance as it offers flexible schedules to employees.
  • Less Commute Stress and hence employees get more time to care for their mental and physical well being.
  • Location Independence offers broader range of job opportunities that aren’t limited by geographic location.
  • Improved Inclusivity as some onsite jobs may not include employees with disabilities or caregivers.
  • Money Savings increase as expenses like Gas, car maintenance, transportation, parking fees, a professional wardrobe, lunches bought out, and more can all be reduced or eliminated from your spending entirely. These savings add up and put more money back into your pocket.
  • Positive Environmental Impact as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions from cars.
  • Impact on Sustainability by reducing pollution, congestion and traffic.
  • A Customizable Office can be created if you need an ergonomic chair, or you have health issues that lead to needing specialized office equipment, you can set up your home office and make it whatever you want.
  • Productivity and Performance increase as Working from home usually leads to fewer interruptions, less office politics, a quieter noise level, and less or more efficient meetings.
  • Remote, flexible workers tend to be happier and more loyal employees, in part because working from home has been shown to lower stress, provide more time for hobbies and interests, and improve personal relationships, among other things.

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