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The recruitment landscape is constantly changing, and recruiters need a dynamic approach to keep up with current trends. To truly flourish, recruiters need to be open to changing technology, processes and ways of thinking. Some still maintain the old ‘that’s how we’ve always done it, so that’s how it will stay’ mentality, but this mindset is a sure-fire nail in the recruiters’ coffin – in these highly-competitive times, with the ‘war for talent’ ever present, it’s adapt or die.
It’s the norm for modern recruiters to harness new technology to source better candidates and help build their talent pools. But there’s more to it than smart software and techy tools – the attitude and principals behind the practices are what will support a winning recruitment strategy.
Understanding what makes candidates and employees tick is key to attracting and retaining the most talented candidates, and this can only be done by fully utilising the resources available to you. A successful Talent Pool shouldn’t be regarded as some stagnant pond where candidates sit around waiting to be employed – it should be utilised to delve deeper into candidates' needs and desires when it comes to looking for their next career step.
The grey area between ‘Candidate’ and ‘Employee’
A Talent Pool is regarded as containing either one or the other, but there is a middle ground between candidate and employee which requires nurturing. These candidates are not only potential employees to be placed, but can become brand advocates and provide valuable insights for recruiters.
In recruitment it’s easy to get tunnel vision and always be focused on the end result: placing a candidate in a position. But creating a fruitful Talent Pool sometimes means playing the long game; converting candidates into employees is a process that involves nurturing candidates at every stage of this process, even if part of this process is that a candidate decides to look elsewhere or take a job through someone else. Remembering that candidates are real people with their own individual personality and goals, not just ‘candidate’, ‘interviewee’ or ‘employee’, is important to creating and nurturing positive engagement, and with a combination of tools, tech, and the right attitude, you can achieve this.
Think community not candidates
Talent Pools are in a constant state of flux, with candidates coming and going all the time. By thinking about building a community, rather than simply hoarding candidates, you’ll create a stronger, more valuable pool of people. Social media is the obvious choice for achieving this, but should be used with caution. Ensure you aren’t just posting content for the sake of it; do so with purpose and consideration of your target audience, and what motivates, interests and engages them. Tailor what you share on social to the specific audience you’re targeting, and the platform you’re posting from – what works for LinkedIn may fall flat on Facebook. By staying relevant and useful to the candidates you’re targeting, you’ll be able to build an engaged community of people, not just a hit-list of candidates.
Have massive passive candidate appeal
Passive candidates are just active candidates in waiting. Not everyone will be relentlessly searching for a job; passive candidates will be receptive if the right opportunity presents itself. This is why recruiters need to make the most of carefully-crafted engagement and stay on top of their social media out-put, as this could be just what catches the attention of these passive candidates and tips them over the edge into your Talent Pool.
Interesting, useful content, quick and regular communication, and being open and available will all boost your appeal to the passive candidate market. Always ensure you’re giving a positive candidate experience, remaining relevant and considering their needs, and making yourself accessible – minimising the effort it takes for candidates to communicate with you will help win them over.
Measuring for success
Evaluating the effectiveness of your recruitment efforts is essential to improving. But this isn’t just through your analytics – social data can provide ongoing insights into candidate behaviour, attitude, and understanding what works for them. Tracking and analysing your social out-put can reveal where your strengths and weaknesses lie; use this data to fine-tune your recruitment strategy, keeping your content relevant and your Talent Pool engaged.
Getting straight to the source
Another benefit of data analysis is that you can easily identify which sourcing methods are successful – this covers quality as much as quantity. Ask yourself questions like ‘does LinkedIn help promote a professional image of your company and encourage people to connect’ or ‘do people begin their journey with you by engaging with your content, such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook posts?’ It’s these in-depth insights that are key to creating an evergreen strategy that delivers results.
Influence encourages action
Finding out what encourages a positive response from candidates, and what drives them to engage with something is not an exact science. It will largely be down to a combination of how you craft a valuable candidate experience, knowing what makes your audience tick, and having a solid employer brand. Don’t overlook the importance of building credibility and trust by undermining your audience. Stay authentic, seek to build relationships built on mutual respect and a genuine desire to remain useful to candidates, and keep a dynamic and open-minded approach to the changing recruitment landscape.
Recruiting with honesty, integrity, and a positive attitude, supported by research and continual evaluation of what works (and what doesn’t) will help you build a solid recruitment strategy to withstand whatever the future of recruitment holds.
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