There’s no denying that the talent shortage is real and that it’s negatively impacting companies, team members, and customers. According to Manpower Group, 75% of employers report having challenges filling important vacancies.
As is often the case, the burden falls on the capable shoulders of recruiting professionals to fill those roles. However, recruitment marketers can’t rely solely on the same old tricks to thrive in today’s talent environment. They’ll need to add new strategies into their existing talent acquisition framework.
Here are 10 proven talent acquisition strategies to overcome today’s challenges:
Creating an authentic employer value proposition (EVP) is foundational to any recruitment marketing strategy, as it showcases why candidates should choose a particular organization. As well, a compelling employer brand reflects a company’s unique value to potential candidates.
Genuine storytelling resonates with job seekers and fosters interest. With clear EVP and employer brand messaging, companies can use multiple channels to share authentic stories about their workplace. Social media, career websites, and programmatic ads are key parts of the puzzle. These channels allow businesses to meet job seekers where they are and deliver timely, relevant messaging.
This messaging also builds trust in a business, which is critical to employer brand success.
Not every business will need to overhaul its brand completely. Some can simply refresh their image for today’s talent. Others may need to scrap their current approach and create an all-new EVP that plays to modern job seekers’ interests and pain points.
Action item: Review existing EVP and employer brand messaging for strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement. Track performance metrics and adjust strategies as needed to optimize results.
It's important for hiring professionals to recognize that most candidates search for and apply for jobs on their mobile devices. Glassdoor reports that 58% of its users look for jobs using their smartphones. Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Indeed, and many other job search platforms have embraced this trend by continually optimizing their mobile apps.
What does this mean for hiring professionals? For starters, their job descriptions should be mobile-friendly.
They also need to:
Recruiting professionals can also adopt mobile-friendly marketing tools, such as paid social ads. These efforts aim to create a more accessible and positive experience for smartphone-savvy job seekers.
Action item: Audit job descriptions to ensure they are concise, scannable, and mobile-friendly, and evaluate career pages for mobile responsiveness and ease of navigation.
Today’s talent is less tolerant of redundant or drawn-out application processes that are tedious to complete. In fact, 60% of candidates will abandon an application if the process is too long.
A shorter application leads to higher completion rates and gets quality talent into the hiring funnel. Talent acquisition professionals should focus on simplicity and ease of use. It’s also important to allow applicants to save their progress and return later to complete the process.
Shortening the application process is only part of the equation. Businesses should also condense the total evaluation process and reduce the gaps between important phases like skills testing and interviews. Companies need to capitalize on when job seekers are most interested in by providing an efficient hiring experience.
Action item: Design a seamless, mobile-friendly application process that reduces steps and works across all devices. Monitor mobile application rates, ad performance, and user engagement to refine the strategy continuously.
Employee referral programs remain among the most effective ways to source high-quality candidates. By offering compelling incentives and building a referral-friendly culture, companies motivate employees to recommend potential hires. Leveraging tools and tech for referral management streamlines the process and increases participation.
Businesses should consider phased incentives, such as paying a bonus to the referring employee when someone gets hired, completes onboarding, and reaches their one-year anniversary. This approach encourages employees to be more selective about who they recruit, as they want to refer people who will reach all of those milestones.
Action item: Assess the effectiveness of existing referral programs, including participation rates and hire quality. Implement phased incentives and regularly review program metrics, such as referral-to-hire rates and employee engagement, and refine strategies to maintain impact.
Regularly evaluating the effectiveness of recruitment efforts by measuring the ROI and identifying trends or gaps empowers companies to make data-driven decisions. These insights allow talent acquisition teams to effectively refine strategies, allocate resources, and enhance recruitment marketing initiatives.
Action item: Focus on metrics such as recruitment campaign ROI, cost-per-application (CPA), time-to-fill, and cost-per-hire. Track metrics over time to assess the impact of changes and ensure strategies remain aligned with organizational goals.
Tip: VisionTM Analytics from Recruitics allows companies to visualize their recruitment marketing data using an AI-powered platform, giving recruiters total control over their data to unlock crucial insights.
Hiring professionals should focus on the organization’s long-term workforce requirements, and not short-term openings. That means building a robust talent network that can be scaled up or down based on shifts in demand.
Joining industry-specific communities or forming alumni groups is one way to engage with potential candidates before they actively begin a search. Talent acquisition professionals should also cultivate and maintain a strong presence on LinkedIn and other social platforms to position the company as a thought leader and desirable workplace.
Through consistent social media engagement and pipeline-building techniques, companies maintain connections with high-potential talent. Over time, these relationships help hiring professionals build a reliable pool of candidates ready to step into roles as opportunities arise.
Action item: Define long-term workforce goals and target talent profiles to align with organizational objectives. Using the tactics above-mentioned, develop a database of qualified candidates and maintain regular communication to keep them engaged and informed about opportunities.
While decent pay matters to candidates, it isn't the primary value proposition. A raise-the-pay approach to recruiting leads to a bloated payroll and pushes a company into bidding wars.
Hiring professionals must showcase what today’s workers value, such as flexible work arrangements; fifty-eight percent of people value the opportunity to work flexible schedules. Tailored to address the organization's unique needs, companies may offer fully remote opportunities, hybrid roles, or flexible start and end times.
The goal is to accommodate quality talent without compromising the company’s mission or needs. Hiring professionals who strike this balance improve hiring outcomes and employee satisfaction.
Action item: Assess the organization's roles, determine which positions are suited for remote, hybrid, or flexible schedules, and highlight in job descriptions and recruitment marketing efforts. Track metrics such as application rates, employee retention, and hiring success to assess the impact of offering flexible work options.
Forming partnerships with educational institutions helps create a talent pipeline. By building relationships with schools and universities, companies gain access to emerging talent early on, fostering loyalty among students and recent graduates.
For example, a large corporation teaming up with a local university to offer internship opportunities to analysts, accounting majors, IT students, and students in any other specialties could fill a talent void. Students would earn real-world experience and boost their resumes, and the company would recruit the most talented program participants. It’s a win-win situation.
Additionally, keep in touch with past interns and graduates to maintain a continuous talent pipeline for future hiring needs.
Action item: Research and select schools, universities, and technical programs that align with organizational goals. Actively engage with students and recent graduates by hosting career fairs, guest lectures, or networking events to build the company’s brand on campuses.
While technology has reshaped recruiting, maintaining personal connections remains vital. Talent acquisition professionals should balance automation and human interaction to build meaningful relationships with candidates. Virtual career fairs and one-on-one video interviews are great examples of how to blend the human touch with modern tech tools.
Recruitment professionals should also be careful not to remove the human element when using AI and analytics. Data analytics tools are meant to inform decision-making and complement the instincts of skilled recruitment marketing professionals, not to replace hiring professionals altogether.
By incorporating high-touch elements and data analytics principles, organizations deliver personalized experiences that are fair, transparent, and engaging and set the stage for lasting and mutually beneficial employee relationships.
Action item: Train recruitment teams to effectively combine tech tools with personal interactions, emphasizing empathy, responsiveness, and candidate experience. Provide clear, personalized communication to candidates throughout the hiring process, ensuring they feel valued and informed.
Modernizing assessment techniques enhances candidate quality while improving the hiring experience. Skills-based assessments and innovative interview methods help companies assess candidates on more than just qualifications. Additionally, cultural fit evaluation and behavioral assessments ensure that potential hires align with company values.
Revising the assessment process allows businesses to tap into non-traditional talent pools and reduce the risk of bad hires. Organizations should evaluate candidates based on their skills rather than their resumes and educational background. While past experiences are important, hard and soft skills are equally valuable to assessing fit and performance capabilities.
Action item: Create assessment criteria that weigh both hard (technical) and soft skills (communication, adaptability, etc.) to get a holistic view of a candidate's potential. Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of assessment methods by tracking hiring success and making adjustments based on feedback and results.
Today’s recruiting challenges demand adaptive, forward-thinking strategies. By modernizing employer branding, leveraging mobile-first solutions, and embracing analytics and data, companies create a recruiting process that appeals to a modern talent pool.
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Applying these strategies requires a data-driven approach. At Recruitics, our solutions blend the human touch with actionable data to inform recruiting efforts and help businesses find, hire, and keep quality talent. Contact us to learn more.
