Winning the Recruitment Battle for Top Talent

April 5, 2018

 

iCIMS Staff

3 min read

American businesses are stuck in a talent shortage with seemingly no end in sight. According to the consulting firm ManpowerGroup, 46 percent of employers have trouble finding qualified candidates to fill open positions.

This isn’t to say that qualified candidates don’t exist, but the few who do are highly sought after and have their pick of employers. Therefore, businesses need to pull out all the stops to make themselves attractive to job seekers.

Most would start by evaluating their compensation and benefits offers, which can be helpful to a point. However, a great salary means nothing if the hiring process discourages good candidates. In order to win the recruitment battle and fill open positions with top talent, companies need to focus on the candidate experience throughout the recruitment process. Here are four key strategies to revamp your tactics and bring in top talent.

Use Social Media to Capture Passive Job Seekers

Chances are the most talented candidates are already employed and may not be actively looking for a job at this point. That said, they may be open to hearing about new opportunities, especially if potential employers can give them something their current job lacks.

These individuals are what’s known as passive job seekers, and one of the best ways to find them is through social media. They probably aren’t checking job boards or career sections of company websites, but instead scrolling through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. If they come across a job listing on one of these platforms, they may be intrigued enough to apply.

The Society for Human Resource Management specifically pointed to LinkedIn for finding passive candidates, highlighting the website’s numerous recruitment tools. Since LinkedIn is primarily for professional networking, it makes sense that this website would be great for finding talented candidates.

Prioritize the Candidate Experience During Background Checks

ManpowerGroup found that the hardest positions to fill,skilled trade workers, drivers, teachers, and restaurant and hotel staff, are also those that generally require a background check. Therefore, businesses must also look at their screening processes as they improve their hiring strategy.

An effective background check prioritizes both company and candidate, ensuring businesses don’t lose qualified new hires at the last step. Companies should make sure their screening process satisfies the following criteria:

• Intuitive and easy for candidates to navigate
• Keeps candidates up-to-date on the status of their background check
• Offers mobile support, so candidates can remain connected via their smartphone or tablet

Optimize Recruiting Efforts for Mobile Devices

These days, people don’t wait until they’re in front of a desktop to look for jobs. They now scroll through openings on their phone whenever they have a bit of down time – when in line at the grocery store, while waiting to board a plane, riding in the back of a taxi, etc.

Businesses need to be ready for these candidates by making sure their job listings and background checks run smoothly on mobile. This means that, in addition to ensuring their job postings are accessible on smartphones and tablets, they should allow candidates to upload their applications from these devices as well.

Finding and Hiring Top Talent

The talent shortage is a complex issue that can’t be solved by one single strategy. Rather, businesses need to take review their hiring processes to make sure they remain attractive to candidates. This process includes reviewing their hiring strategies so as not to discourage potential new hires. If companies target passive job seekers, improve their candidate experience and add mobile options, they’re well on their way to filling their teams with qualified employees.