It is a candidate’s world now. With different factors such as economic growth, the creation of new jobs due to technological developments, positive international trade and immigration policies, the power lies in the talent’s hands. A competitive job market is one in which many employers are searching for employees, but the amount of available talented employees is not enough to fill the total demand. Employers must now strategize to attract and retain quality hires in a competitive market.
According to IBM’s Institute for Business Value, 1 in 4 workers plan to switch jobs in 2021. Of the 1 in 5 workers who switched jobs last year, 33% identified as Gen Z and 25% as millennial. Compensation is also steadily rising due to the uneven return to employment in certain sectors.
How should employers strategize their hires in their field? Here are some tips from recruitment experts.
1. Measure and Track Current Employees
To understand their successes and failures in past hires, a company must first analyse employee data to determine the factors that contributed to successful recruitment. Questions to ask might include:
Were they active job seekers or passive candidates?
How has the quality of hire varied by source?
How successful have internal promotions and transfers been for your organization?
Which schools are the most successful employees in your company from?
Has the employee worked abroad?
What are some personal characteristics are you seeking in the new hire?
Other metrics such as employee retention, absenteeism, performance appraisals, and supervisor feedback will also give the business a deeper understanding of their hiring history before establishing a successful recruitment history.
2. Understand Your Talent Pool
Most HR executives will agree that retaining a talent pool for present and future opportunities expedite the process of talent searching. Usually, people become part of a talent pool through the regular job application process. Allowing the candidate to express their interest in other roles in the company after being turned away for the specific role they applied for allows for more opportunities for both parties when the opportunity arises. Update your talent pool when new positions open in your company to engage them. Tools such as talent mapping are also commonly utilised by experienced recruiters to analyse the pool of passive talent in your industry. During this process, the goals and responsibilities of the open role are clearly defined. Talent in your industry is then searched and mapped, including your competitors’ market. The goal is to create a shortlist of potential candidates and a database of individuals who may possess skills relevant to your organization and its projects.
Find out about our talent mapping process here.
3. Source Internally
Your clients, connections, and especially your employees are great sources to find talented candidates. Employees are an untapped source of talent and hold unlimited potential. Recruiters should strategize sourcing internally by creating an internal job database, so employees can see open positions. This allows them to apply for jobs themselves, as well as refer external candidates for jobs.
Hiring internally also saves a great deal of money and time, especially in onboarding and training. It also boosts employee morale as they see a tangible way to advance their careers at your company as well as encourages healthy competition within the company, all of which can lead to increased employee satisfaction and retention.
Many recruitment agencies are now using HR software to create a database of internal and external talent. Wondering how to streamline your internal recruitment processes? Learn more about our internal recruitment SaaS, Return-On-Talent SaaS here.
4. Build Your Company's EVP and Reputation
As previously mentioned, your employees are your biggest resource. Another great way to help boost your brand image and reputation in the competitive labour market is to capitalize on your employees. Employees are not only working for your company: they are also seeking to upskill, gain career mobility and grow their network. This is where boosting your Employee Value Proposition comes in:
It’s important to consider that before applying for a job, applicants often turn to online resources such as Glassdoor and Indeed to learn about their prospective employers and employee experience there. Your current employees are free to leave reviews of their experience as well, reinforcing the reputation of your company. Successful HR executives will understand how employee interaction and communication build the company’s brand image and reputation, which will directly affect the pipeline of talent for your company.
5. Enhance your Job Application Process
A successful employer in our competitive job market treats prospective candidates and applicants like customers. All too often, employers make the common mistake of treating job applicants and candidates poorly and disrespectfully. While this may not be done intentionally by using rude language or other related mannerisms, this sentiment can be unintentionally conveyed through poor communication and tone. Other aspects of the job application process such as the marketing strategy of the job post matter too. Even details such as the ease of filling out details on an application will affect the number of people completing the application.
6. Use A Talent Recruitment Firm
Many businesses choose to make themselves stand out by using a professional talent recruitment firm to handle the searching, screening, and qualifying of candidates. The right agency will guide you to achieve your goals and manage your talent, greatly reducing the frustrations of recruiting along the way. A recruitment consultant will be able to analyse and enhance your recruitment process, introduce different talents to your company and hire the next great talent for your company. This is even more important when the company is going through major transformations such as restructuring, building a new team, and creating new roles. A recruitment specialist would ease your recruitment process, offer insights, and attract the right talent in this competitive job market.
At WeLinkTalent, we provide tailored services that go beyond recruitment. Our team of recruitment experts will guide you through the process of expanding your team with our market insights, organizational design expertise, and talent contacts. On top of our recruitment and executive search services, we work with HR managers with the organisational design of the company and onboard new executives for their new roles. Talk to us today.
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