Every employer’s definition of talent acquisition success is different. But many employers have learned valuable lessons over the years. Recently, we decided to capture some of those lessons so other hiring organizations could benefit. That’s why we asked business and recruiting leaders to share tips for talent acquisition success in the year ahead.
Tips for Talent Acquisition Success
From using predictive analytics to cultivating a sense of community among team members, we received a collection of answers that reads like a practical “how to” playbook. Below, we share the top answers to our question, “What’s your best strategy to gain a competitive advantage in talent acquisition this year?”
- Re-Engineer Your Brand as a Recruiting Tool
- Share Engaging Video Content
- Be Flexible
- Use Predictive Analytics
- Deepen Your Diversity Initiatives
- Assess the Market and Develop Appropriate Goals
- Audit Your EVP and Culture from a Prospect’s Perspective
- Create a Sense of Community
To learn more about how you can make these ideas work for your organization, read the full responses below…
8 Ways to Achieve Talent Acquisition Success in 2023
1. Re-Engineer Your Brand as a Recruiting Tool
We all know how important employer branding has become in the age of social media. But we sometimes overlook it as a true recruiting channel in the overall talent acquisition strategy.
Often it’s used as a marketing tool for selling a company brand. But my best tip is to re-engineer your employer brand so it acts as a recruiting tool. For example:
- Develop lead magnets that link to employee stories.
- Conduct career-building webinars for industry newbies and collect emails or resumes from interested registrants.
- Create quizzes or surveys targeting people who are open to job opportunities, and use these teasers outside your career page to gather more leads.
If you’re an HR or recruiting professional, employer branding challenges you to put on your marketing hat. This year, add a sales hat to that mix so you can attract more qualified candidate leads and close more job offers.
Kelly Loudermilk, Talent Innovator, BuildHR, Inc.
2. Share Engaging Video Content
How many of us would decide to buy a house or a car without knowing vital details? Yet most employers still expect candidates to settle for this kind of hiring experience.
The problem is that smart people don’t have the time or desire to jump through all the traditional job application hoops to find out what’s on the other side. That’s why savvy employers are including more detailed information about jobs on the front end of the recruiting process, so they can attract better talent.
But what about nuanced questions where the answers won’t fit into a tidy bullet point on a job description? Questions like, “What types of challenges does your team solve regularly?” or “What is it like to work with the manager?” This is where video can help.
By recording video answers to these critical questions, recruiters have an indispensable new set of assets that can make candidate outreach more effective. Video also helps employers seem more transparent, which helps them stand out in competitive hiring situations.
Justin Vajko, Principal & Chief Strategy Guy, Dialog
3. Be Flexible
If your company expects to attract and retain talent, you must offer employee experiences that support real flexibility and build your culture around this way of working.
Our new “Work Now” research report found that leaders view the workplace as flexible because of the freedom associated with their role and stature. However, employees don’t experience the same level of flexibility.
Leaders who expect to attract and retain great employees need to listen carefully, move past assumptions based on their personal experience with the organization, and design more connected, flexible experiences for other members of the workforce.
Also, if you’re tempted to rely on pulse surveys for feedback, here’s another tip. While these tools may be helpful, remember you may be viewing results through a biased lens that doesn’t tell a true story.
Instead, move beyond pulse surveys. Engage with employees, listen to their stories, invite them to the table, and co-create the future together. That’s how you can fundamentally improve the way you work.
Douglas Ferguson, President, Voltage Control
4. Use Predictive Analytics
I believe predictive analytics is key to talent acquisition success this year. Predictive analytics is the practice of using data to make predictions about future events. With these tools, you can identify potential candidates for open positions, before jobs are even posted. That means you can get a jump on the competition and hire the most qualified candidates before other organizations can snap them up.
In addition, you can use predictive analytics to assess an individual’s probability of success in a particular role. This means your recruiters can focus on candidates who are most likely to succeed. Ultimately, advanced analytics can help you hire the right people for the right roles, and that can lead to a significant advantage in the war for talent.
Antreas Koutis, Administrative Manager, Financer
5. Deepen Your Diversity Initiatives
The emphasis on workplace diversity has continued to gain momentum. It’s now essential to consider candidates you might otherwise overlook because of their race, gender, or other factors. This isn’t about fulfilling quotas. It’s about expanding recruiting reach by tapping into a more diverse talent pool. Ultimately, this adds depth and dimension to your culture.
Try reaching out proactively to attract candidates from diverse communities. Get out of the office and connect with groups that are underrepresented in the workforce. For example, you can host recruitment events in locations that are convenient for people in these groups.
Partnering with schools in these areas is another way to introduce students to your industry and educate them about related career paths. Internships can also help you connect with young people from diverse backgrounds and help them prepare for future roles in your organization.
Matthew Ramirez, CEO, Rephrasely
6. Assess the Market and Develop Appropriate Goals
Establishing a competitive advantage for talent acquisition success requires a laser focus on both short-term and long-term hiring needs.
Be prepared to investigate the current labor market and integrate leading-edge technologies into your recruitment processes. By investing in data-driven insights, you can develop innovative strategies that differentiate your company from the competition. For example, you can:
- Evaluate the job market in real-time,
- Leverage AI and machine learning to source talent more efficiently and proactively,
- Create proactive employer branding campaigns to showcase your company culture
- Engage with passive candidates through targeted outreach strategies.
In addition, focus on developing a comprehensive remote hiring strategy, because more companies are moving or expanding their operations away from traditional office locations.
Linda Shaffer, Chief People Operations Officer, Checkr
7. Audit Your EVP and Culture from a Prospect’s Perspective
In a highly competitive job market, standing out and showcasing your culture is the biggest competitive advantage you have in attracting new talent.
Now is a great time to be sure your EVP shows prospective employees why they should work for you, what you offer, and how they can contribute. An EVP is simply your shop window for people you want to attract, retain, and help you grow your business.
I recommend auditing your EVP to put fresh eyes on all your candidate touch points. Review your culture, identify your strengths, and analyze your exit survey data. What can you improve? Does your “careers” website accurately reflect your desired EVP?
Get your whole team involved in this assessment process – HR, Talent Acquisition, and Marketing should work together to showcase your organization in the right light across multiple channels.
Charlie Southwell, Marketing Director, Let’s Talk Talent
8. Create a Sense of Community for Talent Acquisition Success
If your company offers remote work, you have a substantial competitive advantage.
Research indicates that remote work opportunities influence candidates’ salary requirements. But remote work structure isn’t the whole package. Candidates are also interested in knowing how employers create an environment that fosters connection among team members who may not work onsite. For instance, it’s critical to create a sense of community in a remote-based organization with practices like these:
- Quarterly strategic team meetings
- In-person team training
- Regular video lunch and learns
- Video town halls
- Hackathons
- Employee resource groups (ERGs)
Research indicates that people with at least 7 work friends are 35% more likely to stay with their employer. In recent interviews with employees who’ve been at our company for more than 2 years, most told us that interacting with their team is a key reason they enjoy coming to work.
Remote is a terrific way to attract new employees, but creating a sense of community is what keeps employees engaged.
Pat Mulvey, Director of Talent Acquisition, Saatva
EDITOR’S NOTE: These talent acquisition success ideas were submitted via Terkel, a knowledge platform that shares community-driven content based on expert insights. To see questions and get published, sign up at terkel.io.
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