Recruiting qualified candidates is essential to building a strong, successful team. And while internal promotions are often ideal, there are times when you need to look outside your organization to find the right fit. That’s where a thoughtful, well-rounded recruiting strategy comes in. By taking a deliberate approach to how you attract and evaluate candidates, you’ll be better positioned to bring in talent that aligns with your company’s goals and culture. Below are four proven external recruiting strategies to help guide your efforts.
1. Establish your company’s brand
If you haven’t already defined your brand identity, you need to. This lays the groundwork for recruiting and sets the stage for success. Whether you realize it or not, every company has a reputation in the marketplace, but it’s up to you to be deliberate in shaping your brand identity. Take measures to define your brand, so it’s an accurate reflection of who you are. By doing this, you’ll have a better chance of attracting high-quality candidates that are a good fit for your company.
Establishing your company’s brand is more than just a catchy PR campaign; it needs to come from within the company. To start, identify what makes your organization unique and make your core values known throughout the company. If your brand identity is established with your current employees, you can build a strong reputation through their word-of-mouth influence. Since they already work at the company, they’re a credible source, and the most effective ambassadors to represent your business.
Of course, you may need to fill positions in short order, meaning you won’t have a significant amount of lead time to refine your brand identity prior to your search. That’s okay, but don’t delay. You can concurrently work on establishing your brand identity and recruiting, so your brand identity is well-defined prior to future recruiting efforts.
2. Build a competitive benefits package
Unsurprisingly, organizations that pay premium salaries are successful in attracting qualified candidates. However, it’s not always feasible to lead the market when it comes to pay. But you can set yourself apart (and boost your recruitment efforts) with an attractive benefits package.
While traditional, bread-and-butter benefits such as health care and 401(k) plans are important, consider adding less conventional benefits. For example, student loan assistance is one of the most sought-after benefits if you’re looking to attract young workers. Or, for budget-friendly perks, offer work-from-home or relaxed dress code options. Job candidates will consider your benefits package as a whole, so do your research, find out how to be competitive (without breaking the bank), and think outside the box to create an attractive benefits package. This will also help you retain employees!
3. Create candidate profiles
You can’t find who you’re looking for unless you’re crystal clear on what you’re looking for. Solicit input from department managers at the beginning of the recruiting process to define job requirements. Once you’re clear on the job requirements, create corresponding candidate profiles.
To create a meaningful candidate profile, make a list of what a new hire’s work duties will include, desired traits and qualifications, and what your company hopes to achieve with the addition of the role. Also, don’t make the mistake of recycling an old job description. Roles will evolve over time, so you need to keep them relevant, yet forward-looking.
As you’re going through this exercise, remind managers to be realistic when they’re defining the requirements. Oftentimes, managers will create requirements based on the “ideal candidate,” who may even exceed the actual position requirements. While you want to aim high and find the most qualified candidates, you must also be realistic about the applicant pool and potential candidates you’ll find.
4. Use a multi-channel approach
Knowing where to promote open positions can be half the battle when you’re on the hunt to hire. One thing’s for sure — to be successful in finding candidates, don’t use a “one-and-done” approach. In other words, don’t just post the position on your website and call it good. To find the best people, you need to be strategic about it.
Before you post the position, think about the behaviors of your target pool of candidates, and focus on the channels they frequent. For example, if you’re hiring for entry-level positions, post on social media channels that younger candidates frequent. Or, depending on your business, you may have industry-specific job boards or professional associations where you can post openings. There are tons of avenues to explore! For more ideas, head over to our blog: 14 Places To Find and Recruit Top Talent.
Get help with recruitment
When it comes to attracting and engaging qualified candidates, you don’t have to do it alone. Our human capital management (HCM) solution, UKG Ready, can help by streamlining the talent acquisition process. From configurable online applications to resume parsing, a job board integration, automated communications and strategic insights, UKG Ready takes on the heavy lifting, so you can focus on engaging the right people. To learn more about how we can help you with recruiting, contact us today.
Editor's Note: This blog has been updated to reflect the most recent content.
