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Talent Acquisition Strategy: Attract Right Employees

Attracting the right employees for a company’s open positions can be a nightmare for the human resources department, without a talent acquisition strategy in place. Oftentimes, applicants are missing that crucial element that makes them remarkable, from their actual accomplishments to the right endorsements. Plus, hiring the wrong candidate can cost employers anywhere from $25,000-$50,000. That’s definitely not a trivial amount for an organization of any size and especially for startups and growing companies.

There are some tactical measures, that go along with a company’s talent acquisition strategy, that can assist hiring managers to nab the brightest candidates, mainly by customizing how the search is conducted.

While this isn’t a difficult task, it does take some thoughtful review of the talent acquisition strategy, thorough investigation and tactical execution. Ultimately, though, the results far outweigh any extra effort employers or hiring managers may have to put in, since they will be gaining quality candidates. 

Here’s how to get started:

Write Targeted Job Descriptions

When you want to attract the right candidates, you have to begin with the a well-thought-through job description as a starting point in implementing your talent acquisition strategy. Go beyond the generic and input what’s really important. Consider listing the following:

  • A short description of a typical day
  • Additional materials a candidate can submit, such as a work portfolio or a recommendation
  • How performance is measured for employees
  • Why a candidate should work at your company over another
  • Who’s in charge of hiring in case the applicant has questions or wants to follow up
  • The next steps in the hiring process
  • Consider adding a relevant video

Additionally, be sure to portray what sort of organization you are, from your talent acquisition strategy  to company culture and what makes you so awesome. This is how organizations can appeal to applicants at personal as well as professional levels, both critical to productivity.

Get to Know Candidates as They Apply

Ever wish you could eliminate candidates that are a poor match from those that fit right in, before they step in for an interview? Why not have candidates answer questions as they are applying? This simple yet high-impact piece of the recruiting puzzle enables recruiters to identify candidates that can be separated out immediately from those who they would like to get to know better. Fact: Asking the right questions upfront in the application essentially makes “pre-screening” a lot more effective. With Simplicant, the process is completely customizable, which makes implementing a solid talent acquisition strategy a lot easier. With the help of an applicant tracking and recruiting software platform, not only can the hiring managers ask questions in many different formats, they can also request information such as videos, attachments and other relevant information that would help in bringing the right candidates to the surface.

It’s also important to understand what questions to ask potential employees. For instance, most hiring managers ask about strengths and weaknesses. Its a good idea to be more specific so you can gauge how a candidate would work in real situations within your organization. What was their biggest accomplishment to date? What’s a huge blunder they fixed? What sort of software do they have experience with? What sets them apart from the other guy? What are their thoughts on travel and possibly working over the weekends if required? These questions allow recruiters to understand the approach of the candidate in different situations, as well as how they may be able to translate these approaches to a new organization. Incorporate these into your hiring workflow as you implement your talent acquisition strategy

Spread Your Message on the Right Platforms

According to a recent infographic, one in six job seekers found their last job through social networking. So, it’s important for recruiters and employers to promote these jobs, not only through social networks, but the right social networks – and do it in a targeted way as part of an overall talent acquisition strategy.

For instance, if your ideal candidates have no presence on Twitter, you probably won’t get the right applicants if you start blasting the job on that platform alone. Instead, you can figure out where candidates have a presence by simply monitoring industry topics, hashtags, blogs, retweets, etc. Additionally, it may be a good idea to check out industry studies or resources that note where candidates have the most social activity. When you prepare beforehand, you’ll be able to promote accordingly and will likely gain better results.

Ensure Alignment With Company Brand And Culture

This is probably the most important step when you want to attract the right employees. As part of your talent acqusition strategy, look for candidates that reflect values that resonate with your company culture and values. For instance, if your company’s business leverages eco-friendly practices and a potential employee thought the concept of “going green” was just a phase, you may have a problem on your hands. When values don’t align, it will eventually get reflected in the performance.

Instead, do your research and make sure candidates have the work history, knowledge, and most importantly, the passion for the industry and the organization that you’re seeking. These are some basic yet high-impact ways of attracting those who are a good match for your organization and are likely to contribute to your company’s success while separating out everyone else.

What do you think? What are some other key elements of a talent acquisition strategy that help in attracting the right employees?

Photo by Ross Sneddon on Unsplash