For decades, employers have taken a passive approach to their recruitment strategy and relied on the same traditional recruitment methods, such as the post-and-pray model to attract talent. While most employers have now transitioned from posting job ads in the newspaper to posting them on various online job boards, the general strategy of posting a job and just hoping the right candidate applies has remained virtually unchanged for years. A recent study revealed that more than half of the companies surveyed stated that they were having trouble filling vacant job openings. With numbers this high, it is obvious that standard recruitment strategies aren’t producing results anymore.
Why recruitment efforts fail
A major reason that standard recruitment strategies are no longer working is that the job market itself has transformed in recent years. Record low unemployment and the increase in online employer review sites has put more power in the hands of the applicant. This candidate-driven market is forcing employers to reevaluate how they recruit talent.
The job market also is more diverse today than perhaps anytime in history. With baby boomers facing retirement, millennials now make up the majority of the workforce. This new generation has different career goals and new workplace demands. On top of this, they also have access to a massive amount of information about the employer before they even apply for the job.
Employers are finding out the hard way that the traditional recruitment techniques are not able to drive the results they need to attract and identify top talent.
What are your biggest hiring challenges?
Employers realizing that job board posting alone are no longer generating the quality of applicants they need. This is partly due to the surge in social media. It is important to reach out to potential candidates where they are, and social media is where they are online. Unfortunately, many employers have not maximized the use of social recruitment in a way that allows them to stand out from their competitors.
Aggressive competition to attract top talent is a major challenge facing employers. In fact, employers are struggling to find ways to outshine their competition to attract not just qualified candidates, but the right qualified candidates. Creating a unique EVP (Employer Value Proposition) and building a personalized candidate experience can give employers the leverage they need to stand out in today’s busy job market.
Do you know who you want to work for your company?
Retention has become an additional challenge for employers. Improving retention begins with making sure that you hire the right employees the first time. In order to improve the quality of hire, you must first know who you want to work for your company. What does your ideal candidate look like?
You should understand who your ideal candidate is, how they behave online, where to find them online, what their goals are and other valuable data. This level of candidate insight not only can help you find the “right” candidate, but it can help you hire faster, while still improving retention.
5 key metrics to use when choosing the right recruitment strategy for your company
When choosing a recruitment strategy for your company using the right recruiting metrics is an essential part of the process. However, not all recruitment metrics are the same. Especially if you just started to use data to drive the hiring process. Tracking these five key metrics should help you to improve your recruitment efforts, provide insight into your current job market potential but also help you choose the best recruitment strategy for your company.
1. Time-to-Fill
2. Time-to-Hire
3. Source of Hire
4. Quality of Hire
5. First-Year Attrition
There is no doubt about it – recruitment has changed. It is no longer a one-size-fits-all approach. To hire better-qualified candidates, you need to understand your biggest recruitment challenges, identify who you want to work for your company and track vital metrics in order to determine which multi-channel approach best meets your company’s recruitment goals.
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