Gone are the days when companies could simply post openings on job boards and expect responses from a large pool of qualified candidates.
“It’s no longer appropriate to just reactively post on a job board — to post and pray that a correct candidate will submit a resume. You need to have a recruitment strategy,” says Mary Oslin, manager of Talent Acquisition at TriNet, Inc.
“It used to be that managers went to HR about an opening. Now the entire organization needs to be involved in talent acquisition. Managers should be meeting about talent acquisition on a regular basis to determine what recruiters should be pipelining,” Oslin says.
Smart Business spoke with Oslin about how the hiring process has changed, and simple steps to ensure your company’s job openings reach top quality candidates.
What are some current trends in talent acquisition?
Pipelining — having a network of candidates you keep in contact with — is one. For example, IT is always a hot skill set, so your recruiters should be in constant communication with candidates. You may not have a need now, but you may have a need in six months, so you want to be ready with pipelined candidates who have the skills you need.
Mobile recruiting is another trend. With mobile apps, contact is immediate. You might think your employees are checking news headlines when they’re actually applying for a job or negotiating terms. Applicants no longer have to wait until they get home or have a break to correspond with a recruiter. Mobile needs to be one of the tools in your toolkit for talent acquisition. Top talent is making use of mobile apps, and they want to get their resumes in front of a hiring manager as soon as possible. Employers that are only utilizing job boards are losing out to companies that are using mobile apps to reach those candidates immediately.
Focusing on employer branding also has become much more prevalent. A subset of that is the practice of using current colleagues not only for referrals, but to act as ambassadors for the brand via social networking and professional networking sites.
Do strategies change with the level of the job?
Strategies need to fit the candidate. C-level and senior management positions are typically more difficult to fill, so more networking is required. Get involved in professional organizations and professional networking social media sites like LinkedIn. For some administrative jobs, it may be OK to use the old method of posting a job and gathering resumes. But for higher-level and more skilled positions, finding passive candidates through networking is the way to go. Occasionally, great candidates are looking for a job and apply to a posting. However, the real talent is the people who are happy with their jobs and not actively looking to leave.
Is branding particularly important when it comes to attracting passive candidates?
You want your company to be one where people want to work, so be careful about what type of reputation it has in the marketplace. Many employers aren’t aware of how they are perceived.
Survey your employees and find out what can be done to make your company a great place to work. Create an atmosphere where people are happy coming to work, proud to say where they work and willing to post positive workplace developments on social media, such as Glassdoor.
What are some tips to follow to ensure talent acquisition is done well?
Every company should seek to improve its branding and reply to applicants — it’s not good to start developing a reputation of being a black hole. Eventually, word will get around and people will be told not to bother sending you their resume. Establish a procedure to contact the candidates who are not selected, whether by email or phone.
Focus on the candidate experience. Those who are not hired may walk away disappointed, but you want them to be impressed that the process was professional and they were treated with respect. ●
Mary Oslin is a manager of Talent Acquisition at TriNet, Inc. Reach her at [email protected].
Do you need help with your talent acquisition? Visit TriNet, Inc.’s website or ask @TriNet on Twitter.
Insights Human Resources Outsourcing is brought to you by TriNet, Inc.
