Revamp Your Job Recruitment Strategies Using These 7 Doable Ideas

Last updated on November 29th, 2023 at 03:54 pm

There’s no denying that a company’s staff is critical to its success. But top talent has been increasingly hard to find. According to a recent survey by ManpowerGroup, 69% of companies in the United States struggle to find talent, up from 14% in 2010.

Revamping your job recruitment strategy is a must but it’s not easy to figure out where to start. In this article, we’ll discuss 7 actionable ideas to make your recruitment strategy stand out.

7 Ways to Improve Your Recruitment Strategy

1. Automating the recruitment process

Most companies get an average of 250 applicants per job ad. That’s too many for one recruitment professional to handle. Fortunately, many new technologies can help HR professionals. An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software solution that automates the process of posting jobs and locating qualified candidates making it easier to screen and sift through a pile of application papers. This software has a one-click feature for job postings, applicant sorting, and interview scheduling to multiple sites. Plus, an ATS provides candidates with instant feedback on the application process. Oracle Taleo and Bullhorn are some of the options you could consider. Finding the best applicant tracking system largely depends on your company’s size and hiring budget.

Another way to get rid of CVs piled up on your desk is cutting your recruitment process into four steps. Start with the job ad, a skill test with a video introduction, an interview, and then an offer. This way, there will be no more CVs and no need for multiple interviews, only comprehensive human resource automation.

2. Improving your skills test

In 2016, McKinsey’s Recruiting and People Analytics teams created an innovative digital experience that set tasks rather than posing traditional questions for candidates to answer. This project was called Imbellus, which replaced McKinsey’s problem-solving test (PST) because it produced biased results for business majors. The game provided a numerical value to the outcome and process. Candidates who scored similar or better than an existing employee in the game got hired. Imbellus was a success and it became a standard test for all job candidates at McKinsey.

What can we learn from McKinsey’s innovation in tests? Companies should make their interview and recruitment process more engaging and unpredictable. You do not necessarily have to set up a game. But you may start by presenting candidates with a problem that usually happens in your company and looking at how candidates approach it. The key is to test candidates’ skills rather than simply asking them about their skills.

3. Connecting with universities

Educational institutions, ranging from universities and trade schools to specialist boot camps, are some of the most effective places to find new talent. You may start your recruitment strategy by setting up a scholarship program, attending job fairs, speaking at events, and creating an internship program with universities. Salesforce, for example, has a team called Futureforce that works with university campuses to help young prospects prepare for their internship. Some companies such as Tesla and Uber also have specialized teams for recruiting university students. Ultimately, training students to be future employees will be good for your long-term recruitment pipeline and PR.

4. Setting up a referral program

In many businesses, employee recommendation programs are a typical method of attracting new employees. It’s a great method to make use of your workers’ and colleagues’ contacts in the business world. According to LinkedIn, 50% of businesses find that referrals result in great hires. As part of these programs, employees are encouraged to assist in the filling of available positions by recommending and vouching for individuals’ qualifications and expertise.

A referral program should offer incentives and recognition for successful hires. Normally, the human resources department puts together a short document, shared internally, explaining the details of the program, which includes incentives for employees with successful referrals.

Vacant positions must be filled soon to prevent losses in productivity and profits. You can expedite the recruitment even more by setting interviews with referred candidates through remote meetings.

5. Using niche job boards

Social media platforms are a great tool for finding candidates, but it is not enough for specialized professions such as freelance work, startups, and IT. There are fewer distractions and clutter in niche platforms than in general large job boards such as LinkedIn. Dedicated to a single industry, these job sites frequently contain a community of job seekers and recruiters. For startups, try fishing on AngelList, VentureLoop, and Startupers. If you’re a fully remote company, post your ads on WeWorkRemotely, NoDesk, and Remote. co. Meanwhile, if developers and software engineers are what you’re looking for, you can check out Stack Overflow, Dice, and CrunchBoard.

6. Optimizing job ads on Google

There are 150 million job searches on Google each month in the United States alone. Job searches make Google a significant factor in the job search market. With Google’s influence over the industry, every HR must consider implementing SEO for recruitment.

When an applicant searches for a specific job title, Google will find jobs in their area that are similar to what they’re looking for. By targeting job titles such as “software engineer jobs”, your company will be among the first pages that candidates see. Given the level of competition for top engineers, getting seen by the best candidates through effective SEO is a great headstart.

The same results come from targeting your competitor’s keywords. For example, Uber and Lyft are constantly trying to acquire each other’s users and poach each other’s, job candidates. The idea is, that if anyone is searching for jobs at Uber, the job candidate would also likely be interested in careers at Lyft.

7. Evaluating recruitment objectively

Some objective metrics in assessing recruitment are application completion rate, qualified candidate rate, cost of hire, time to hire, and response rate. These data points will help you make an informed decision about what’s wrong and right about your current recruitment strategy. Regular post-recruitment assessment is necessary to fine-tune and update your recruitment process.

Final thoughts

Hiring great talent increases company productivity by up to eight times according to a study by McKinsey. You’ll be better positioned for long-term success if you upgrade your recruiting strategy through these actionable strategies:

• Automate the process
• Update your skills tests
• Connect with universities
• Get referrals
• Use niche job boards
• Implement SEO for recruitment
• Evaluate your recruitment strategy