Recruiters are well aware of how challenging the current hiring market is. With a lack of qualified talent available and an abundance of open positions, fighting for the best applicants can feel like an uphill battle. But what if we told you there was a way to work ahead so that when you do need to hire fresh talent, you’re already a few steps ahead of the competition? By utilizing a proactive recruitment strategy, you can prepare your talent pool ahead of time. See how you can get started using this approach today.
#ProactiveRecruitment gives your company a head start, so you aren’t left scrambling to fill open roles. See how you can implement this approach: Click To TweetWhat Is Proactive Recruitment?
Proactive recruitment refers to the strategy of sourcing, engaging, and hiring new talent ahead of a rise in hiring demand. Typically, organizations utilize a reactive approach, posting open positions and then waiting for candidates to apply before starting the recruitment process. The proactive approach flips this process on its head, giving you a head start, so you aren’t left scrambling to fill open roles. With proactive recruitment, you’re laying the foundations by building a strong rapport with qualified talent. By engaging with them before your hiring needs ramp up, you can generate interest in your potential employment opportunities and create a pool of qualified candidates to tap into.
There are numerous benefits to implementing a proactive recruitment strategy.
For starters, it cuts back on the time you spend recruiting talent. Rather than waiting for the best talent to come to you, your organization is taking conscious steps to engage with and build relationships with your ideal kinds of candidates. This enables you to more accurately forecast your hiring needs and simplifies the hiring process so you can get top talent in the door and up to speed fast. All in all, this leads to a more positive candidate experience that will help you secure strong employees.
The 5 Phases of Proactive Recruitment
When it comes to proactive recruitment, there are 5 key stages in the process you must consider:
- Sourcing – this stage of the process involves finding ideal candidates that would fit the kind of skills, experience, and culture you desire. Start by talking internally about what the ideal candidate looks like. What certifications or training do they have? Are they open to remote work? How much experience in the workforce do they ideally have? Creating this profile will help you identify the kinds of candidates you want to be speaking with. Using intelligent sourcing tools can help to identify and engage with top passive talent.
- Engaging – the second step is to actually reach out and initiate a conversation with potential future candidates. Use social media sites, networking events, or other industry communities to introduce yourself and talk about your organization.
- Nurturing – one of the most crucial steps is to nurture your relationships with these potential future candidates. You don’t want to set the groundwork and then forget to follow up. Nurturing your candidate pool helps to keep them engaged and interested in your company and keeps your organization at the top of their mind when they do look to make a move.
- Attracting – once you’ve established a relationship with a potential candidate, you need to take steps to turn them from prospects into actual candidates.
- Converting – the final step in the process is to actually convert candidates into applicants. When there are open roles, be sure to reach out to them to pique their interest. Once they’ve applied, be sure to provide a positive experience by staying transparent about where they are in the process. This is your time to shine by showing them you are the employer of choice.
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Proactive Recruitment Strategies:
Now that you understand the benefits of implementing a proactive recruitment strategy, it’s time to get to the finer details. Below we’ve highlighted 4 strategies you can use to help embrace this approach.
Grow out your talent pool.
It’s likely your organization already has a talent pool you tap into when looking to fill open roles. You should work on expanding your pool continuously so that you have plenty of candidates to draw upon in the future. How can you do this? By utilizing networking opportunities, industry events, and industry-related communities to find and engage with individuals. Find the spaces where your ideal candidates are interacting, and reach out to form a connection. Sourcing technology like Visage can also be used to engage with potential candidates. This can be across a variety of locations, like:
- Job fairs
- Conferences
- Facebook groups
- Slack channels
- Twitter communities
- LinkedIn communities
- Reddit channels
- Sourcing technology
While this list is not exhaustive, it is a good place to start. Pro-tip – engaging with candidates in more niche communities, like groups and targeted social communities, can yield better results, as there is often less competition amongst recruiters.
Focus on employer brand and visibility.
One of the best things you can do to establish yourself as an employer of choice is to work on demonstrating your values, beliefs, and goals as a brand. Before a candidate even applies for a job, you can be certain that they are doing their due diligence and research on your organization. So, you must ensure you’re broadcasting a brand that resonates with your intended audience.
Update your social media profiles to reflect your values as an enterprise. Leverage employee testimonials and “behind the scenes” posts to show what working at your organization is like. Talk about the kinds of benefits you offer your team or give examples of your corporate social responsibility measures. Boosting your online presence helps attract and nurture more talent and enhances your SEO.
A #ProactiveRecruitment strategy focuses on finding the right person for the role rather than simply working to fill the position. Discover the benefits you’ll see when you utilize a proactive approach to recruiting: Click To TweetEngage potential candidates using targeted content.
The content your organization creates can (and should!) be leveraged to engage and attract potential candidates. Not only is it a great way to showcase your expertise and products, but it also helps to keep you at the top of candidates’ minds. Vary the kind of content you’re offering, using videos, blog posts, whitepapers, and company newsletters/updates. This is an excellent way to continue to build on the relationships you’ve established.
Create an easy application process.
Your application process can make or break your ability to convert a candidate into an applicant. A long, strenuous process is likely to deter applicants, so be sure to streamline what you can and work to create a simple application. Searching for a new job is hard, so make it easier on your candidates by eliminating unnecessary or repetitive steps.
At the end of the day, your proactive recruitment strategy should be centered around finding the right person for the role rather than just filling an opening. By taking measures to source, engage, and attract qualified candidates on the front end, you can reduce the strain and stress on your team when your hiring needs increase.
Get started on expanding your recruitment efforts today! Reach out to our team at Visage to see how our intelligent solutions can support your talent acquisition needs.
