Hey Recruiters, stop acting like it is 2003

Time to move fast HR community

First posted on Pointers

Its 2013 and most of you are still trying the find the right hires like it is 2003.

Gone are the days when you can spend 15 seconds on a resume. On the contrary, candidates spend less than 15 seconds trying to understand your company. The best talent gets to choose companies and you have to be sufficiently attractive for them to even consider you.

Every single recruiter out there should be a storyteller.

These days, many job postings are attracting almost no qualified applicants at all. The fact is, the vast majority of people are happy with their current job. You need to offer them a 10X return for them to switch to your company.

The solution is to reverse the funnel and your thinking. Instead of posting jobs in multiple job boards, focus on creating an employer brand for yourself and make talent to find out what opportunities lay in front of them. The successful companies are adapting to this formula.

Recruitment Technology has evolved
Technology has more or less disconnected recruiters form the operational process. Application management has moved from Excel Sheets to ATS, Sourcing talent has moved from manual (job boards) to Social Networks. By 2015, 1/5th of the job seekers would be on Mobile. The successful ones are adapting to the change and are finding innovative ways of finding the right talent.

Questions that need to be answered

1. Are consultants simply logging data into your ATS?
2. If you are hiring 1 out of 100, what happens to the rest 99? Are you in touch with them?
3. How is the loyalty to your brand? Are you a preferred employer for talent?
4. Talent is on Mobile. The first ones to move to Mobile are winning the war. What is your mobile strategy?

Some hard facts *

1. 84% of the mails that are being sent every day are spam. Your mail is one of them.
2. An average talent gets around 250 recruiter mails every year.
3. 79% of the talent are passive job seekers.
4. A talent looks at 61 jobs and is talking to 4 recruiters when he is looking for a new job.

So how can you solve this?

1. Proactively build an active talent pipeline: Identify the right talent early. Don’t wait until a job opening comes up. Strengthen your company’s employer brand and create the awareness that you are hiring. Engage with talent 24x7.
2. Keep your careers page updated. Let talent know details about your company.
3. Showcase your vision in your job pitch.

Employer branding has never been as critical as it is in today’s Talent Economy. It could make a difference between a candidate responding to your opportunity or passing them on.

83% of the brands believe that showcasing their brand has a significant impact on their ability to hire better talent, but only 33% measure it. Which side of the table are you in?

How to do it?
Likes, shares, comments and other social actions might reflect your brand but it doesn’t reflect your employer brand. The need is for a more hands on approach. Check out Deloitte’s Maverick, HUL’s Limeonline etc. Companies like Thoughtworksconduct webinars for non-employees. This helps them connect with potential talent. Your Engagement should not be dependent on your presence in social networks. Conduct Engagement initiatives on your own website and also through other online modes.

How to measure it?
How many people are following you on Social Network? How many of them are actively engaging with your Engagement efforts? A ratio of this would give your brand index – the actual value of your employer brand.

In short create a story, make it reach the talent. The ones who are interested would come to you. Never sell, always market. This is how we do it at HuntShire.

* Data from LinkedIn Talent Solutions