Hire With Your Head - Part 2 - Tips on Finding the Most Effective Talent

In the last post/article, we explored having an effective Hiring Team and Talent Acquisition “Intake Call’ to set the stage for a successful search. Along with performance-hiring metrics, a performance-based interview process, and other assessment opportunities being addressed - establishing the most effective way to attract and retain talent is just as important to the search process. This article will focus more on the ‘talent attraction’ process.

From my personal experience, one of the more overlooked parts of attracting talent begins with ‘Employer Branding’. Creating a narrative around what it means to work for a company has the ability to change the trajectory of the entire search. Companies that align their mission, values, experiences, leadership needs, and compensation with the needs of their employees will ultimately have an advantage in the recruitment process. Here are a few ways to enhance Employer Branding early on in the process:

• Strong Employer Value Proposition (EVP): What is your company's competitive edge?
• Great Job Descriptions: Clearly define roles and expectations.
• Strong Employee Engagement: Foster a positive and inclusive work environment.
• Leveraging Social Media: Maintain a robust online presence and encourage positive company reviews.
• Employee Development: Offer training and clear career paths.
• Industry Presence: Participate in industry events and create compelling content.

Once there is enough information on the position to identify an ideal profile, the sourcing process begins. Talent sourcing involves identifying, qualifying, and engaging potential candidates for an opportunity. Active candidates are those actively seeking positions, while passive candidates fit the profile but are not actively looking to change their current situation.

Author, Lou Adler, talks about the role of the active vs passive candidate. Strong performance-based job descriptions allow for better alignment for both types of candidates and will attract more relevant profiles. He is a strong advocate of using resources to attract passive candidates due to the stronger likelihood of performance-based success in their current roles. According to LinkedIn, passive candidates are 120% more likely to make a strong impact at a company and 33% less likely to leave the company quickly compared to active job seekers.

Coming from a research and sourcing background, I can appreciate the subtle nuance that goes into spending deep time finding talent that best fits a profile. For more tenured searches, it would benefit both the hiring team and talent acquisition to agree on a scope of industries and companies that would best serve the job profile. Once the most relevant people are found from those areas (appropriate job level, skills, possible experiences) an effective sourcer can create a ‘Market Map’ of available talent - a comprehensive list of candidates covering the scope established. While I won’t get into the details of great sourcing techniques today (Boolean 101, effective skills matching, etc), having a skilled talent sourcer build this ‘Market Map’ will greatly benefit the search for passive candidates. There are many avenues to find talent, depending on the industry and scope of the position. A few to name that I have been successful with in the past are LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, etc as well as more specialized platforms for specialized talent - For example, many physicians can be found on Doximity.

Once the market is mapped and calibrated with the hiring team, the next step in the process is engagement. The internet is vast and intrusive, therefore finding ways to conduct effective outreach is very possible. The type of outreach should be dependent on the type of search being conducted. A mix use of techniques from industry experts and personal success in the field should be considered along with the type of search being conducted. For example, a confidential search may be handled differently than a four-week sprint with specific deadlines.??

Although many claim to have the most effective outreach message techniques, what I have found to drive results are:

• Best fit and timing for the candidate
• Credibility of the source (both company and person conducting outreach)
• Respect for a candidate’s time (keep messages concise)
• Persistence?

Statistics show that employee referrals are still the most effective way to hire. Once the market is mapped, those under the ‘referral’ umbrella should be prioritized. According to Linkedin referrals are 46% more likely to be hired and 47% more likely to be retained.

I have been fortunate enough to bring hundreds of projects to close throughout my career and what I have found is the ultimate goal of talent acquisition is not only to find the most effective talent based on the job parameters but ultimately make the hiring team most confident with the decision they are making for long term success. This is achieved by following a strong methodology/process to completion that adapts to company and position needs. Effective talent attraction sets the trajectory of company outcomes based on fit.

For more information about finding talent - feel free to reach out to Champion Talent Consulting OR Omoregie Uzzi