Hiring the Best in 2020 - Part 2 Candidate Attraction

The Covid 19 pandemic has made 2020 the most volatile recruitment market ever in my 25 years in the profession. It has impacted every aspect of hiring from talent pools to selection processes to internal recruitment resources. 

For businesses that adapt there is great opportunity to gain competitive advantage. For those that don’t there are pitfalls aplenty.

To get you right up to date I have compiled an ‘easy to digest’ 5 article series which I will publish every week. 

We are on to part two right here...

Candidate Attraction

I think it's helpful to imagine all the potential employees for your company along a continuum. At one end candidates are characterised by being highly dissatisfied with their present company or position and are actively seeking a new job. At the other end people are very happy with, and committed to, their present employer and have no interest in a job change. And of course, there is a huge number of people somewhere between the two. 

What’s different about 2020 is that more people are moving towards both extremes. 

Redundancies and struggling industries are pushing many towards being active job seekers. Equally, those in a more secure job see the volatility in the labour market and feel safer by staying with a current employer.

How good your business is at candidate attraction could be demonstrated by how far along this continuum you could go and still engage people about a vacancy you have. 

In other words, is your job and employer proposition so weak that you can only interest the unemployed? Yes, there are firms dangerously close to this extreme! Or is your employment proposition so compelling that only those totally committed to their present employer will decline the chance to talk to you about joining your firm?

Moving your firm along this line (in a positive direction!) takes an awful lot of effort and change. This will include, but not be limited to, reviewing your pay and rewards, assessing your company values, becoming a more desirable brand in your marketplace. Maybe, your firm is in this process or willing to undertake the journey. But even if it’s not, there is action you can take right now.

Wherever you sit on the candidate attraction continuum, you can ensure you communicate your best features effectively to prospective candidates. Make the most of your employer proposition. Engage every candidate you possibly could do to maximise the strength of your shortlist. 

I cannot stress enough so many companies fail at this and end up with relatively poor candidates to choose from at shortlist. 

Whoever is doing your recruiting (internally or third party) must be a fantastic ambassador for your company and effectively convey your job proposition and employer brand to a prospective candidate. They must maximise the chances of the target candidate becoming interested and wanting to take the discussions further at a time when they may feel staying in their current role is a safer option.

Make sure the list of candidate targets is long enough to give you a strong chance of finding those who are willing to take the risk of a job move. Yes, it’s a numbers game and a real test of thoroughness.

The list of target candidates needs to be properly researched and high quality. Do these candidates have the kind of track record you want to import in to your business? Specialist knowledge of your sector can be highly advantageous in getting this right.

Finally, start pipelining candidates before you are ready to hire. Reach out to candidates who look like they could be a fit for your organisation and start a dialogue. Be transparent about when you are hoping to hire and view this as investing in a relationship via regular, meaningful contact. Keep in mind that candidates do move along the continuum referred to above as their circumstances change. So whilst some are out of reach now that may change in three months time. If you keep in touch you will be the first to know and hire them before your competitors.

I hope this provides food for thought regarding your candidate attraction strategy. If you want to discuss any aspect of this feel free to contact me.

Next week’s piece will be on candidate experience.