Recruitment Strategies that will work in 2023.

Introduction:

The pace at which the Engineering & Construction Infrastructure sector in India (and also around the world) is booming, is very exciting for professionals and business leaders. However, business leaders are also worried about the skill shortage - either in terms of quality or quantity within their organizations. We discussed some of the Reasons why Upskilling or Reskilling is important in 2023, we also discussed how as a Business leader / Manager you could develop your people and make them competent to deliver their current role and future roles. However, as the sector itself is impacted by Great Resignation, many organizations are finding it difficult to retain the existing talent, and the talent management aspect even becomes complex as fresh resources are required to fuel growth.

As part of our continued research on this topic, we talked with Key Decision Makers in organizations in the Engineering & Construction Sector, and relevant HR professionals asked around a few talent acquisition communities and referred to global talent acquisition studies and research. From this, we have identified some Key Strategies that you might find useful to overcome this War For Talent.

Develop a Fit for Purpose Recruitment Strategy :

Every organization is unique in terms of its scale of operations, nature/specialization of work, and geographic location to name a few. Therefore a recruitment strategy cannot be a "one size fits all" but it has to be customized to be "fit for purpose". For Eg. If an organization plans to recruit remote workers, this strategy which may work for the majority of the IT sector, may work for some of the Engineering & Construction sectors but will definitely not work for the vast majority.

Offer incentives for employee referrals :

In case your organization doesn't have an employee referral program, then consider implementing one. The benefits are incredible – lower cost per hire, a nice boost to employee morale, and a hire that has an insider view into the positives and negatives of your culture.

Use Social Media Extensively :

Hangout, where your candidate hangs out. as per research 70% of job searches, start from Google and end up on various job boards and portals like LinkedIn, Indeed, etc. It's not only important to post your job opening on these sites but promoting it is equally important. If the employees in an organization start promoting a job, it would have a much wider reach than a couple of HR members doing it.

Having a career page on your company website would help you direct the audience from social media to your own page, which will enhance the candidate experience.

Build your Brand and retain your reputation :

We do not have to emphasize the importance of building your Digital Brand, most organizations do that. However, remember that your employer brand is a dynamic relationship and your candidate is the consumer. And while videos, taglines, and a color palette are awesome assets, what happens when the rubber meets the road?

Look at your candidate experience honestly. Because one communication misstep can land your brand a bad review on glassdoor.com or Indeed. Not to mention, alienate a candidate permanently. Therefore ensure that people handling the critical aspects of the recruitment understand the importance of retaining this organizational reputation.

Write Enticing Job Descriptions:

When writing job descriptions, you should ensure that they are direct and specific, and avoid jargon wherever possible.?Job titles should be free of buzzwords, and the summary of the role should be only a couple of short sentences long, at most.?The job description should also include information about your company and its work culture, as well as key details about how to proceed with the job application.?

Don't make the job description too generic - and not even very niche. Define and lay emphasis on the skill sets that you are looking for in the candidate eg. collaboration, teamwork, etc, but do put too much emphasis on their scope of work eg. responsible for day-to-day coordination, etc. A person with the right attitude will definitely deliver their scope of work.

Target Passive Candidates :

70% of the global workforce is made up of passive talent?who aren’t actively searching for a job. The good news is that most (up to 90%) of these passive candidates are interested in hearing about new job opportunities, as reported by?LinkedIn.?

Since passive candidates aren’t actively looking for a job, you won’t find them checking out your career site or job portals. Instead, you have to go where they are - on social media. According to the?LinkedIn survey, 49% of all professionals are following companies on social media with the intent to stay aware of their jobs. You need to utilize the power of social media and start?promoting your employer brand on social media. This doesn’t mean just posting your job openings across different social media networks. You should also share stories, pictures, and videos that promote your organization as a great place to work. You should also organize different recruiting events (such as meetups, workshops, etc.) and invite potential candidates to attend.?

Offer internships :

If you don’t provide internships on a regular basis, now is the time to start. Many recruiters claim that determining whether or not a prospect can execute the job before hiring them is difficult. Why not put the skill to the test? Offering internships at your firm helps you to test individuals before hiring them and, more crucially, allows you to attract skills you would otherwise ignore.

Connect with Universities :

From universities and trade schools to niche boot camps, educational institutions are one of the top resources for recruiting fresh talent.?Emend Human Capital Management has a dedicated team that can help work with university campuses and could young candidates apply for their first roles with the company.

Human-friendly recruitment process :

As an employer – and a brand – you’re in charge of making sure the hiring process runs smoothly and those employees have a great experience. According to a poll, over 41% of respondents regard a long-term connection with the recruiter to be the most significant factor following the interview. Make the most of it by including all applicants in your talent pool, including those you hired and those you rejected. Then, whenever you have a similar position to offer, tell those people you think would be a good fit. Finally, don’t overlook the value of feedback. We all want clarity, whether it’s positive or negative, therefore opt for straightforward communication even after rejection.

Beat the attrition rate - Recruit more than you need

In the current market scenario, it is very common to find candidates who walk away with an offer, fail to show up on the joining date, or quit after a few weeks/months. In such a scenario, you should be recruiting more than you need after due consideration to the losses that your business will make due to lack of resources vs. overstaffing.

Consider Diversity and Inclusion :

Most companies have an equal opportunity employer clause that insists they are welcoming and accommodating to people of all mental and physical abilities, but when it comes down to it, most companies don’t demonstrate much follow-through. To make improvements, research ways you can make your workplace more accommodating, starting with the recruitment process.?

Conclusion

Your recruitment process needs to change together with the world to keep pace, and nowadays the HR industry is now less about paper-pushing and more about?modern technology, and adaptation. Rapid changes in recent years have brought about new trends that should be adopted to attract and maintain the?right talents, bringing?profit?to everybody involved.

Regardless of what recruitment strategies are trending, the final objective is always the same – building your brand with the right talents in a way that enhances their experience.?

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