Do you want the best talent working for you? Well, of course you do! But you may have noticed that top talent is hard to come by and difficult to employ due to the current recruitment market. So, to achieve the lofty goal of having the best talent work for you, you’ll need to have various recruitment and selection strategies in place; in this week’s blog, we will consider some strategies that you can implement now!

Create a Talent Pool

When advertising for roles, it can sometimes feel like you are searching in the dark; this, of course, is never the best way to find top talent. So, what can you do instead? Create a talent pool! Talent pooling is the process of collecting information on qualified candidates for potential positions. This means identifying what the skills and qualifications of people are and organising them, often in a database, to understand how they might fulfil gaps in an organisation.

Talent pools typically include:

• Second-choice applicants
• Potential candidates from career fairs and social media
• Employee recommendations
• Qualified former employees

Create a large and diverse talent pool; this will help to ensure that you bring the right skills, experience, and qualifications into the organisation. Moreover, you should aim to keep individuals in the pool actively interested in your business; send emails, job adverts, and company updates (of course, do not spam potential candidates). When you next need to recruit, you can simply call on the most suitable candidate from your pool.

Define Your Employer Brand

If you want to attract top talent, you need to market your business as somewhere they would want to work. The CIPD defines employer brand as ‘…a set of attributes and qualities, often intangible, that makes an organisation distinctive, promises a particular kind of employment experience, and appeals to those people who will thrive and perform best in its culture.’

What is your employer brand? What sets you apart from the competition? Why should someone want to work for you?

Once you determine the answers to these questions, write them up on your website’s ‘about us’ page. Clearly convey your company’s vision and mission and outline your story in a way that is engaging. Think about why people would want to work for your company, how diverse your workforce is, and whether or not existing employees recommend the organisation as a good place to work. Don’t stop at just your website; establish a strong online presence through your social media platforms and professional networks like LinkedIn. Showcase your company culture, values, and benefits to attract top talent.

Make Use of an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

The recruitment and selection process is huge; this is true with only one job vacancy, let alone multiple! It is easy to miss things, which can cause your top talent to look elsewhere or be poached by your competition. Why not use an applicant tracking system (ATS)?

An ATS is a type of software that allows employers to manage their applications more effectively – it takes the sting out of the recruitment and selection process. What can these systems do? Of course, it depends on the system you choose, but for the most part, systems can:

• Analyse and store CVs from various formats and job boards into a structured database for easy search and retrieval.
• Undertake candidate screening and rank candidates based on predefined criteria, helping to identify the most qualified candidates quickly.
• Facilitate the scheduling of interviews by integrating with calendar systems, sending automated invitations, and allowing candidates to select available times.
• Manage communication with applicants, including sending automated emails for application receipts, interview invitations, and rejection notices.
• Provide tools for hiring teams to collaborate on candidate evaluation, including sharing notes, ratings, and feedback on candidates.

Using an ATS can save time and streamline the process.

Retention of Current Staff

Why work hard to attract new talent when they are leaving through the back door? It is important that when you employ top talent, you retain them! There are many things you can do to retain staff – why not check out our blog on how to retain valuable employees: https://www.elliottscotthr.com/blog/how-to-retain-valuable-employees/

In conclusion, attracting and retaining top talent requires a strategic approach to recruitment and selection. By creating a comprehensive talent pool, defining a strong employer brand, utilising an Applicant Tracking System, and focusing on staff retention, you can ensure that your organisation remains competitive in today’s challenging recruitment market. Implement these strategies to not only find but also keep the best talent, fostering a thriving and productive workforce.

Please contact ViewHR if you would like a discussion around how to implement these strategies.