If you’re struggling to use recruitment channels properly to find top talents in your industry, then this post is for you. There’s so much at stake when you don’t have a clear idea how to maximize a particular recruitment platforms, but some of the most obvious ones are overlooking qualified candidates and missing out on other viable options.
Fortunately, there are ways to help you identify and select the most effective recruitment channel for high-quality talents. By following these steps, you can avoid hiring problems, such as unavailability of talent and skills in your organization, which are also the biggest concern among chief executives, according to a survey done by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Let’s get the ball rolling with these strategies.
1. Identify the limits of referrals
Referrals can greatly help with your recruitment in the Philippines and anywhere else. In fact, they can be a good method for talent sourcing, as statistics estimate that 30% of quality hires come from the network of company employees.
Just be sure to keep your referral policies in check, such as when to pay bonuses to employees who refer their family or friends. To encourage employees to look after their referrals, you can wait for six months or so until the new hires pass the probationary period before giving out referral bonuses.
However, hiring through referrals may also prevent you from establishing a diversified workforce. You can almost always expect your employees to recommend someone whose interests or background is similar to theirs. That said, you should look for candidates who not only fit in with the rest of the company but also possess a certain level of individuality to help bring about diversity in the workplace.
2. Value data
Attracting and retaining top talent gets more challenging by the day. Aside from trying to beat competitors to your ideal candidate, you also need to consider how the job market is evolving.
By looking at your company data as well as industry data, you can better understand what kind of recruitment strategy will drive high-quality candidates to engage with you as a potential employer.
Take the case of millennials, who now make up the biggest segment of the labor force. If you’re targeting this demographic, you need to remember that this generation is tech savvy, so the best way to communicate with them is via the internet and other online platforms.
3. Evaluate the results
As a recruiter, you should know that not all channels are equal in producing the best candidates. By evaluating the hiring results, you will have an overview of which channels actually provide you with top talents and if the costs for that channel reflect quality of candidates. While it’s true that lowering the cost isn’t always the end goal of recruitment strategies, the attraction of best candidates should justify the effort you are putting in that channel.
Tracking the performance of each of your existing hiring channels is a good first step to gain valuable insights about their individual strengths and weaknesses. You want to know specific information like how many applicants a channel can bring, how that channel can attract qualified applicants, or where your interviewed applicants come from.
Then, as you compare one channel with another, you can make a more informed decision about allocating your time and money to where it matters most.
Thus, instead of attending every career or job fair, it might be better to prioritize markets with more experienced candidates. You can attend seminars and conferences related to your industry and develop a proper networking plan that targets seasoned and experienced candidates.This can give you higher chances of finding qualified candidates with the right knowledge and skill set based on your business needs.
4. Tweak your interview process
The trend of unemployment rates going down has resulted in candidates applying at different companies at the same time, which calls for you to put a higher sense of urgency in your interview process. Otherwise, you might lose qualified candidates to companies that have more efficient and simpler hiring protocols than you do.
Working with a recruitment agency can improve your overall interview and hiring process. This is not an extra step in figuring out the best recruitment channel but rather, this is just a refocusing of your goals and priorities. A recruitment agency can provide you with industry-related insights and supported advice that can elevate your recruitment channels to attract top talents. The key is in the improvement of each section of the recruitment process and not an additional roadbump.
5. Recognize the ability of machine learning models
Put simply, a machine learning model is an artificial intelligence technology that trains a machine to discover patterns and make predictions based on previously collected data.
In recruitment, machine learning models can help you decrease your time to fill a position by automating key hiring processes such as posting job ads, screening CVs, or answering candidate questions with the help of AI-powered chatbots.
You can also use machine learning tools to pre-select and rank your ideal candidates, provided that the tool’s algorithms are trained to recognize and avoid any potential bias in recruitment. It also goes without saying that your human resources team can’t rely on specialized tools alone without validating results.
The Right Channel and Approach for Landing Top Talents
Knowing where to look for top talents is one thing, but learning how to use a particular recruitment channel to increase the quality of your hires is an equally important skill that you need to master. Do them both correctly, and watch your hiring decisions work well for your organization.
