Always be recruiting, even when you aren’t hiring

With the unemployment rate hovering around the 6% mark, it’s clear that there are candidates out there, actively looking for work. But speak to any hiring manager out there and they’ll tell a different story – that good people are hard to find, and the skills shortage we’ve been hearing about for years is a reality reaching crisis point for organisations across the country.

For companies wanting to escape the cycle of reactionary hiring, it’s heartening to know there is a better way. To eliminate long-term job vacancies, and secure the best talent for every position, a shift in the hiring mindset can set an organisation on the right path.

Employers need to shift from “hiring as needed” to an “always recruiting” mindset. One of the key issues is that businesses don’t’ always recognise the difference between hiring and recruiting. Hiring is about fulfilling an immediate need for a person with particular skills in your business. It’s reactive, and not the most efficient way to attract top talent.

You are at a disadvantage from the very start of the hiring process, because every day you don’t have someone in that role you are losing money. You’ll have to scramble to fill the role and it’s more likely you’ll settle for a substandard candidate, fearing no-one better will come along in the tight timeframe you need them.

Anyone who has advertised a position knows that great people are often hard to find. Hoping that the perfect person will be available at the exact time you choose to advertise is not only illogical, but risky. To put yourself in the best position to secure top talent, you need to always be keeping an eye out for people who might fit your business.

There are a few steps every organisation can take to make the move from reactive hiring to proactive recruitment.

1. Know who you are looking for.

Have clear workforce goals for today and anticipate where your talent needs will be tomorrow. Know the existing positions that are critical to your organisation’s ongoing success, and identify new roles you will need to enable the growth and expansion you envisage for the future. Be clear on the type of candidate you want to attract, paying attention to demographics, key motivators and channels for interaction.

2. Invest in your employer brand.

At the end of the day, recruitment is marketing. Much like consumer marketing, recruitment marketing is all about how candidate markets perceive your brand as an employer, and the journey you take them on to convert them to employees when the time is right. Build the right communications platform for your employer brand to give candidates a clear picture of what it’s like to work for you. Get active on social media and make your careers site interactive, informative and mobile-friendly.

3. Create a talent pool.

If you are always recruiting, you will need an organised way of keeping track of great candidates you may want to extend an offer to in the future. Using an online talent pool, usually linked to your Applicant Tracking System or e-Recruitment software will give you the opportunity to nurture candidates by sending them engaging content that not only educates them on your business and culture, but also prepares them for the right opportunity with you.

4. Makes sure every candidate experience is great.

It’s important to make sure every candidate that enters your recruitment funnel has a good experience with your company. Even if you don’t hire a candidate right away, that doesn’t mean you won’t want to call on them for another role in the future. Or they may become a client – their candidate experience with your company will influence this relationship. Make sure your keep all candidates informed, engaged and give them all the information they need to be a proponent of your organisation.

Recruitment doesn’t start when someone leaves. It is a never-ending process that eliminates the need for the hasty hiring of lacklustre talent and saves you time and money. Recruitment gives you control. Recruitment should be happening every day as a part of your weekly activity. Even if you think you have the “perfect” staff in place, you never know when that might change. So always be on the lookout for that next great employee.

Is Your Employee Value Proposition Up to Scratch? Top Tips To Have Your Candidates Lining Up

Employer branding has been gaining traction as the buzz-word of the moment in HR and recruitment circles, and for good reason.  As the war for talent rages on, employers are rapidly realising their employer brand is just as important as their consumer brand when it comes to building a successful business. Deeply rooted in the foundation of a strong employer brand is a compelling Employee Value Proposition, or EVP.  Essentially, this is ‘the give and the get’ of the employer/employee relationship.  What are you expecting from an employee in your organisation, and what can they expect you to provide as their employer.

Developing an EVP that will not only attract great candidates to your business, but also engage them and keep them happy when they are there is no easy feat.  It involves significant planning, requires the buy-in of senior leaders and needs to be executed and communicated well to have the desired impact.

We’ve put together a few tips to help you get on the right track to developing an Employee Value Proposition you’ll be proud of.

1. Have a good understanding of what’s going on with your workforce




Just as marketers conduct consumer research to get an insight into what their target markets think and feel about their brand or product, it’s just as important for those working on the employer brand to have a good gauge on employee sentiment and how people feel about the current EVP.  Engaging an experienced Employer Brand Strategist to conduct a series of one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders will give you a good indication of where the EVP is working and where it needs improvement.  An employee engagement survey and an analysis of exit interview data can also reveal the positive and negative aspects of your organisation’s employee value proposition.

2. Know who you want and what you have to offer them




An EVP workshop is a great way to involve all the key stakeholders in the process of defining the candidate personas you are trying to attract.  Working together as a group to determine the demographics you are looking for, in addition to the key attributes and personal characteristics you associate with your most successful hires, will put you on the right path to identify their motivators and the EVP elements they will insist on when making their next career move.

3. Close the gap between real and ideal




In every employer branding project, there comes the time when you discover the existing EVP, and the EVP that appeals to your ideal candidate, doesn’t quite match up.  Organisations need to review their EVP regularly to make sure it accurately addresses the key needs of employees, and is enticing to new candidates.  When refining and adding to your employee value proposition, there are a few key questions you need to keep in mind: Is it attractive? Is it true? Is it credible? Is it distinct? Is it sustainable? If if ticks all the boxes, that element of the EVP should make the shortlist.

4. Define your position in the market




As with any other form of branding, it’s important to know what your competitors are doing.  Your competitors for talent won’t necessarily be your competitors for customers, so it’s important to recognise the difference.  Know who you are competing against for your target demographic and ideal candidate persona, and make sure your employee value proposition is not only competitive, but gives you an edge over these other employers.

If you’d like more information on creating a strong employer brand, supported by a compelling EVP, contact Employment Office’s As you can see developing an EVP  isn’t a simple or easy task and neither is then developing tactics to clearly communicate your EVP messages. If you’d like assistance with Employer Branding or EVP development services contact Brooke Chapman – Employer Branding Team Leader on 1300 366 573 today.