why is an integrated recruitment strategy important?
It may sound obvious, but the people that you employ really are the core of your business. If your organisation can’t attract the right candidates then success, growth and productivity will all be unachievable.
Recruiting the best talent has never been more challenging than in today’s market. Gone are the days of advertising on job boards and expecting the perfect person to apply. Conventional methods may still work for a few roles, but in the tech space we need to be much smarter, utilising and capitalising on a variety of sourcing and attraction techniques and providing the best candidate experience.
It is estimated that around 75% of the global workforce is made up of passive candidates, with only around 15% actively seeking a new job. This means the vast majority of the most talented people will not apply for your roles, but are open to discussing and exploring the right opportunity, therefore they have to be any recruiter’s major focus. Finding and engaging these people takes time, money and resources, they are certainly not going to be advertising the fact that they might be interested in a new job, never mind applying for your vacancy.
what are the specific challenges for tech companies?
Every tech company that needs to grow its workforce is facing the same challenge – especially in solutions and software development – there are simply not enough talented tech people to go around. How does a company engage with and successfully recruit the best talent consistently going forward? As well as the sourcing part, they need to they make their business visible and attractive to potential candidates and when they are employed, keep them working for them long term.
why should all candidates have a positive experience?
In any recruitment process the majority of candidates will be unsuccessful – usually only one person can get the job. However, it is vital that every unsuccessful candidate goes away with a positive impression of the business and its proccesses. A candidate who may not be quite right for a role, or may not have the right skill set or level of experience, may be perfect for another role further down the line. Once they have a bad impression the chance to secure that talent for the future is lost.
Every organisation, especially in tech, is fishing from a limited pool of candidates. If a candidate has a bad experience they will tell their friends, their work colleagues, maybe even their managers. People with knowledge, experience and skills that your business needs. Another lost opportunity!
A good candidate experience also helps with employee retention. Whilst you may think loyalty is engendered from the first day of induction, their impression as a candidate has been formed long before, when they first heard about or had contact with your organisation. When candidates start to look at a business as their potential employer they will build an impression from a wide range of sources – its website, social media presence, job advert, recruiter communications, online reviews. Progressing through the recruitment process involves multiple touchpoints – conversations with internal recruiters, written job specs, meeting managers, HR administration and management through their resignation and notice period. A strong impression has been formed well before day one of the job.
how is the whole business involved?
Although an Internal Recruitment function sits at the heart of your recruitment strategy, there must be a completely holistic and 360 degree approach. Employees should feel they are part of something and can influence the success of the business by helping to bring more talent on board. Companies must have good employee referral schemes which can reap a number of benefits – improved candidate quality, better staff retention, a more positive culture. There are many methods for attracting talent that must be wide-ranging across the whole business to ensure you will have the best people to take it to where it needs to be.