Just as it is hard finding the right opportunity as a candidate, it can be equally challenging as an employer trying to find and attract new talent. Gone are the days when employers could rely on a sign in the window or a job seeker could walk in, talk to a manager and get a job on the spot. Online job boards and career sites are now the go-to for employers to advertise their vacancies, but this can be hit or miss depending on the candidate market. Employers need, now more than ever, to think outside the box when recruiting; some opt for the help of a recruiter to use their networks and expertise in the industry (a very great option by the way…), while others are leaning into their Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and employer branding.
EVP is more than just an industry buzz word and it is critical for an employer to be able to articulate when you are looking to attract and retain great talent. EVP is simply all the reasons someone would want to work for you and/or stay working for you. Being able to accurately describe and market your EVP will be your superpower in a recruitment campaign and throughout an employee’s lifecycle, particularly in a challenging candidate short market such as we are currently in.
Employees look for more than a generous salary and a fruit bowl in the tea room nowadays, and instead look to move and stay for other benefits such as great culture, exciting opportunities for growth and advancement, gifted birthday leave, salary sacrificing, mental health leave, flexible working arrangements, corporate social responsibility, gym memberships or team lunches. Employees also want to understand what it is really like to work for your business; what’s great, what can be challenging, what’s rewarding about it, what can be frustrating. Being able to confidently convey your EVP is equally important when you move through the process to interviews, as at interview, it is key to instill confidence in your candidates on why they should work for you and what you have to offer them. If you cannot clearly communicate this, it creates doubt which is where you could lose a great candidate.
A great way for employers to attract talent is by having a dedicated careers page on their website that gives potential candidates all the information they could possibly need to make the decision to apply for a new position. You can use your careers page to promote your EVP, give information about your company or particular departments within the business. A recent study by PageUp on the ‘Candidate Experience’ during a recruitment process showed that 80% of the job seekers surveyed felt that it was extremely important to be empowered to make an informed decision when applying for a new role and that it was crucial to have all the information from the beginning of the recruitment process – not only about the company and the role but about the process itself. Of that 80%, only 36% of those surveyed were satisfied with the information that was available to them upon application.
This means a simple job ad and a position description are no longer enough for candidates to press that submit button – in addition to information about your company and the role, it is worth noting the expected length of the recruitment process and a clear description of the steps of the process, this helps to set the expectations of the candidate and allows them to feel prepared and supported throughout the process – knowledge is power. Another option could be to add an ‘Expression of Interest’ option to your careers page, this way prospective candidates can show their interest in working for your company even if a position isn’t currently open, thus building your own little candidate pool to draw from when you do have a vacancy to fill.
Another attraction strategy to consider is to build your social media profile as a company. Social media doesn’t have to be used just for sales and lead generation, you can post about your team and your culture – a simple Facebook stalk of a company page can give a full 360 view of the workplace and give a potential candidate confidence in knowing they are applying to a workplace that aligns with their values and goals. These posts don’t have to be perfectly curated or rehearsed, they just have to capture aspects of your culture, your people and genuinely show what a day in your workplace looks like. We, here, at Inspire HQ love a good team post – a birthday or work anniversary post, a post of our team attending an event or just generally capturing the little moments that bring our team joy – like a good plate of brownies or celebrating who won the footy tipping for example.
Other advice I can offer would be to do your research and really get to know the market. Conduct your own salary benchmarking and get to know what your ideal candidate is looking for in terms of the scope of the role as well as salary. In recent years salaries have moved quite a lot, even more so in high demand sectors so you will need to do your research in order to remain competitive within the market. You could be wasting precious time and money if you go to market and get blown out of the water by other employers who have better salaries, benefits and an interesting role scope. You risk having little to no response to your advertisement and then face the problem of having to re-advertise which not only costs you but also doesn’t look great or instill confidence in potential candidates when they see the same position advertised multiple times over a period of time. Save yourself time, effort and money with a little research.
Recruitment campaigns can be long, and at the moment, often fruitless so it is important that employers are looking at how they can attract and source great talent in less traditional ways and continue to think about how they are seen as an employer, not just as a company. So, if you are looking for great talent, now is the best time for you to set some of these strategies in motion! And hey… if all else fails, give us a call!
