In a competitive market such as London, organisations are striving to secure top tier talent. Recent studies show average time to hire is 27.5 days, although top tier talent is typically on the market for 10 days.
In an ultra-competitive market how do you stand out from the crowd?
Put your people first
When you truly care for your employees, they will care for one another, your customers and your brand. This goes beyond just offering amazing benefits. Create a workplace that thrives on trust and respect for all individuals and protect this. Good news spread fast – people will talk, and they will refer like-minded talented people.
Culture
Candidates value a sense of community and a diverse environment where they can connect in a meaningful way. Diversity and inclusion is crucial to attracting talent – utilise the power of social media to communicate initiatives you have to tell your story surrounding diversity and inclusion. A short video walk-through of your office can also give candidates a feel for your company culture, and what to expect.
Candidate experience
Attracting talent starts from the candidate’s first interaction with your company and leaves a lasting impression whether that process resulted in being hired – or not. Candidates biggest complaint typically the lack of communication. Whether it be that they have sent their CV and not had a response, or they have had an interview and not heard back. If you do not have feedback, still drop them a quick email to tell them that. Lack of communication usually results in candidates assuming you are not interested and them pursuing other opportunities. Your reputation in the market will influence candidates’ decisions to recommend, interview and ultimately if they will accept your offer. With tools such as Glassdoor which take 2mins to review/ rate an interview process, it is crucial that all candidates have a positive experience.
Branding
I can’t tell you how many times I have taken a brief from an organisation who describe their culture and what it is like to work there only to then review their website/ social media presence and be confused as to whether we are talking about the same organisation. If you have brands such as Facebook/ Google behind you, this won’t be as relevant but for less recognisable brands your website will be the first place a candidate will look when considering a position. With predictions of Gen Z making up 25% of the workforce in 2020 can you really afford to not send the right message about your brand? Showcase your culture, diversity, projects, new technology you are working on, CSR initiatives to help with engage the right talent. Videos are a cost-effective tool to bring your website to life.
Employer Value Proposition
An organisation who is looking to stand out when attracting top talent must be able to articulate and share how the employee value proposition is lived every day, along with the vision and mission of the organisation. This needs to be reviewed and ‘pulse checked’ regularly to ensure you are communicating the correct message externally.
What’s in it for them?
Employee engagement is a key topic I find on most organisations agendas which is great, once they have joined. Throughout the recruitment process candidates will be interested in learning what their future might look like should they join your company. Millennials and Gen Z possess a strong entrepreneurial spirit and view employment differently to previous generations. Ideally, you will be able to communicate a clear succession plan for positions you are recruiting for. Being able to offer innovative policies such as the below will set you apart:
- Alternative education/ learning such as on-demand learning and other development training
- Hackathon style programs that encourage creativity and innovation
- Flexible working arranged that provide people with more control over their work-life balance
I can appreciate it might seem difficult to implement all over the above overnight. Taking the above advice will undoubtedly provide a more successful recruitment process and will hopefully see you attract candidates from talent pools you might have struggled to attract in the past. Candidates notice when companies go the extra mile to make their experience a positive one (regardless of the outcome).
If you would like to discuss further please do not hesitate to get in touch brittanynewell@oakleafpartnership.com