Over the last year, companies have been forced to rethink how they approach hiring and recruitment. As of April 2021, there were 9.3 million open jobs — a record-breaking job shortage that has forced American industry to its knees. There’s no denying the huge impact this has had on businesses across the country.
Organizations are short-handed, teams are stretched thin, people are overworked and old recruitment strategies are ineffective. The fact is, there are simply too many jobs and not enough people, so the competition for top talent and high-level employees is fierce.
Recruiting in a Post-Pandemic World
As a result, new strategies have emerged in the recruitment space centralized around employee well-being and competitive benefits. This methodology has quickly become the industry standard.
If organizations want to survive these trying times, they must learn to adapt their recruiting practices, alter their hiring process and think of innovative ways to build their teams.
Here are thirteen onboarding and recruitment tips and strategies that can smooth out the hiring process and significantly boost recruitment:
1. Companies Must Know Their Brand
Since employees can now freely choose who they work for, brand identity has never been more essential. Organizations without a keen sense of their brand identity, company mission and what they stand for will have a massive recruiting disadvantage. Additionally, a company without a clear brand will never be able to appropriately sell itself.
2. Prioritize Employee Well-Being
It will never hurt to be the company known for how well it treats their people. Offering generous vacation time, flexible work environments and robust benefits packages are just the beginning. If companies want to stand out in this job market, they must learn to prioritize the well-being of their employees.
3. Offer Flexible and Remote Work Environments
As the pandemic continues for the second year, 41.8% of American employees are still working remotely full-time. These numbers are expected to rise, and as they do, more people are going to prioritize jobs with remote or flexible work environments. As a result, companies that offer remote work will have a significant recruiting advantage over companies that don’t.
4. Promote Diversity and Inclusion
It’s not enough to simply claim to be diverse or inclusive. People are way too smart to be tricked by false claims. If an organization wants to recruit from a highly skilled and socially conscious workforce, they must practice diversity and inclusion, making it a crucial part of their organizational structure.
5. Perfect the Pitch
The power has shifted to employees, so organizations must rethink how they’re selling themselves. The old pitch, which relied on a power dynamic that favored the company, simply doesn’t work anymore. People know what they’re looking for, and they have options. It’s now the employer’s responsibility to prove that they’re the right fit.
6. Utilize Online Recruiting Tools
There are new and emerging websites, applications and online recruiting tools that are revolutionizing the way people find work. If organizations want to excel at hiring and recruitment, they need to utilize the technology that is available.
Innovative digital tools can help streamline the hiring process and dip into a larger pool of applicants. New entrants into this space, like ChatterWorks, can help you easily find, engage and hire the best talent for your team across multiple platforms, including social media channels.
7. Expand Digital and Social Recruiting Efforts
Creating and utilizing social media networks is one of the best ways to reach people where they spend much of their time. Therefore, companies should devote time to creating great content and engaging with their followers. As a bonus, these efforts will also help with branding.
8. Advertise Growth and Educational Opportunities
People are looking for careers that will grow with them. It’s not just about financial compensation, health insurance and retirement benefits (though those are important). People want to know that the company they devote much of their lives to will give them the opportunity to grow, both in their careers and their personal lives.
9. Create a Multigenerational Team
Organizations cannot and should not limit their recruitment to one age group. Instead, they should adjust their recruitment and hiring strategies to accommodate multiple generations, appealing to the entire workforce, not just a part of it. Multigenerational teams provide different perspectives and contribute to a well-rounded environment.
10. Transparency and Open Communication
When it comes to recruitment, reputation is everything. If an organization wants to prove that it’s a great place to work, it must boast a company culture that prioritizes transparency and open communication. This is also a critical component of creating a team that feels like a family.
11. Embrace a Virtual Hiring Process
Organizations that solely recruit, interview and hire face-to-face are limiting themselves. There are highly skilled, incredible employees all over the world who might be willing to relocate provided they find the right company and the right incentives.
Beyond that, many people are uncomfortable leaving their homes (COVID) for an interview or application process that could easily take place virtually. People who are unwilling to risk their well-being and the health of their families shouldn’t be penalized. A virtual hiring process is the best way to ensure inclusivity and broaden the recruiting pool.
12. Automate the Recruiting Process
With enough prep work and organization, the recruiting process doesn’t have to be exhausting and challenging to manage. Advertising, social recruiting and brand work are all processes that can be automated. Plus, companies can create a defined hiring process complete with pre-written offer templates and onboarding packages, which will take their recruiting preparedness to an elite level.
13. Offer Personalized Lifestyle Benefits
Offering traditional benefits is no longer enough to attract, recruit and retain high-quality employees. In addition to benefits like health insurance and retirement packages, companies should also offer lifestyle benefits. These benefits promote a healthy work-life balance and are proven to positively impact an employee’s emotional, physical and mental well-being.
Fringe’s personalized, customizable lifestyle benefits platform is the perfect solution for diverse organizations. It eliminates the guesswork and gives employees the ability to choose the benefits that are right for them. Want to try it out? Contact our team to schedule a demo!