New Recruitment Methods You can Follow
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There are certain things that we recruiters just can’t do without. For example, applicants Or LinkedIn connections Or imaginative innovative recruitment methods.
Finding the best candidates has never been as difficult as it is today. Boomers are retiring left and right, millennia are in the making and Generation Z is just starting to enter the world of work.
And no, that’s not all.
At the same time, a digital revolution is taking place that we must not lose sight of. Old and new vendors are throwing all kinds of Artificial Intelligence and automation tools at us and trying to simplify our lives as recruiters.
Of course, it can be very difficult to find the right recruiting methods for your company, let alone keep up to date with new methods.
Fortunately, there are many good examples that can inspire you. For today’s article, we have selected 13 innovative recruitment methods. Some may be a little more innovative than others, but all of them give you an idea of the possibilities so that you can use them as inspiration for your own recruitment strategy.
1. Including job advertisements
Let’s start at the very beginning of your recruitment process… with job postings. Believe it or not, the wording of your job advertisements is very important.
The words you use and the way you express them can discourage whole groups of the applicant population (women, ethnic minorities, senior citizens). To avoid this and to keep your pool of candidates as large as possible you can, for example, use an AI-based writing tool.
Such a tool scans many documents and, based on this data, predicts exactly which job advertisement will be successful where others fail.
2. Programmatic advertising
Can programmatic advertising still be described as an innovative recruitment method? Probably not, but it is certainly something you should use for your online recruitment.
(For those of you who need a little reminder: programmatic advertising is the automated placement of job ads that target the candidate profiles you are looking for).
However, recruiting on niche websites where your target candidates are standing can be quite innovative. For example, when Amazon places job ads on Tinder or uses Goldman Sachs Spotify.
The key to success is here: Know your candidates. Because once you know them, you can use programmatic advertising or another recruitment method to make sure they see your job ad.
3. Video interview
This is pretty self-explanatory. That doesn’t make it a less effective method of recruitment. On the contrary, it does. Using video technology can be a great option if you have candidates living abroad; it saves them a lot of time and money and you can always benefit from a much larger pool of candidates.
But you can take video to the next level.
For example, by using pre-employment assessments that incorporate video technology. In (very) simple terms: this type of technology collects data on e.g. verbal reactions, eye movements, and non-verbal communication and uses this information to predict a candidate’s chances of success in future employment.
4. Recruiting and developing talent internally
Recruitment is usually seen as an external exercise, but perhaps the best way to find the right person for a role is to promote someone from your organization. Internal recruitment is a valuable recruitment strategy because it ensures that you fill vacancies with people who already understand your organization, its culture and what is expected of them.
In addition, recruiting people internally within your organization shows that you are committed to their development and growth. A strong talent management program that focuses on the development, succession planning, and advancement is a great way to show employees and candidates that there is a future for them in the company.
5. Passive candidates
Passive candidates have long been a bit of a hidden treasure. In the pre-social media era, it was almost impossible to come into contact with these talented workers who were not looking for a change of job.
The arrival of (professional) social networks has really changed the game in this area.
Recruiters can now get in touch with anyone even passive candidates. They can get involved with these candidates and build a relationship. Even if the passive candidate is not interested at the moment, a connection has been established via social media. As a result, your company will probably be the first thing that comes to his or her mind when he or she finally wants to change professionally…
6. Recommendations for the employees
In terms of recruitment methods, employee recommendations are among the most effective. Newly hired employees tend to be more committed, more productive and leave the company less frequently.
To create your own employee referral program, make sure that it includes the following elements:
- Incentives. Of course, cash incentives are usually the most effective. But non-monetary rewards, such as extra vacation or a personalized gift, can also serve the purpose.
- User-friendliness. Make your referral program as easy to use as possible. No tedious registration procedures or piles of paperwork to fill out, but a program that is short and easy to use.
- Keep them up to date. If one of your employees has referred someone to you, make sure you let them know how they are doing. Did he or she just make it to the next round of interviews? Send a short message to the person referred to you.
- Acknowledgment. Who doesn’t like a few words of praise every now and then? Especially when they’ve just found a brilliant new employee. Try to find a pleasant way to give your employees the (company-wide) recognition they deserve when they successfully refer to someone.
7. Text creation
Admittedly, the design of the text itself may not be very innovative. But as a recruitment strategy, it can be super effective. As many as 98% of text messages sent are read. Moreover, the response rate for text messages is 45% (compared to only 6% for emails).
As such, SMS is a great opportunity:
- Check with candidates
- Plan (and confirm) assessments and interviews
- To contact candidates during the recruitment process
8. Social networks
If you’re not already using social media as part of your online recruitment efforts, it’s time to get started. The younger generation of jobseekers, in particular, use some sort of social channel when looking for a job (86% to be exact).
The possibilities of social media are endless and now go far beyond the “big four” (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn). Recruiters are starting to think beyond the social framework, trying to find new talent in places like Tinder, SnapChat and Bumble.
Again, the key to social network online recruitment is knowing your target candidates (and where to find them).
9. Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) deserves a place in an article on innovative recruitment methods. More and more companies use a variety of virtual reality experiences in their recruitment strategy to show candidates that they are an exciting and innovative place to work.
What does such an experience look like?
With VR you can, for example, give your candidates a (remote) realistic virtual tour of the office or show them your corporate culture. Compared to a video, VR headsets offer a higher degree of realism and detail. And it does not have to be that expensive!
10. Usage data
In terms of importance, this method of recruitment should have been the first on the list. To know whether the recruitment methods you use are producing the desired results, you need to start measuring.
What is the channel through which your candidates arrive? Which channel do you use to get the best hires? How long does it take from the time you decide you need a new employee to the time they actually start working?
This knowledge and much more will help you optimize your recruitment strategy. So start by making sure your recruitment process is data-driven.
As companies increasingly use a variety of technology platforms to streamline their recruitment processes, data-driven recruitment will help develop smarter strategies for candidate search and selection. These platforms enable recruiters to securely manage candidate data, ad platforms, selection processes, integration and talent management.
In 2019, companies are expected to conduct a thorough review of their recruitment data and obtain guidance on how to adapt, improve and streamline their recruitment strategy in the future. For teams that want to adapt and succeed in the future, this is a top-notch recruiting method that you can adapt and add to your 2019 strategic recruiting plan.
11. Employer assessment pages
Sites like Glassdoor should be part of every company’s recruitment strategy. We live in an age where just about everything online is liked or disliked.
Employers included. Many 21st-century job seekers spend a lot of time researching companies they could apply online. So, as a recruiter, you may want to visit these employer assessment sites and find out where your company’s weaknesses lie (if you haven’t already done so). If you find a mistake here and there, it is of course time to fix it now.
12. Dealing with an aging workforce
This may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of innovative recruitment methods. But the global workforce is aging rapidly; in the United States alone, 10,000 people turn 65 every day.
You see, the fact is that there are more departures of qualified and experienced people than there are young people who can compensate for these departures. So even if you have the best recruitment strategy in the world, there are physically not enough young candidates.
So include your experienced employees in your recruitment plans. Ask your best employees to postpone retirement perhaps in a slightly different way and, most importantly, create some kind of mentoring program.
Your older employees have a lot of experience, so they can pass on their knowledge to younger employees. In return, younger employees can have an innovative way of looking at certain processes that they can share with their more experienced colleagues. A mutual mentoring/teaching program is also likely to encourage involvement; it is a win-win situation for everyone.
13. Mobile recruitment
We deliberately put the subject at the bottom of the list because… Really? A mobile recruiting strategy is no longer optional. First, because it is practically the only way to get in touch with a whole generation of candidates (Generation Z, of course, and probably a large part of the millennials).
Second, because a mobile recruitment process is a big plus for your candidate experience. At a time when job seekers are used to doing everything on their smartphones, they expect no less from the company they are applying to.
Thirdly, following our section on the importance of SMS, how will you get the most out of SMS if you don’t have a mobile recruitment strategy? We have nothing more to add to that.
With the majority of the millennium already in the workforce and Gen Z quickly catching up, a 2019 Mobile First Recruitment Strategy should be at the top of your priority list. The newer generation of applicants expects your application experience to be mobile-friendly. From the job posting to the application portal to the end of the screening process, you should ensure that candidates can easily complete each step on a mobile device. Fortunately, there are many websites and recruitment apps on the market that make this possible.
In a nutshell
Recruitment has never been so challenging and exciting! as it is today. To find the best candidates, you have to be creative and try out new and innovative recruiting methods from time to time.
By doing so, you show potential candidates that you are an exciting company, that you love technology and value the candidate’s experience.
Use these thirteen recruitment methods to inspire yourself. Try them (some) and see what works for you. Make the most of them!
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IceHrm is a Human resource management system for small and medium-sized organizations. This HRM software centralizes employee data and allows only one authorized person to access it, providing a high level of security. The presence module monitors employee time based on information about insertion and perforation. It covers all the basic HRM needs of a company such as Time Management, Training, and Development, Attendance Management, Expense management, leave management, Recruitment management and handling employee information.
