Article: Science of talent attraction in 2018: Indeed

Recruitment

Science of talent attraction in 2018: Indeed

Here are some insights on the science of talent attraction in 2018 based on Indeed's survey which highlights that 90 percent of people are actively looking for job monthly
Science of talent attraction in 2018: Indeed

Indeed’s survey with FocusVision shows that 97 percent of people are actively looking for job opportunities at least few times a year, out of which 90 percent of them are seeking out for job opportunities monthly. However, there is a small portion of respondents (3 percent) who are happy with their current roles and are not searching for job opportunities.

These findings suggest that the times have changed and recruitment is no longer about aggressively reaching out to passive candidates, it has become more about attracting the active pool of candidates. And this requires a robust hiring strategy based on the understanding of how candidates are making decisions.

Candidates go through various steps before choosing their final employer. They first consider a change; psychologically prepare themselves for leaving their current job. This stage is the most time consuming, and an active job seeker has usually passed this stage, making it easier for the recruiters to attract him/her. Interestingly, Indeed’s report highlights that 22 percent candidates start considering a change when they see posts about an interesting company or job while others are stimulated by other factors like dissatisfaction in the current role. Before taking the final decision and choosing their new employer, the candidates also consider the company and the opportunity. Most candidates consider opportunities based on pay, location, and flexibility.

Another valuable insight of the survey is that candidates believe it’s important that they direct their job search. 68 percent of the employed adults feel they would be more successful in a job if they have found it on their own versus if the opportunity came to them from the recruiter or the company. 

These findings suggest the importance of inbound recruitment strategy (the candidate applies first) and leveraging it to fill in most of the positions. Professional profiles, staffing firms, talent marketplaces, social recruiting, employer brand campaign and referrals, there are numerous ways of hiring talent.  Inbound recruiting being less expensive, less labor-intensive and less time consuming is more efficient when compared to outbound tactics.

Besides cost perspective, the inbound strategy is more efficient even from candidate standpoint as active job seekers are more motivated and driven if they joined the company after taking an active decision and comparing all their options. 51 percent recruiters shared that motivational drive of active candidates is better as compared to passive. Lack of passion and commitment, inability to adapt to the role, company and culture can be some of the reasons of passive candidates demotivation.

But inbound recruiting also has some challenges like receiving too many applications to screen and difficulty in controlling who applies. Considering these challenges and the need to streamline the strenuous task of finding and hiring the right talent, here are some practices that can make the process simpler and efficient:

  1. Sequence recruiting tactics to optimize quality, cost and performance

    Setting a budget based on the conversion rate and the number of candidates required is critical. This ensures that good portion of open positions is filled at the lowest cost possible per hire. For simpler job profiles try to get a good flow of active candidates from organic traffic. In cases where higher volumes of candidates are required it’s better to invest in a sponsored jobs campaign. However, in case of complex job roles outbound strategy could be utilized. Recruiting tactics based on the complexities and needs of varied roles is fundamental to find the right fit for a particular job.

  2. Shape your candidate plan

    Through various levers like job title, job descriptions, career sites, application process and company reviews recruiters can have control over talent, and they can utilize these levers for shaping their talent pipeline. For instance, while posting a job using more relatable and popular keywords is better than writing internal jargons for that role. Using strange or internal jargons in job titles can confuse them and lead to ambiguity and further limit the number of job applications. Here is an example of a good job description:

    Here they have used attractive phrases that could draw the attention of job seekers and lead them to apply for the job.

    Here they have also included important keywords that would lead the job seekers to the description based on their job search.

    Same job description, therefore, highlights both technical as well as behavioral aspects of the profile making it both appealing and relevant.

  3. Build a brand that brings talent to you

    The brand and its image also determine the volume and relevance of job applications. 83 percent people in Indeed’s survey say that company reviews impact their decisions before applying for a job. And 46 percent of them are also influenced by company’s reputation. At Indeed a 5 percent increase rate in job application has been observed when employer reviews on Indeed company pages are made available.

  4. Optimize the candidate experience

    Candidate experience is another element continually gaining importance. From creating a comprehensible job description to the simplicity of application process, each stage forms an integral part of candidate experience. A lot of companies take candidate feedback to understand and capture their likes and dislikes. This gives them insights and helps them in improvising their hiring strategy. Candidates are now looked at as customers, and the approach to recruitment is like marketing. Therefore, various recruitment tools like predictive screening and talent analytics should be leveraged to enhance the candidate experience, thus, building an efficient employer brand.

(This article is based on the Webcast ‘The science of talent attraction in 2018 – Tactics to jump start your strategy’ organized by Indeed and Webinar, where Bharat Jayaprakash, Senior Director, Indeed.com spoke about how to make the talent attraction strategy a success.)

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Topics: Recruitment

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