4 Ways to Boost Your Candidate Pool
With 2018 well underway, your agency will be assessing strategies and budgets for the year ahead. And against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, talent shortages and changing workforce demographics, the steps you take to prepare your agency for these challenges, have the potential to place you head and shoulders above your competition.
So how can your recruitment agency develop a rich pool of quality talent?
Choose Wisely
One of the most powerful functionalities of an ATS is how it enables you to communicate with any candidate. However, it’s an area where the most mistakes are just waiting to be made.
If a candidate is interested in applying but has trouble finding the application and then has to fill out a lot of fields manually, you’re less likely to get completed applications from top talent. They’re just not willing to go through long, repetitive processes to get past the door. The more work there is on the front end, the less likely they are to complete it. This point is especially important for higher-margin firms that are seeking out those high-value passive candidates, who generally are simply not interested in filling out forms.
A good applicant tracking system can make it easy to apply via social media, such as a LinkedIn account. And while some organisations still feel they need to go old-school and collect a lot of information during that first contact, it can be helpful to change that thinking and just get the basics at first. Once the candidate is in the system, let the ATS do all the work.
Develop Your Online Presence
While sourcing candidates yourself is crucial, you need to also think about what image your brand portrays when talent finds you. Does it encourage candidates to engage with you and share their details? Does it tell them that their career will be in safe hands? If the answer to any of these questions is “No,” you need to be reviewing and updating your website’s user experience. If your site looks like it was created years ago, isn’t mobile-friendly and doesn’t accurately describe why a candidate should use your services, then it’s likely it needs a makeover. Ensure it’s full of engaging content such as career advice and industry insights that add value to the audience and encourages candidates to share their information with you and seek you out when they’re looking for work.
Provide a Terrific Candidate Experience
We’ve spoken before about the importance of a good candidate experience, yet we still hear horror stories. But with technology allowing you to engage with talent in a far more efficient manner, there’s really no excuse not to provide each and every individual that comes into contact with your brand with a positive experience. Ensure processes are personalised, content is tailored to each individual, and that feedback is received at the end of each and every placement. If your agency wants to develop a pool of talent it can call upon today, tomorrow, and in the distant future, creating an incredible candidate experience must be part of your company’s DNA.
Avoid Silly Mistakes
If you’re investing time and money into developing rich talent pools, you need to ensure your recruiters are avoiding doing things that turn candidates away. A lack of communication is a surefire way to do just this. Nothing is more frustrating than a lack of response to a query or job application. And with applicant tracking systems and automated processes helping you ensure that candidates don’t fall through the net, there’s really no excuse—even if you’re delivering bad news to the individual. Similarly, a lack of feedback will only serve to alienate talent. Your recruiters are experts in their field and should be offering constructive feedback to each and every candidate—advice that will help them secure the next role they apply for.
If your agency wants to develop talent pools that ensure you can fill each and every client brief, forge closer relationships, and outperform your competition, candidates must be at the heart of your strategy for over the next 12 months. Failure to do so will almost certainly be detrimental to your staff, your clients, and your bottom line.
There’s never been a better or more vital time to focus on candidate engagement. Get the candidate engagement ebook to discover whether you should focus more on candidate engagement, and if so, which processes and technology you can tap to support your efforts.
