Recruiting has become a 24/7 process. To adjust to this reality and attract the best talent, companies must find ways to modernize their talent acquisition. Here are three items to consider along the way.
Up to now, recruiting has been a recruiter-centric process rather than a worker-centric one. In turn, this hampers workers’ ability to look for opportunities on their own time.
Consider the scenario of a temporary staffer finishing work at 5 a.m. for a third straight shift. This person might want to seek greener pastures, but he or she cannot explore career opportunities at that time of day.
Enter: recruitment on the go, which puts the power back in applicants’ hands. It’s a new approach that attracts quality candidates and expands the hiring pool by providing potential hires a forum to apply for a job anytime and anywhere.
It’s also a chance to use modern virtual recruiting tools to break down diverse hiring impediments—something many employers have become familiar with over the past year.
An All-Day-Every-Day Approach to Recruiting
Who benefits most from a candidate engagement platform developed with the consumer experience in mind? Without a doubt, the 24/7 recruitment model strategy is most valuable for candidates.
Nonetheless, the advantages of using recruitment technology to provide secure, professional, and around-the-clock assistance aren’t limited to applicants. For instance, it helps employers attract quality candidates and expand the hiring pool. Companies looking for great people to fill specific roles are more apt to have more choices, which never hurts. As any recruiter knows, more talent in the pipeline leads to happier clients.
Recruiters, too, can benefit significantly from a recruitment-on-the-go approach that meshes the virtual with the real world. How? They can use virtual recruiting strategies to reach people who might otherwise be unable to sit down for an interview. This allows hiring professionals to evaluate, coach, and guide individuals from various backgrounds, educations, and experiences.
Build a Recruiting Model That Takes No Days Off
If your recruitment style doesn’t focus on the needs of our 24/7 world, you can keep the following tips in mind when developing a streamlined 24/7 recruiting process:
1. The forum should be candidate-friendly. When planning a 24/7 facility or candidate engagement platform, you need to strategize with end users in mind so you can deliver personalized candidate experiences.
Consequently, your building should be comfortable and inviting. If you’re not going to have staff on-site all the time, you’ll need a buzz-in system that makes candidates feel welcome and protected. You should carefully map out every moment of a candidate’s journey, from walking through the front door to driving away.
Why? Immediate contact—even through a virtual portal—brings the human touch into the picture, making the experience feel seamless and natural.
2. The recruiters should have access to virtual recruiting tools. Off-site recruiters can play a vital role in a 24/7 candidate experience. With virtual recruiting tools, recruiters have dedicated systems and private spaces to speak freely and be fully present during interviews.
To facilitate ease of use for your recruiters, create a separate place in a traditional office that is outfitted with HD video cameras and noise-canceling headphones. This lowers barriers to collaboration and decreases the odds of digital communication hiccups.
3. The candidates should feel like they’ve had a personal experience. Individualization shouldn’t end just because a candidate drops by a self-serve facility at midnight. Recruiters may not be able to sit across a desk from an interested candidate, but they should still be able to give their full attention at that moment. Doing so helps candidates feel in control, heard, and like more than just a number.
Remember: The deeper the link between a recruiter and a candidate, the more likely the candidate will do his or her best work on assignments. In addition to boosting the candidate’s résumé and reputation, it gives the recruiter a nice lift. Moreover, forging relationships between talent and recruiters—even if they can never meet in person—is sure to amplify everyone’s overall experience.
We’re kicking off the third decade of the 21st century. Recruitment is changing rapidly, and it’s more competitive than ever. By pivoting to a 24/7 model of applicant-centric strategies, recruiters can avoid letting strong talent slip through their fingers when the rest of the world’s asleep.
David Darnell is an Area Manager at Integrity Staffing Solutions, a full-service staffing agency that ranks in the top 2% of agencies across the country for quality service based on ClearlyRated’s “Best of Staffing” client survey.