As the demand for top talent increases, finding and recruiting the right people is more important than ever. Talent acquisition is now the third most critical challenge that companies face: 81 percent of business and HR leaders identify talent acquisition as their top priority in HR.
In order to transform how a company approaches talent acquisition, TA teams must identify and understand the relationships among critical stakeholders in the process: recruiters, hiring managers, candidates, and current employees.
Avature recently explored this topic at Zukunft Personal, a European trade fair for the HR industry. Dr. Jan Seevogel, Avature SVP DACH, described the role of technology in stakeholder engagement and explored ways that various organizations serve each stakeholder. The 30-minute presentation also demonstrated the transformation of TA technology from a system of record to a platform for service delivery.
For those who missed #ZP17, read on to discover some of the key insights that Jan shared.
Collaborate with Hiring Managers
Building effective relationships with hiring managers is the most influential driver of TA performance—it is four times more significant than other top TA performance drivers. However, internal collaboration can be a challenge. Recruiting is not necessarily a high priority for hiring managers, so they don’t always respond to emails or calls. Recruiters, on the other hand, have many requisitions to fill, and they may not provide consistent status updates or fully understand the business needs of hiring managers.
Even the most organized people can lose emails in a busy inbox or get buried under a pile of paper resumes. An organization focused on strategic HR strives to collect all relevant data and communications in one central place like Avature ATS, and makes that information accessible from anywhere at any time.
By delivering integrated service to recruiters and hiring managers, companies can ensure that these stakeholders are informed and aligned regarding candidates. A comprehensive system also supports a seamless and easy experience that enables transparency throughout the TA process.
Attract and Engage Candidates
As recruiters and hiring manager collaborate, they are able to deliver service to one of the most important stakeholders: the candidate. In fact, an organization can begin delivering a high level of service before it even meets the candidate.
Organizations can use branded career site and portals to introduce prospective candidates to the work life and culture. KPMG, for instance, incorporates its employer brand into its career site by sharing employees’ video testimonials, explaining its values, and describing its diverse work culture. The site provides relevant content for candidates who are actively looking for a job, as well as for those who are just browsing.
Once an organization captures the attention of talent, the next step is to provide an easy way for them to learn more about career opportunities. Companies can use a candidate relationship management solution like Avature CRM to establish different talent communities and send targeted communications based on areas of interest. When candidates register to a talent community, they receive automated yet personalized communications such as newsletters containing industry trends and relevant jobs.
Developing candidate pools such as these is the second most influential TA performance driver. True candidate engagement requires more than simply sending out job alerts. With the right tools, an organization can schedule automated email or SMS communications to target candidate groups based on a variety of criteria: job function, years of experience, location, area of interest, or company or university. Recruiters can set automated reminders to contact candidates with high potential every few months in order to provide a high-touch experience. The key is to automate and personalize communications.
Leverage Current Employees
Employee referrals are the top source of high-quality hires. Providing employees with a simple, traceable referral process is a service that can generate huge returns. For example, each job posting on a career page can give options for candidates to apply and for employees to refer a friend or colleague. Or better yet, an organization can create a dedicated referral site where employees can quickly and easily upload a person’s information and review the status of any previous referrals.
As Jan shared at Zukunft Personal, automated technologies like these help enable high-quality service to all stakeholders. And when an organization prioritizes service delivery amid the complexities of the recruiting process, TA teams are able to realize the best talent outcomes.
