How to Recruit the Best Staff with Talent Acquisition Solutions

Recruiting and retaining talent — ah! There’s the rub. This task can be even more difficult without the right talent acquisition solution. Ensuring you have the best, modern talent acquisition solution tools will ensure that you will find the best new employees.

In the meantime, here are a few nuggets of advice for recruiting the best staff:

How to Improve Your Talent Acquisition Pool

Companies that choose the candidates who walk in the door or answer a well-written job ad are often missing out on the best candidates. Some candidates are already working and may not be looking for a new position — they are just testing the waters while finding out how much more they’d be worth in the open market. This is why having a talent acquisition platform is so important. It can help you avoid hiring traps and saving you time and ultimately money.

Things You Can Do to Help with Your Talent Acquisition:

• Invest time to develop relationships with university placement offices, recruiters, and executive search firms.
• Encourage your staff to participate in industry associations and conferences where they’ll meet candidates for you to successfully woo.
• Regularly check online job boards for potential candidates and their resumes.
• Use professional association websites and magazines to advertise any openings.
• Look for potential employees on LinkedIn and in other social media outlets.
• Bring in your best prospects for a meeting before you actually need them.

Here are some more provocative thoughts:

• Hire a person who has done this exact job in this exact industry in this particular business climate for a company with a very similar culture. The idea behind this tip is that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. This strategy is supposed to enable you to hire winners. But, ask yourself: Why then is this person leaving their current company to join yours? Make sure your salary and benefits are competitive!
• Hire candidates who will hit the ground running in your company. The thinking here is that you can’t afford the time to train a possibly successful candidate. Here again, know that there is the other side: When you hire and then train someone in your way of doing things, they’re bound to see it your way.
• Always post positions internally first. This boosts morale and makes your current staff members feel that their talents, capabilities and accomplishments are appreciated.
• Give internal potential candidates an interview. It’s an opportunity to better know your own staffers. In turn, they’ll learn about your goals and needs. In the end, you may find that there is a good fit between your needs and theirs.

Make your workplace desirable

Your organization walks the walk, right? Well, let the world in on your secret: You’re a great employer. How?

Build your reputation and your company brand so that the best prospects seek you out. Candidates will want to work for you because they respect your brand, making talent acquisition a breeze. 

• Take a step back and consider: What are your practices for increasing employee retention? Motivation? Accountability? Reward? Recognition? Flexibility in work-life balance? Promotion? Involvement?
• Get your own employees bragging that your company is a great place to work. Candidates will believe employees more than they will believe your literature.

Involve your employees in the hiring process

There are three reasons to involve your employees when acquiring new talent in the hiring process:

1. Your employees can recommend excellent candidates to your firm.
2. They can assist you in reviewing the resumes and qualifications of potential candidates.
3. They can help you interview people to assess their potential fit with your company.

If you don’t do this, you may be sabotaging yourself. People who participate in the selection process are committed to helping the new employee succeed.

Pay better than your competition

Compensation is the last piece of the talent acquisition or recruitment puzzle. You get what you pay for in the job market:

• Survey your local job market and take a hard look at the compensation offered by others in your industry.
• You want to pay better than average to attract and keep the best candidates.
• If you try to lowball it, employees will resent their pay scale, feel underappreciated and leave you for the first good job offer they snag.
• Employee replacement costs range from two to three times the person’s annual salary.

So remember: You get what you are willing to pay for in the job market.

Add value to your benefits package

Another portion of employee compensation beyond pay is the companies' benefits package. Here are some tips to acquire talent with your company's employee benefits:

• Keep them above industry standard.
• Add new benefits as you can afford them.
• Look into an employee benefits management system.
• Educate employees about the cost and value of benefits.
• Employees will appreciate how well you are looking out for their needs.

These ideas can help your organization succeed and grow as you create a workplace that meets your needs and those of your potential and current superior employees. If you are having difficulty recruiting the best staff for your business, a modern talent acquisition solution from a modern HR and payroll provider may be the answer. 

To see how we are already helping countless businesses with their talent acquisition, contact us today. We'll ensure that you can get back to the business of your business.