5 Out of The Box Recruiting Strategies to Attract Top Talent

The job market has never been more competitive than in the post- COVID-19 world. Coupled with the Great Resignation, firms are losing skilled employees, but these exceptionally talented workers are likewise pursuing new career opportunities. Traditional methods of plain word-based job posts won’t work any longer when you are trying to attract top talent. Ensuring your company’s survival and ensuring you stand out from the crowd; you need to use out of the box recruiting strategies.

To stand out from the crowd, you need to show off your business. Research has demonstrated the top talent falls in younger demographics such as Millennials and Gen Z and their approach to investigating possible employment differs from earlier generations. These groups research companies before deciding to join a company and factors such as diversity, inclusivity, equity, and personal fulfillment rank high on their list of priorities when looking at a company to join.

Connecting with and hiring the right talent is a key part of every company’s strategic HR management–need to optimize your recruitment strategies and methods to draw top talent. We will look at five creative recruitment strategies you can use to put your company in the top and entice the best high-level talent–and keep them for the long-term.

1. Use Jabord to Attract High-Level Talent

How do you attract the talent you need to your company? Drawing talent to your company is a bit like a sales and marketing endeavor–it’s all about image, what you offer, making the company as attractive as possible to the potential employee. Your company needs to be pleasant, not appear pleasant.

-Your online presence is important. An interactive career page from Jabord will engage talent in your company and show it off, moving you closer to discovering the perfect talent. Being present on the internet and social media will appeal to talent. But this isn’t enough. You need to interact with potential talent as well. You surrender talent if you have the same dull career page as everyone else.

- Show what you stand for. If they cannot understand why, you are the stronger option than the competition, they will dismiss your company. Focus on your corporation’s benefits and use Jabord‘s interactive career page, the company culture, and establish a positive impression of the company. Candidates dismiss viable companies when they cannot look at options for flexibility and work-life balance–be decisive and highlight these.

- Be authentic. Potential talent will discover straight off when you force authenticity. Likewise, get rid of clichés. Collaborate with staff and be honest with them. Communications across the whole hierarchy will produce employees who feel appreciated and generate opportunities for staff to share their experiences outside the workplace and attract talent. Include video interviews with employees from all levels in the company in your interactive career page.

- Offer a favorable deal. You are wrestling with other companies to attract the best possible talent. Candidates are more selective today and only look at companies that provide them a work-life balance. Significantly, remote or hybrid work options are more at the top of candidates’ list of concerns.

- Be quick with the hiring process–on average, it takes 28 days in the industry to select a candidate. Candidates call for you to be better than everybody else. Brainstorm with your hiring department and identify what changes you can carry out to show candidates you are committing to appoint the best talent in the shortest turnaround time.

Drawing talent starts with your image–an appealing image, clear direction, and a well-defined remuneration package are the first steps to attracting talent. Jabord presents you with out of the box recruiting strategies to help you identify the best possible candidates by showing them a snapshot of what it would be like to work for and with you. Through the interactive career page, you can add details about your company and show potential candidate an inside look at your company. Showcase your company culture, your values, and what you stand for.

Takeaway: online visibility on social media and the web is one of many creative recruitment strategies. Another option is an interactive career page on Jabord where you can introduce and show potential high-talent recruits the inside of your company.

2. Improve Your Employer Branding

This ties in with the previous point–your reputation, or employer brand, is how you are seen in the market but also by past, current, and future employees. A positive employer brand is half of the battle for top talent already won. Talented candidates will research companies they want to work for and weigh companies against one another. The best employee experience will always win. Companies that offer the best work-life balance, positive company culture, and opportunities for growth are some factors that determine whether top talent will apply to you.

You will have to ‘sell’ your company as the best one to work for–creative recruitment strategies are the tool you need to use. You can do this by:

- Focusing on your company’s best aspects, such as your culture and values.

- Showing growth opportunities within the company.

- Emphasizing your company’s commitment to work-life balance, such as flexible working schedules, hybrid, or even remote work opportunities.

- An ‘About Us’ page on your website where you can tell potential top talent about your company’s unique attributes.

- Offering potential employees, a view of the value the company brings them in exchange for the value they are adding to the company; it is a quid pro quo system where both the company and employees are involved.

-  Consider adding employee testimonials on your website to show potential talented job seekers what your company is really like on the inside. You can also use employee interviews on your interactive career page.

Be visible online and on social media by turning your employees into brand ambassadors. When employees share their positive experiences at work on social media, they can attract potential candidates. A warning: create clear guidelines and a social media policy to protect both the company and employees. Another way to build your employer branding is to start a company blog where leaders and employees can contribute. Post news, updates, and highlight initiatives that reflect the company’s commitment to employee wellbeing and satisfaction.

Be honest with yourself and look at your company from an outsider’s perspective. You will need to implement the changes if it isn’t a company you’d join. There is always room for growth. Potential high-talent employees will scrutinize your company before making a commitment–make sure you live up to their expectations.

Takeaway: online visibility on social media and the web is one of many creative recruitment strategies. Another option is an interactive career page on Jabord where you can introduce and show potential high-talent recruits the inside of your company and improve your employer branding.

3. Use Creative Recruitment Strategies Such as Employee Referrals

Do not undervalue the power of internal employee referrals–it is a superior and creative recruitment strategy. Your employees understand the company and what is required of potential candidates. An employee referral program results in faster hires, improved workforce planning, and lower staff turnover.

Incentives are a powerful driving force for employee referral programs and can be financial, non-financial, or both. With non-monetary incentives, your creativity is the limit and buy-in from your employees is crucial. Non-monetary ideas include gift cards, leisure packages, such as spa or golf days, a certificate of appreciation, flexible working hours, or paid time off. The more creativity you use, the stronger buy-in from staff.

Monetary options may include referral bonuses or covering an employee’s contribution to their retirement scheme for a particular month. The key is to be sincere and consistent in all decisions.

The referral program must communicate your hiring expectations clearly: what the referral process entails, listed positions, and benefits of successful referrals, among others. Document the policy and ensure it is available in print or on demand on the company intranet or cloud.

You need to evaluate the success of the employee referral scheme. Four metrics you should track are:

1. Employee participation rates.
2. How many possible referred candidates were employed?
3. How many referrals were generated by each employee?
4. Candidate satisfaction and referring team member satisfaction

The employee program should be uncomplicated to use. Centralize all available positions–options include the company intranet, the career page on your website, or perhaps in a weekly email. Also make use of applicant tracking software (ATS). Offer employees pre-approved material they can post on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or even LinkedIn. Assigning a dedicated email address is necessary to avoid possible talent going lost in cyberspace, or worse still, overlooked.

Takeaway: one of the best recruitment ideas outside the box to get your employees involved in the recruitment process. They know what the advertised job entails and probably have connections with potential candidates.

4. Other Recruiting Ideas Outside the Box: Expand Your Network

To connect and attract high-level talented employees, look at expanding your search strategies. A diverse sourcing approach will deliver a diverse staff complement–unique skill sets will need recruiting ideas outside the box.

Rather than spending the bulk of your time on LinkedIn, consider alternatives, such as:

- posting on niche-specific job boards

- attending and presenting a session or booth at career fairs at colleges and universities,

- appearing and interacting at networking events to source potential high-level talent, and

- using social recruiting–utilize the power of social media, online forums, and blogs to screen and recruit candidates.

Furthermore, use Facebook and post a job opening on relevant groups and pages. Or send a tweet on Twitter with a link to the open job with hashtags. Share photos or videos of employees and company-sponsored events (with the relevant party’s consent) on Instagram and YouTube. It will show potential recruits what your company is about, show your employer brand, and pique potential talent’s interest. Be personable and reply to comments or messages–you are building relationships with the talent pool to find the best possible fit for the job. Keep track of messaging across your social media platforms and be consistent. You don’t want to confuse or offend potential employees and put your company in a poor light.

Takeaway: expand your search to include niche markets, utilize social media, consider presenting at career days and career showcases to attract top talent.

5. Offer Personal Fulfilment and Career Progression

With all the above in mind, we need to realize personal fulfillment and career progression go hand-in-hand. Employees who feel satisfied through career progression will invariably go the extra mile, and the reverse is likewise true.

Personal fulfillment

Employees wish to feel part of a team, not like another gear. Potential high-level talented recruits want to see how their work affects their department, the company, and the wider society outside the workplace. This is where the company attracts the best possible talent–candidates want to know their ideas matter and they can interact with decision-making processes. Highlight opportunities are available to employees to have their voice heard. Disgruntled employees won’t speak out but leave the company for another that appreciates and hears them.

High-value and qualified talent are seeking high-value compensation–consider adding bonuses–setting you apart from competition. You need to add some sugar to attract talent. Be interactive and make use of a video job post which showcase your company and what you are looking for in a potential candidate. You cannot list every single detail about a job description on your career page.

Career Progression

Personal fulfillment also has career progression and monetary factors attached to it and here you will have to use out of the box recruiting strategies. Employees have personal dreams and aspirations they want to achieve, and the financial aspect is a big consideration when seeking new jobs. As a company, you will need to sell your company to potential high-talent employees through the salary part.

What else can you offer employees to make your company more lucrative if your salary package is not as competitive as a rival company’s? Some ideas to consider:

- offer a choice between hybrid or remote working opportunities–when they spend less on their commute, they have more disposable cash,

- an in-house daycare facility for talented workers with children, and

- professional skills development coupled with financial incentives and career advancement.

Again, disposable salary is a big motivator for potential employees. Do your business offer contributions to a retirement fund, or do you have one already which employees can sign up for? A bonus scheme, either at year-end or based on project completion, is another way to attract talent.

Career progression is often fundamental in a candidate’s decision whether they accept your offer. You can also address personal fulfillment through either in-house or external training courses. Showing potential recruits that they can better themselves and have a bigger impact not only within the company but the outside world, is paramount. Top-rated talent is already highly qualified, and they want to keep their skills sharp. Focus on training schemes to develop both hard and soft skills as this attracts top talent thinking about longer-term career advancement within your company. Discuss your professional development scheme with potential candidates during the recruitment process and interviews.

Takeaway: there is a financial aspect attached to career progression. Potential talented recruits will want to see as their skills and career progresses, their salary is in line with this progression.

Conclusion

Attracting the right talent for your company starts with your company image–by showing potential candidates what your company looks like on the inside and what your values are. In today’s environment, you need your employees more than they need you, and they know it. Work is no longer just an activity to get an income and afford a certain lifestyle. Workers realize their worth and this is one of the driving forces behind the Great Resignation. Unhappy workers will damage your company and an unhappy working environment will not only damage your workers but drive them away.

By using recruitment ideas outside the box, you are showing potential talented workers your creativity and that they will matter at your company. Use the power of social media to find and recruit talent and branch out into different recruitment opportunities, such as seminars, career days, and networking opportunities. Involve your staff in the recruitment process as well by offering them the opportunity to suggest high-talent individuals. Personal and financial fulfillment is also a top priority for talented recruits–offer this, be competitive, and show them you are the best match in their job seeking journey.

Take your job posts out of the past and into the future by using one of the most out of the box recruiting strategies: an interactive career page where you show potential recruits the inside of your company’s day-to-day work life and how they can have a work-life balance when working for you.