Finding qualified candidates is a challenge for Canadian businesses right now, whether they’re small family-run companies or large organizations. Canada-wide and industry-wide, the labour market beyond the pandemic is tough for employers looking to recruit staff.
When there’s a shortage of job seekers, how do you court qualified candidates? The same old recruiting tactics that worked before the pandemic are unlikely to get your company results in 2021 and beyond. The recruiting market as it is, job seekers aren’t short of opportunity. To recruit successfully, you need your job offers to be as attractive as possible. In this article, we offer 5 effective ways to attract qualified candidates during difficult times. Let’s get started!
Recruiting tip #1: publish detailed job descriptions
If you posted a job vacancy online in the hopes of getting a tidal wave of applications overnight, only to be met with a lack of interest, your job description may be lacking detail. Remember, candidates currently have the luxury of being selective with their job search, so your job descriptions must stand out.
To do this, you need to make your job posting as comprehensive as possible. Tell the would-be candidate precisely what duties are involved, who they would be reporting to, what the job pays and what benefits it offers, too (career development opportunities, perks, etc). All of this is vital information.
Here are the basic elements that you should include every time you post a vacancy:
- Clear job title
- Eye-catching job summary
- List of responsibilities and duties
- Qualifications, skills and experience needed
- Salary and other benefits
If at all possible, include the salary range for the position so that job seekers don’t make incorrect assumptions. Although posting ads without salary details is common practice, it’s not a best practice. By omitting salary details on job ads, employers often end up wasting time interviewing and vetting candidates only for them to decline the job offer after the pay rate is revealed. By including salary details, you’ll attract qualified candidates, and that’s key.
If you’re posting your job descriptions on a variety of websites, track which ones perform the best. Measuring your results is important so that you can make adjustments to your recruitment strategy where needed. The extra effort will save you money and time in the long term.
Recruiting tip #2: invest in holistic compensation packages
The pandemic has had a massive impact on practically all aspects of work, and candidate expectations are no exception. In a post-pandemic world, employee expectations have changed—workers value so much more than a pay cheque. They value work benefits, upskilling and reskilling opportunities, schedule flexibility, a healthy work-life balance and strong work culture. Remote work has also become particularly important to candidates, meaning companies that offer work-from-home or remote positions are more likely to attract top talent in competitive industries. Put simply, candidates are looking for holistic compensation packages.
If your company already offers a range of benefits and perks, make sure to communicate them clearly in your job vacancies and throughout the hiring process. The more specific you can be, the better. If you don’t offer important benefits like the chance to work remotely, consider improving your organization’s policy on these crucial points that could make or break your talent acquisition efforts.
Recruiting tip #3: start an internal referral incentive
As the saying goes, “Good people know good people.” Your loyal, top-performing employees likely know other like-minded professionals. If you offer your employees a referral incentive, they just might vouch for your company among friends and family, helping you tap into a large pool of sought-after candidates that you might otherwise not be able to reach very easily.
Leverage your employees’ professional networks by offering internal referral bonuses. Usually, the most common type of bonus is a monetary reward. However, you can structure the bonus however you like depending on your needs. For instance, you might pay employees the full bonus after the successful candidate has passed their 3-month probation period, or, to increase the number of candidates you meet, you might decide to give away 10% of the bonus after every completed interview process.
Offering a referral bonus goes hand-in-hand with developing a holistic compensation package. Not only will it help you hire new talent, but you’ll also retain existing employees and make them feel like their input matters when it comes to talent acquisition at your company. It’s a win-win situation!
Recruiting tip #4: create a positive candidate experience
Remember, job seekers right now can afford to be selective. If your application process is too time-consuming or your interview process is inconvenient, candidates may let them pass by.
Many active job seekers are holding full-time jobs and don’t have tons of free time to pour into their job search. This is especially true if their job search isn’t a priority and is more of a potential, peripheral interest.
To maximize your odds of attracting candidates, make your application process easy. The same goes for your interview process, too. Semi-interested candidates with full-time work probably won’t go out of their way to attend an interview at 11 am on a Monday. Instead, try offering more flexible times so they can meet you before or after their regular workday ends. Even better, offer to meet them virtually so they can connect with you via mobile or their laptop. In fact, virtual interviewing is so popular in today’s labour market we’ve listed it as one of our top 8 hiring trends.
Recruiting tip #5: follow up with unresponsive candidates
Most recruiters have been ghosted by candidates at some point during the hiring process, and that’s exactly why following up with unresponsive applicants is so important. Keep in mind that active candidates are likely being contacted multiple times a day in today’s competitive job market, so you should aim to stay at the top of their inbox and at the front of their mind (without resorting to spam, of course).
Make a note of when you last contacted a candidate and whether they responded or not. This can be done using Excel or Google Sheets. After following up a couple of times, avoid reaching out again for three to six months depending on the circumstances.
If the position that you’re hiring for is still open after the determined period of months, check in with your candidate to see if they have a renewed interest in the vacancy. You could also share any changes that might apply like a higher wage, a wider range of work benefits or the opportunity to work remotely. Another approach is to mention any news such as an award that the company won or a new product that was successfully launched.
These details can be interesting to an unsure and unresponsive candidate and demonstrate the value of your organization beyond just handing out pay cheques. Even if the candidate is not interested, they might refer a friend or colleague to you, so there’s really no downside to a quick follow-up email.
Recruiting during a labour shortage is no easy task, but we hope these five tips will make the whole process a little easier for you. If you need a helping hand finding the talent your company needs to expand in a post-pandemic world, the Adecco team can help. Contact us today to see how we can source and hire talented people for your high-priority roles!