The hiring process is one that requires patience, intention, and active engagement. It’s often a resource-intensive task for companies to attract top-tier talent, as the traditional method of posting vacancies on job boards doesn’t always yield the desired results.
Sourcing strategies have been evolving and will continue to do so, making talent acquisition increasingly challenging. According to a 2022 PwC report, a potential shortage of 85 million skilled workers by 2030 could result in $8 trillion of annual revenue remaining untapped.
Despite the uncertain macroeconomic climate, the need for recruitment remains unchanged. It’s imperative, now more than ever, that every vacancy is filled by the best candidate on the market. This underlines the importance of meticulous attention to your sourcing process and candidate experience.
Adopting a variety of candidate sourcing strategies can provide a competitive edge. In this article, we’ll discuss various strategies to enhance your recruitment efforts.
1. Candidates Travel In Packs
Employee referral initiatives are frequently rated highly in recruitment strategies due to their effectiveness.
The popularity of such programs stems from their proven track record of success. It’s a well-known adage that “like attracts like,” which is backed by evidence. Studies have indicated that hires via employee referrals tend to stay longer with the company and are often high-performing, quality candidates.
Investing in an employee referral initiative can reap substantial benefits as a recruitment tool. However, it’s crucial to be mindful of your workforce’s diversity when leveraging this method.
A largely uniform workforce might result in referrals of candidates with similar backgrounds. While employee referral programs are likely to generate significant results, relying solely on this method may limit the diversity of your talent pool. Hence, referrals should be part of, but not the entirety of, your sourcing strategy.
2. The Power of Social Media
Social sourcing. It’s something that wasn’t around that long ago.
Organizations have adapted to include social media as part of their talent acquisition and employer branding efforts. Tools like LinkedIn have made it easier than ever to simply connect with a hiring manager. Overall, it’s a fairly democratized way of accessing talent and opportunity (albeit, biases do come into play).
While LinkedIn serves as a substantial platform for recruitment, there exist certain limitations when it becomes the primary sourcing strategy. Notably, a significant portion, specifically 60%, of LinkedIn users fall within the millennial age group of 26-35 years old. In addition, the platform comprises 27% of working American adults. Consequently, this demographic distribution and relative minority of the total working population could potentially limit the availability of suitable candidates for higher-level roles within your organization.
3. University and Internship Programs
Building relationships with universities can help you connect with talented engineering students. Offering internships or co-op programs can provide a pipeline of potential full-time hires.
4. Workforce Development Strategies
We know that talented people are everywhere but opportunity isn’t. Many talented candidates may not have had the opportunity to get a traditional four-year degree at a university. Others might have pivoted their careers after serving in the military or spending time as a caregiver.
The right candidate doesn’t always come in a picture, perfect box with a bow tied on top. Sometimes, the right candidate is looking for new opportunities but experiencing barriers to be able to get their foot in the door.
Workforce development organizations are a great way to source quality candidates and close the skills gap. Organizations like the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) and Society of Women Engineers (SWE) provides leadership and support for the success of underrepresented minorities in the engineering workforce. Including these types of organizations within your recruitment strategy would be a benefit to your organization.
5. Executive Recruitment and Search Firms
Many companies find that they are just too busy to create a robust recruitment strategy that links to new and alternative ways of finding top talent. In these cases, companies are turning to recruitment companies to help them find the right hires, especially for executive and senior roles within Manufacturing and Engineering Departments. Picking a dedicated recruitment provider that has expertise in the area your company works in can help to reduce your workload and stress as well as providing you with exceptional candidates that can help take your business forward in a way you had never imagined.
It is clear alternative recruitment strategies are becoming increasingly important as the world of work evolves and the demand for quality applicants grows. Companies that are able to leverage these strategies are able to find top talent in a way that is faster, more convenient, and more effective than traditional methods. Whether it’s through employee referral programs, social media recruitment, online job fairs, or recruitment specialist support, companies that are willing to embrace change and experiment with new strategies will be the ones that find the best talent and stay ahead of the competition. If you’d like to talk to our team at Crown Technical Staffing about your recruitment needs then we would love to hear from you – connect with us today to find a recruitment solution that works for your needs.
