Recruiting Top Talent to Your Company

Every organization wants to hire employees to drive business success. But nowadays, attracting top talent requires far more than a job advert. Companies have to actively target the right candidates, promote positions through various outlets, and capitalize on their marketing efforts to stand out among a surplus of great job opportunities.

Being successful at recruiting talent also means companies have to rethink their current employee recruitment strategies and find innovative ways to attract talent. The following action steps can help your organization transform its hiring process and win big when attracting talent to your organization.

What does talent recruitment mean? 

Sometimes the terms talent acquisition and talent recruitment are used interchangeably. The two concepts are similar but different. Talent acquisition is the ongoing process of building a large talent pool, while talent recruitment is the temporary process of filling a singular role. When thinking about the two topics, it is helpful to think of recruitment as one piece of the larger acquisition process. When companies recruit talented employees for a role, they strengthen their ability to keep recruiting top talent. 

12 ways to attract top talent

Attracting top talent is always tough, but it is especially difficult in today’s job market. The following twelve suggestions help employers, hiring managers, and HR professionals stand out against competitors. When followed correctly, these tips will help you recruit top talent for current open positions and find consistency with future talent acquisition.  
  1. Create a talent pipeline 
  2. Create effective job descriptions 
  3. Advertise what sets you apart 
  4. Leverage your internal team 
  5. Stand out as an employer of choice 
  6. Create brand awareness through social media 
  7. Education and community outreach 
  8. Host an open house or job fair 
  9. Create a great experience for candidates 
  10. Extend job offers quickly 
  11. Reach out to former employees 
  12. Stay in touch with good candidates 

Create a talent pipeline

If your organization is rethinking how to attract top talent, it’s essential to consider reaching both active and passive candidates. Just because a talented individual isn’t knocking at your door doesn’t mean they shouldn’t know more about your organization and why it’s a great place to work. According to a benchmark study published by recruitment software provider Lever, approximately half of all hires are recruited or proactively sourced.

Find ways to build relationships with passive candidates ever before they consider looking for a new position. To do this, listen to their career goals, know what motivates them, and then provide a clear picture of how their career could thrive at your organization. Regular communication will ensure you keep them engaged with your company and alert you to any new developments in their career path.

To boost your recruitment efforts, create a robust careers page. Utilize job boards such as LinkedIn and Indeed, and consider implementing employee referral programs to extend your talent reach. It is also helpful to set up reminders for job seekers who visited a job post but did not apply yet. 

The most effective advice is to take time to understand what worked in the past. If something worked already, it would work again! Understanding historical trends requires research, but it will save you time in the long run.  

Create effective job descriptions

Attracting top talent starts with effective job descriptions. When you think of a job description as a first impression, it is easier to choose what to include. Imagine you know nothing about the company – what are the most important pieces of information?  

Efficient, effective job descriptions attract talent by highlighting unique company benefits, including training and development opportunities and well-being programs. Including this information helps companies become more appealing than their competitors, plus it is to get job seekers enticed enough to read the whole job description, including all prerequisites. The more you show someone how much they can thrive at your company, the more interested they become.  

Advertise what sets you apart

You may already know your organization is a great place to work. But that doesn’t necessarily equate to successful recruitment. To differentiate your organization from the competition, increase your employer brand by highlighting what makes your culture special and unique. One of the most authentic ways is to feature the words of who knows your organization best: your employees.

Showcasing your employer brand with tools that draw upon strengths from your employee engagement survey – such as a Culture Cloud or examples of anonymous employee feedback – can capture the attention of job candidates and provide a glimpse of what it’s like to work for your organization.

An intentional, people-first culture is an important quality of a great workplace. But there are other considerations for recruiting talent too. Pay and benefits are critical for some. For others, it might be learning opportunities, a work/life balance, or feeling challenged by the work. Knowing and promoting your organization’s key strengths will make it easier to attract top talent. It also enables you to fine-tune your marketing efforts, job descriptions, and external communications. In the current job market, employees want: 

  • Company investment in their value 
  • Flexible workplace and paid time off 
  • Training and development (specifically leadership development) 
  • Supportive colleagues, managers, and senior leaders 
  • Purposeful, people-driven mission 
  • Well-being initiatives  

Leverage your internal team

Employee engagement is an indication your employees are motivated to give their best every day, willing to refer their networks to others, and committed to your organization. Employee advocates validate your company’s culture and core values. That’s why it’s essential to feature employee testimonials on your careers pages, job listings, social media, and other marketing efforts.

Employee referral programs can also help with recruiting talent. Empowering company ambassadors is one of the innovative ways to attract talent.

Stand out as an employer of choice

People want to work for – and do business with – companies with the best workplace cultures. Earning third-party, credible employer recognition such as a Top Workplaces award is an indication that your employees believe in your company. It’s also an excellent way to bolster your brand, which is helpful in attracting top talent.

Create brand awareness through social media

There are many innovative ways to attract talent to your organization, including leveraging social media platforms to grow brand awareness, promote your unique culture, and build credibility. Popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are visible places to showcase company events, highlight employee testimonials, and connect with top talent.

Influencers are another powerful way to attract more candidates and build brand awareness, and there are plenty of companies using them. No matter what industry you are in, there is a way to promote your company and improve your reach through social media, which also helps recruitment.

Education and community outreach

When considering how to attract top talent to your company, partnering with local community projects or schools is a great way to demonstrate your company’s core values and reach a specific target market. Consider creating a company internship or mentoring program. Specialized opportunities will attract candidates who are willing to learn about your organization, its values, and goals.

Host an open house or job fair

Allow applicants to experience your organization up close and personal by hosting an open house or job fair. Depending on your recruiting goals, the event guest list can be as broad as an open social media invitation or as exclusive as a personal email invite to referrals sourced from current employees.

Don’t overlook the potential of a virtual event like happy hour or a live tour to give prospective candidates the chance to connect with your team and get to know your organization better. Remote opportunities are especially effective when in-person events aren’t an option or when candidates are geographically dispersed.

Create a great experience for candidates

The process of attracting talent extends beyond the interview itself. It’s essential to give candidates a positive view of your company throughout the process, including hiring and onboarding. A positive experience ensures your organization delivers on expectations and can also lead to positive reviews.

These days, it is essential to offer virtual events for applicants that are COVID-conscious or more comfortable in a remote setting. Incorporating virtual events and location flexibility in the interview process helps companies reach more candidates. Plus, it shows a higher level of support and understanding from leadership, attracting even more job seekers. 

Extend job offers quickly 

When someone is actively looking for a job, that usually means they are applying to other opportunities as well. Extending a job offer quickly shows applicants that the company sees value in them. Timeliness creates more room for discussion with the candidate, allowing your company to make more competitive offers. It also shows that your team values time management and efficiency, which sets a tone for the new-hire process and overall company culture.  

It’s crucial to mention credentials in this conversation. Before any offers are extended, verify that the candidate meets all credentials. The only thing worse than losing top talent is having to retract an offer when the individual does not meet company expectations. 

Reach out to former employees

People are entitled to explore other opportunities. If someone decides to walk away from your company to pursue something else, congratulate them on the achievement and stay in touch. Those new opportunities will give them new skills and introduce them to a wider group of people, making them even more valuable for your company. 

Former employees are often overlooked when it comes to employee recruitment and acquisition. Staying in touch with top talent helps companies keep a larger talent pool, improving their ability to match individuals with more meaningful roles. Whether those individuals reapply to the company or introduce your team to other talent, it is always beneficial to be able to reach out.  

Stay in touch with good candidates

Sometimes there are too many qualified candidates and not enough open positions. During those times, explain that there will be more openings down the road. Staying in touch with good candidates increases your talent pool, improving your company’s ability to match people with meaningful roles. Plus, when people know that the company wants to find a way to hire them, they’re more inclined to keep up with new job postings, creating mutual interest. 

Become a Top Workplace and recruit better talent

Being named as a Top Workplace boosts employer recognition, which helps employee acquisition, recruitment, and retention – which are essential in today’s job market. Being recognized as a Top Workplace shows that your company has a people-first culture. Top Workplaces awards improve employee engagement, drive growth for your business, and help retain top talent.  

Companies with great employee acquisition deserve great recognition. Nominate your organization today to get better employee survey insights and take advantage of the many benefits. 

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