Recruitment: Asking the right questions to attract tomorrow’s top talent

Want to hire the best? Marvelous! One problem though; you’re not alone. Your desire to attract top talent, promising millennials and other profiles packed with high potential and bright futures is very coveted. Here are some words of reflection.

From an economic standpoint, where many sectors and trades are under fire, the talent hunt is open year-round and knows no respite. Getting your hands on the brightest minds is an obsession shared by every organization and their HR departments. All industry-related studies on this issue, including PwC’s annual CEO Survey of 1,300 executives around the world, show that talent management is a central concern for all executives – now more than ever. They all struggle to attract the most sought-after profiles; those with rare soft skills like adaptability, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, and what’s more, more than 80% of these leaders say they have encountered difficulties recruiting their leaders of tomorrow.

 

Ask the right questions, attract the top talent.

It is imperative to begin by ensuring the reputation of your company: be clear on its strengths and weaknesses and know how to talk about it in a meaningful and transparent way. Of course, being efficient, convincing and reactive throughout the process is important, but don’t forget to ask the right questions.

What values differentiate you? Do you have ambassadors amongst your management team who can speak favorably about the company, attract potential recruits with offers and really sell your brand? How do you deal with bad press? Do you police customer reviews or the opinions of employees online (Glassdoor, Facebook, Trustpilot etc.)?

Do you respond personally to applications? Are you present and active on the necessary job boards and social networks that can identify passive players to heal your image? Do you ensure being responsive at all stages of the recruitment process (from the first phase to the offer/final phase) and during onboarding?

Are you satisfied with your sponsorship policy? Do you feel innovative enough in your recruitment procedures and techniques? Beyond your presence in job fairs, campus visits and open houses, do not hesitate to equip yourself with chatbots, smart forms, a YouTube channel with employee and recruiter interviews, and work the candidate UX (the user experience) with a logical and well thought out career page.

 

7 mistakes to avoid:

• Be precise in where and how you post a job. Research what the position is about and avoid reinventing the wheel: listen to the hiring department’s needs and envision how they see the position, not what every other department believes the position should be. Recruitment is too vital a function to mess with.
• Think that the company has the power.
• Chasing the five-legged sheep ( or the absolute perfect candidate)
• Believe that your good reputation will be enough to attract the best. If you’re not willing to pay the price and you do not make their work valuable, your ability to attract the best talent will be very slim.
• Believe that only technical skills matter and neglect the candidate’s personality.
• Turn a blind eye to negative opinions, both internal and external, circulating on the web about your company, and generally neglect social networks (the latter being more common a mistake than you think…).
• Stay vague, not only about job offers and assignments, but also about the values ​​and quality of work life your company stands for.

 

The range of the skilled talent hunter

• Social networks: an essential classic! yet be careful! One size does not fit all. Don’t miss out on great candidates by posting only in 1 place.
• Professional applications for niche recruitment: Save time trying to post one-at-a-time in your top 5 sources, Cegid has a tool to multipost your job in just one click! invest in smart processes before your competitors do!
• Artificial intelligence: CV management and automatic pre-selection are a way forward. With algorithms which analyze the behavior and words of filmed candidates, you have an effective way to perform a first sort.
• Virtual reality. Generations Y and Z love innovative experiences. Give them the opportunity to visit your offices, meet your team, or accomplish a mission virtually.

 

And the YZ generations?

By 2020, generation Y will represent more than a third of the active population in the world. Ambitious, demanding, collaborative, individualistic, entrepreneurial and attached to their hobbies, they’re not easy to attract!

The Manpower Group’s Millennials Careers: 2020 Vision study in 25 countries was comprised of a sample of 19,000 Generation Y members. It shows that, if needed, it is time for employers to revisit their Millennial talent management strategy, to include skills essential to business development through the 21st century.

Though often portrayed as disloyal to their employers, Generation Y, in fact prefers to be offered new opportunities with the same employer as opposed to looking for a new one. Based on this study, 60% said they have long-term plans with their current employer, even though 84% plan for long breaks throughout their journey. In other words, stay focused on these talents that remain hungry for changes to systematic external recruitment.

In this case, promote variety of experiences and mobility. Keep in mind that with Generation Y, if the employee is evaluated, the company will be fine!

Conclusion: Those who openly hunt for talent can win big-time for a company, provided of course, they know how to hunt. And convince themselves that the recruitment process embodies the company, its values and its reputation. There is no place then, for amateurism: all talent, whether young or mature, don’t like to be taken for fools.

Find out more about how to better manage your workforce from hire to retire, with a modern Talent Management Suite designed to fit your industry best practices.