Do you have a proactive recruitment strategy?

Proactive recruitment involves finding, engaging and attracting candidates before you need them so you can build a talent pool. A recent survey found that almost two thirds of employees are passive job seekers. This means they’re open to opportunities but aren’t actively job hunting. In a LinkedIn survey, 84% of recruiters said they were engaging with passive candidates for all employee levels, not just for senior appointments. 

 

Once you’ve connected with these invisible candidates you’ll need a strategy to persuade them to join your business when the time is right. 

 

Recruitment experiences. It’s a relationship-driven approach so you will make connections and have conversations over months or even years. You can learn about the candidates and build trust and interest. When the right vacancy arises, you can speed up the recruitment process because you already have several candidates in mind. You’ll also reduce the time and effort that’s often wasted by shortlisting and interviewing unknown and unsuitable candidates. 

 

As part of the process, you can discover the things most likely to attract the best candidates, like flexible working, employee benefits or company values. 

 

Faster onboarding. Everyone is affected when you have an unfilled vacancy. If you have already built trust, interest and confidence it’s likely your chosen candidate will accept your job offer more quickly. If they already know a lot about your company they can get onboard and productive more quickly. 

 

Acquiring the best talent. By getting to know your candidates in advance you’ll have more time to evaluate their strengths. You’ll have a clearer view of the likelihood they’ll thrive in your business. You can spend time considering where and how they can contribute most, without the pressure of filling an immediate vacancy. 

 

It isn’t practical to have a pipeline for every role in your business straight away. The first step is to prioritise roles based on the likelihood of internal promotion for your current employees. This will give your business succession planning firm footings. Then you can consider the business impact if key team members move on. Once you have tackled the posts that represent the biggest challenges you can broaden the approach to other roles. 

 

Candidate profiles. Investing time in assessing the skills and strengths candidates need will repay you longer term. You can consider experience, qualifications and competencies to create a profile of the candidates you’re looking for. 

 

Candidate engagement. You can approach current employees who are ready for promotion and ask managers and supervisors to check their own networks. Previous candidates might not have suited a vacancy at the time but they could be ideal for a future opportunity. Social media groups and communities often attract like-minded people. When you discover the people you’re looking for online they can lead you to others. If they’re engaging online you can approach them to gauge their interest. 

 

Building relationships. Invite people who satisfy your requirements to join your own community of possible new team members. They can submit their resume and keep it up to date. You can share company news, social events and successes to build a sense of belonging. Also actively comment on their social media posts and send occasional direct messages to maintain interest. When the right opportunity appears, you can encourage them to apply formally. 

 

By focusing on proactive recruitment, you can screen candidates in advance, share your company values, recruit top candidates and improve employee retention. With more than 22 years’ experience Ascendant Recruitment can help create a proactive recruitment strategy for your business.