What’s the secret to landing top talent in today’s recruiting landscape? Trade in your outdated processes and adopt an all-encompassing approach that tackles every stage of the candidate journey with pizazz and human connection.
Think targeted content, applications via social media, video resumes, experiential interviews and more. And the most breakthrough idea of all? Listen.
Listening was an emerging theme at a recent Glassdoor Recruit event in Chicago where talent acquisition and HR peers gathered at Venue SIX10 – a glass house itself – to hear esteemed leaders and veteran recruiters speak transparently about what works for them and why. Their advice?
Heed the world around you.
Thanks to technology and the communication revolution, candidates are hyper-connected, more informed and demanding more. Candidates want their job searches to mirror the advances they use in their daily lives.
And why not? Increasingly, the workplace emulates the real world. We instant message with colleagues and collaborate on such platforms as Facebook’s Workplace. It’s time to evolve our recruitment tactics to match.
Several do it well. Global software developer and marketer HubSpot accepts applications through Snapchat and Instagram. PwC* features a VR experience at its networking and recruiting events, and it also has success with video interviews. This makes complex scheduling between busy candidates and on-the-road consultants a thing of the past and, ultimately, accelerates the speed to offer.
T-Mobile showcases its employee experience through unfiltered content using #BeMagenta, and ATB Financial connects through storytelling. It asks candidates to showcase their experience via video, song lyrics, papier-mâché or whatever creative outlet they choose in place of a formal resume.
Value the feedback and do something about it.
Another daunting but quite simple way to listen involves monitoring and employing the feedback you receive from candidates and your employees. Pay attention to negative reviews on Glassdoor. View them as a continued opportunity to engage with your candidates and employees, and improve your approach and issues. Don’t be afraid to respond to the comments and elevate the criticisms to your senior leadership to make real changes.
Listen, learn, then lead.
Listening starts at the top. At the helm of United Airlines,* CEO Oscar Munoz listens and learns every day from his 90,000 employees.
“I did something really simple,” explained Oscar. “I just stopped and listened, and I listened intently.”
The result: It earned him an impressive 94 percent CEO approval rating. He believes it’s a simple human dynamic to listen, learn, then lead to create a place where people want to come and stay.
Perhaps Tyronne Stoudemire, global vice president of diversity and inclusion at Hyatt, summarized it best: “We have two ears and one mouth for a reason…listen!”
Hilary Phillips is an account supervisor, Employee Engagement.
*Edelman client.