We continuously hear from clients that it’s hard to find top talent in this current climate. It’s the same feedback and comments regardless of country, industry or functional area.
It’s a daily challenge to find and hire the talent needed to drive business growth.
Our response to those comments though is the same….it’s not hard to find the talent it’s hard to convince the talent that this particular opportunity is the right one for them.
Technology is fuelling accessibility to people and talent across the globe. Twitter, Facebook, Google and Google+ and LinkedIn make it so much easier to find and communicate with talent than it was 15 years ago. LinkedIn is basically a cheat sheet for all in the search/recruitment space and we use it to it’s fullest capacity on a daily basis.
But therein lies the problem with technology and it’s quick access to talent. People are flooded daily with requests to connect and InMails about potential job opportunities. The pushback we see is it’s become very difficult for candidates to know which opportunities are real, whom they can trust with discussions about their careers and which opportunities are worth investing their time. There’s just too much information available.
Running efficient search assignments is essential. Below is a few fundamentals we use to secure top talent for our clients:
- Deep functional knowledge: Candidates will know if you don’t understand the technical space you’re talking about. They’ll know if you’re just trying to use buzz words or can’t actually link the requirements of the role to their specific experience and motivational factors.
- Transparency in your process: Transparency builds trust. It’s OK if there’s problems culturally or financially. The right candidate won’t mind a challenge, often actually preferring it. Just be honest about the “as is” and what it’s actually like inside your business.
- Quick process: Having alignment with your stakeholders around timelines and process allows you to keep the candidate engaged in the opportunity, driving them swiftly through the hiring process. Once you have their attention….keep it.
- Detailed interview feedback: Candidates want to know how their interview went. Provide more than just a yes or no, actually let them know what they did well and the areas they need to improve on for the next round. This shows effort from the client side and again builds trust and rapport with the candidate.
- Structured and methodical assessment: The more senior the role becomes, the greater the emphasis is put on past experiences as an indicator for future success. Having additional assessment tools that highlight behavioral competencies and deep technical knowledge demonstrate to top talent there is alignment internally about what is needed in the role to be successful. Don’t elongate your process too much though because the top candidates will get snapped up quite quickly!
The ability to manage and control communication transparently, to drive efficient and swift hiring processes and build technical functional trust will allow any organization to find talent. There’s plenty out there, just make sure you know how to secure it before you start looking.
