With the digital age upon us, the way businesses operate has tremendously changed. Companies' hiring processes need to keep up with the times to ensure they are creating a dynamic workforce that adapts to every new change with ease. Companies need to hire employees who not only fit the way they operate but also bring the best talent to your organization.
Let’s take a look at some practices that will help you master modern hiring in no time.
Top 5 Strategies for Mastering the Modern Hiring Process
Hiring is one such aspect of company operations that has never shied away from embracing modern ways. 56% of hiring managers believe that the shift to remote work has gone better than expected, thanks to the many advanced tools available to recruiters now.
Here is what modern hiring entails:
- Extensive use of technology and remote tools in place of manual tools. For example, resumes are created and scanned online instead of manually being sent to companies by candidates.
- Access to a wider pool of candidates due to global outreach.
- Meticulous and personalized testing of candidates that allows companies to match them with the right job positions.
- Better use of data to identify and screen candidates.
When looking to master modern hiring, these are the aspects you need to get ahold of. Given below are some winning strategies to help you create a formidable workforce of passionate and driven employees. Let’s take a look.
1. Create a Culture Worth Joining
It may seem counterintuitive, but creating a positive work culture first paves the way for proactive hiring practices. The culture you develop in your company becomes the foundation on which you can decide who else to hire in the future.
Your goal should be to establish:
- A smooth flow of operations
- Defined communication lines and channels
- Defined work roles
- Camaraderie and a healthy environment among employees
There are various tools available that will help you achieve operational efficiency in your workspace. For instance, if you’re hiring for the retail business, mention that you are using (and actually use) a retail employee scheduling app to set up shifts and track work hours. Potential employees want to feel that sense of security, and that they are not going to be overworked and underpaid. The right technology will come with communication platforms that allow employees to interact with ease both in remote and in-office setups.
Creating such a work culture allows you to find candidates that fit the culture instead of looking for candidates that will improve a workspace that may not be good to begin with. You should foster a great company culture with the existing workforce you have.
After that, looking for candidates becomes easier because you know exactly what you’re looking for. It also helps you attract top candidates who want to be a part of a positive work environment.
2. Keep Everything in One Loop
Whether you use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or a Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) platform, you should strive to keep all aspects of hiring under one roof. It tremendously simplifies your processes and improves visibility.
An ATS performs the following functions, for example:
- Posting job openings on different job portals.
- Managing the applications received through various channels.
- Scanning applicant profiles for best matches.
- Conducting tests of candidates to derive results from them.
- Managing interviews of candidates — both remote and in-person.
- Creating and managing a talent pool by sourcing candidates through different channels.
A CRM adds a more human aspect to the proceedings and focuses on developing relationships with the candidates. A CRM is sometimes a much more complex system than an ATS as it incorporates many other smaller tools.
You may choose whatever technology system suits you the best based on what you want to achieve in terms of candidate management. The end goal should be to connect all hiring processes to create a seamless process.
These advanced tools help you avoid repetition and improve based on the data that is input. For example, the screening results of 20 candidates should be updated on a real-time basis so that emails can be sent to everyone screened according to the results.
3. Develop a Talent Pool
An effective practice to strengthen your hiring process is to build a large talent pool. 70% of the workforce is made up of passive talent who aren’t actively searching for a job. By building a strong talent pool, you can attract top talent with ease.
The idea behind building a talent pool is to:
- Keep tabs on talented candidates
- Nurture relationships with them
- Approach them before your competitors when the opportunity arises
This allows you to build a positive relationship with candidates before they even join your organization, as well as allowing you to get to them before anyone else can. These two elements are crucial in tapping top talent before they even enter the job market.
Managing a talent pool does take some effort as you need to keep yourself updated with the whereabouts of everyone listed in it. A talent pool that is not regularly updated is not as effective. This is because employees usually follow a forward trajectory in their careers. You need to be updated about them to determine whether they fit in your company culture now, and you cannot do that based on historical information.
4. Make the Most of Resume Screening
Resume screening is one such innovation that has allowed companies to hire more efficiently. Going through resumes manually can be a daunting task as you can miss what the candidate is trying to highlight or simply skip over the keywords you’re looking for.
Resume screening allows you to be as specific as you need to be. You can set specific keywords referring to skills you desire in a candidate. Only resumes that have those keywords will pass the screening and reach you.
Resume screening is a common norm today. Most candidates prepare their resumes based on the assumption that they will go through a software solution first. But if you can, you might want to specify in your job description that you will be doing so. This lets the candidates know what the norm in your hiring process is and will allow them to prepare their resumes accordingly, so no suitable candidates will slip through your fingers.
5. Diversify Your Search
An aspect that deeply affects your candidate search is how diverse your search criteria is. Don’t just post on the popular platforms, post on all platforms you can.
Some platforms that can prove beneficial for job postings are:
- Social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- Subreddits related to the job field or related to job search
- Niche job sites that are often dedicated to a particular job field
Posting on these sites allows you to tap into that inactive job seeker group talked about in the above point. Even if you engage a few candidates through these platforms, you may end up finding a suitable candidate with them.
Leverage Innovative Technology to Bring Efficiency to Your Hiring Practices
As businesses improve themselves by leveraging modern practices, hiring is one such aspect that could end up having the most widespread impact on your growth and success.
Modern technology tools such as ATS, CRM, schedulers, and resume screenings tremendously help shape your hiring process and pivot it toward success. Make sure to keep all operations under one roof to be able to monitor them better.
Tell us in the comments what you think are the best practices to ensure success in the modern hiring process and how to ace them.
About the Author: Atreyee Chowdhury is a professional content and copy writer with more than 10+ years of experience. She’s passionate about helping SMBs and enterprises achieve their content marketing goals with her carefully crafted and compelling content. She loves to read, travel, and experiment with different cuisines in her free time. You can follow her on LinkedIn.
