Chapter #2 | Preparing for candidates.

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Recognise how your Employer Brand supports recruitment Identify and utilise a range of recruitment methods Develop long-term talent acquisition strategies Create meaningful job advertisements Avoid discriminatory practices in recruitment processes

The poster’s up – auditions for the new show are on Thursday. Fantastic! But did you tell them if it was a drama, comedy or musical? No? What about the roles on offer? No? Oh, ok. So, how do they know if your show is for them? And how can they rehearse their lines when they don’t know the roles? Maybe you should pull the poster down and start all over again – unless you want streams of unprepared actors on your casting couch?

As people’s behaviour changes, so too do our recruitment practices to allow us to find the very best talent. Being on top of the current market and the way they’re looking for work is important to staying ahead of your competitors searching in the same pool. A key driver in the needs of talent now is technology. Potential talent is geographically mobile and happy to move for the best job. People are more demanding in their career choices, not only when considering their pay, but their career progression as well. The value of long term experience is shrinking, with individuals becoming less loyal and more inclined to switch companies about every couple of years. Mapping out talent pools, and devising strategies to attract good team members away from your competitors, is necessary to find the best. So, how do you start the search? What avenues can help you entice your talent?

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THE DIGITAL SEARCH When LinkedIn and online job applications started making traction, they were seen as supplements to the traditional paper résumé and in-person interview. These days, digital is the ‘go to’ for anyone recruiting new talent. Résumés will be replaced by constantly evolving representations of individual experiences, skills and aptitudes that exist purely in the digital realm. Be prepared to focus on personal branding and ‘social recruiting’ where companies use Twitter, Facebook and other technologies to gain insight into individual job seekers. Don’t limit yourself to one stream, be prepared to diversify your approach, to maximise your visibility. ENGAGING THE PASSIVE Passive candidates are individuals who aren't necessarily seeking a job, but are open to new opportunities. While some employers have no shortage of applicants who reach out to them when an opportunity is posted, this does not always guarantee candidate quality. Be proactive when seeking candidates. For example, look at social media profiles and anywhere else they have an online presence. More simply, this means just paying attention to the situations you find yourself in when connecting with people. Take the approach that you’re always hiring and remain on the lookout for people who match your brand. Today's professionals expect employers to search for them and take their online branding and positioning very seriously.

USE DATA ANALYTICS Checking out social networks and other digital profiles, such as candidate search tools, has opened up a much wider talent pool. But the time it takes to do that research could end up taking you away from your most important task: actually hiring. High-quality analytics programs have already been applied to customer data to help businesses make better strategic decisions. The same concept can also be used to get the right people in your organisation. Cloud-based hiring tools will allow you to easily and affordably find, evaluate and organise top candidates, while innovative assessment and filtering techniques will help provide a 360-degree holistic view of potential applicants. DRIVE REFERRALS Referral programs are not new when it comes to seeking out talent, but they can always be improved. Driving referral programs purely through incentives can lead to the wrong hires with everyone having their eye on the prize. It’s not about removing the bonus altogether, but use your team as a marketing tool for positions you seek. They are the best representation of your brand.

SEEK HELP Recruiting agencies can be a great tool to help when the search is on – especially if hiring reactively. They bring a wealth of connections and specialised experienced to the process, as well as reducing internal time and effort internally when done well. This can be a more expensive approach so really think about when to engage with agencies, how you manage the relationship for the best outcomes, and the types of roles that warrant the spend. Senior level positions and specialists roles may benefit from this approach. DON’T FORGET THE SEEKERS In the spirit of proactive recruitment, don’t miss out on the good ones by waiting until you have a position free to pay attention. Watch out for those job seekers that apply outside of a recruitment period as they are likely to be driven by a real connection with your brand and your purpose. Not only that, but you already know they can take initiative and be proactive about achieving their goals – high attributes on anyone’s list. To assist these proactive gems in their search, make sure that you have a great online presence. A great way to do this is to utilise a careers page on your company website where you take the opportunity to showcase what you have to offer, including the ability to ‘hear’ from existing team members, and provide a link to get in contact with you.

BE OPEN TO THE SHORT TERM Depending on the industry, role or time of year you might find the opportunity to look for more than just a full time position. Short term contracts can be a great way to ‘try before you buy’ for both parties. Another benefit? Anyone going it alone will likely have exactly the skills you need to get the job done, with little maintenance and even less commitment required from you to achieve outcomes. LOOK INSIDE Look to hire from within whenever it’s possible. This may mean previous positions held become vacant but these can all be planned for in advance if you have a strong focus on internal succession and career planning. This works to drive motivation and a sense of purpose within the organisation, as team members can see opportunities to grow and develop being rewarded in role outcomes. To do this well, be active in your approach to skills mapping with your team, seek out discussions on their future career goals, and provide supportive performance development processes.

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Think less about your goal of screening candidates out of the race, and more about marketing to them. And just like any good marketing, it’s about making them see they want something they didn’t know they wanted. This proactive approach means treating your recruitment like a talent acquisition, making candidates consumers. This allows you to spend the time truly understanding people’s intentions, rather than purely trying to grab their focus when you need to, ensuring they are the right fit for you. Think about it this way; if you’re desperate to get someone in, and they’re desperate to get a job, is it the best case scenario for a match made in heaven?

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You’re out with a couple of friends and the conversation turns to work. As you listen to both sides of the conversation, consider who at that point you would be more attracted to working with (based on their discussion, not their looks of course).

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Evan: We’re a bit hit and miss. We’re getting better but in the past we’ve been pretty reactive with new people so I just know who I can count on and who I can’t.

Violet: I’m really lucky because we’re picky about who we hire so my team are all great at what they do and I can trust them. I don’t like them all but I know they know their stuff!

Evan: We’re the same. I don’t always have to be there 9-5 either. We get to work when we want then we’re head down bum up. It’s good to have time to do the things I need to without feeling guilty about it.

Violet: We all work super hard – it’s a bit 24/7 to be honest. I keep saying things will slow down but I think I should just accept that it’s the way things are. We do get a lot of flexibility in the way we work to get things done though.

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Violet: Even though it’s crazy, we get really well looked after and you know they care. You kind of want to do the work! We get paid well and there are bonuses for achieving objectives. I really feel like I know my place and it’s amazing to have purpose!

Evan: I’ve been looking at my pay lately and I’m pretty sure I need to ask for an increase but I doubt I’ll get it. We’re so tight – even with customers. I’m embarrassed sometimes when I hear stories about how we do things. It seems we’re all about the shareholders and low cost – but it’s all really inconsistent in terms of how we get there?

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Shh… be quiet

Violet: Sometimes it’s stressful because we’re the opposite and are really accountable, but it also means I get a say in things. Plus I can be creative about it because we don’t just do things ‘one way’.

Evan: To top it all off, there’s so much politics and red tape to every decision. I just put my head down and get on with things.

EVAN

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Just like picking a partner in life, in recruitment, the rules of attraction drive our initial decisions, for better or worse. Have you ever noticed that some couples look similar? One of the oldest theories about human attraction is that ‘like attracts like’. It probably comes as little surprise people are drawn to individuals with similar attitudes and values in the initial stages of attraction, characteristics that are highly visible and accessible to others. To make it work long-term, likeness of personality, which takes a little longer to realise, can make all the difference.

VIOLET

So, whose business did you decide you’d more likely want to work for?

So, what does all of this mean to you when attracting talent? It’s all in your Employer Brand. ‘Brand’ is all about the story that people recall when they think of you. Your Employer Brand is the same – but purely focused on current and future employees’ perceptions. It’s your reputation. It creates an idea of what it would be like to work for you. How do you get this rep? How you conduct yourself in the market How you live and communicate your values, personality and culture How you support your team or your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) – what you offer employees in attractive, credible and sustainable benefits in return for working for you

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Lasting relationships are about much more than what we initially see, it becomes about the real experience. To help you understand your current Employer Brand and build it even further, really ask yourself some questions about what you do and how you do it. Engage your existing team in the process through conversations, surveys, workshops and exit interviews. Be open and authentic to get the best, most real responses. What are the most attractive and compelling attributes of our business? What are the current perceptions of working within the organisation? Check out the rep these brands get based on their employer brands. Would you want to work for them?

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When constructing a job ad, your aim is to grab the attention of those you want to apply. One of the first things to remember is that you’re writing a job ad, not a job description. As you start to come up with your approach, try to profile your potential applicants. Think about what will appeal to them, what they care about, what questions they will have and what will convince them to apply for the position. It’s also a good idea to check out your web page and any social media streams you have out there. It’s likely these guys will be profiling you to to get an understanding of what you’re all about. If you have a careers page, make sure your ad is on it, as well as any other examples of your employee value proposition to boost your brand rep. So, how do you write a job ad? What goes in? Let’s take a look.

Hook their attention in some way so you stand out from the pack. Just like a good marketing campaign, start with the kind of candidates you want to apply and what they might want to see. It could be a persuasive quote, an interesting statistic or an image that grabs their focus. By understanding the talent you’re looking for, you can tailor your approach to your ‘hook’ to cater to this specific group. This already assists you in screening applicants by identifying those that resonate with your message.

This is a great example of an image to entice you to read more. At first glance, you’d never know it was a recruitment ad but you’re eye is drawn (pun intended) to want to know more.

It might sound obvious, but make sure your ad represents you, your brand and your message. You don’t need to say a lot, but make sure that you are represented authentically in your employer brand message. Be comfortable and proud of what you do and don’t represent. This will assist you in driving those that have similar values and can understand your company purpose.

Here we see Apple showing us a great way of using their brand to target their recruitment messaging.

If looking for something specific, then be clear about it. Titles are important for people to understand what they’re looking for. They can be whatever you want internally, but should be easily searchable and understood in the wide world of your talent search. Explain the position responsibilities and workload and if you can, where the role fits in the business. Again, keep it short but also be clear enough that they get a sense of what you have to offer.

Would you take the risk? This ad provides an understanding of the role just enough to entice you to want to know more. It shows a great way of avoiding saying too much is to link the job ad to your careers page on your website, so they can get a better sense of who you are.

Head of Health and Safety Salary depending on skills and experience London based with some UK travel We can’t show you the buildings. We can’t talk about the people you’ll work with. We can’t tell you much about the job. We can’t give you the exact locations. We can’t mention the kind of technology involved. Is it still a risk worth taking? What we can tell you is that whatever your role at MI5 you’ll be contributing to protecting the UK from threats to national security including terrorism and espionage. Like other large organisations, at MI5 we use a variety of equipment to carry out our work, except here our work is often covert and our equipment classified. That can raise interesting challenges when it comes to health and safety. Our Health and Safety team develops systems and procedures to ensure that across the spectrum of our work we meet our health and safety responsibilities and that we conduct operational activity as safely as possible. We currently have a vacancy for a Head of Health and Safety.

MI5 seek a Head of Health and Safety:

Here is how a Turkish tattoo studio Berrge Tattoos, challenged potential applicants’ skills in the job application.

Provide an understanding of the skills and competencies they will need to do the role. Make sure you’re clear on what is essential versus what’s not. As a more creative approach to this, look at ways to enable you to assess the candidate’s skills through the application process. When promoting skills required, look to test only those skills necessary for success. It’s also a good idea to allow them to join the dots when it comes to soft skills, if you’ve got your brand rep and clarity of role responsibilities right, it should be clear some of the values and behaviours that work in your business for success. You don’t want a ton of CV’s that simply regurgitate the attributes you listed.

Type of role. You don’t want to lead people on. Let them know if you need someone full time, part time, on contract or if you’re open to all of the above. Indicate the nature of the applicant’s employment or you might find yourself wasting everyone’s time. It’s also great if you can provide any context to methods of work that may appeal to the particular individual you’re targeting. Do they need to be in an office all day? Are they free to make their own hours to get the job done? Where is the location of work to be performed? Show them the money. Whether you advertise this or not could depend on where your ad is posted and for what role. You might not be inclined to want to include much detail, but being transparent about what the applicant could earn is actually a great hook for most job seekers. If you prefer, you can always provide a range so that applicants have some understanding of what’s possible. What now? Finally, it’s pretty important to give some sort of direction on how candidates are to get in contact with you, what you want to see and how you want to receive it. Don’t make the application process itself a test, it just damages your brand and leaves candidates frustrated.

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Like it or not, negative discrimination can influence the recruitment process right from the beginning. When thinking about the type of candidates you want, you want to appeal to those who are most appealing to the needs of the role, your team and the business. In doing this, you find yourself targeting your job ad so that you can differentiate and distinguish applicants from each other. While it might sound obvious – avoiding prejudicial statements in your ad – if finding your right fit means making it all too clear who your wrong fits are, it can easily turn from something very positive, into something unfair and even illegal.

No, that’s fine

Yes, that’s discriminatory

You might have heard that you can’t discriminate on the basis of sex/gender. Even though this seems innocent, it implies that females are not able to apply. In order to avoid the issue, it’s a good idea to avoid the use of gender specific job titles.

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While this might not be specific enough to be discrimination, it does blur the lines. Making a decision purely on the basis of age is definitely one for the no go pile. When seeking out candidates in your job ad, focus on the role requirements, not the age of the person doing them.

Well, if that didn’t smack you right in the face I don’t know what will! Targeting particular races, or trying to avoid them is considered discrimination.

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• Colour • Gender • Sexual orientation • Physical or mental disability • Marital status

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• Family or carer's responsibilities • Religion • Political opinion • National extraction • Social origin

We keep banging on about it, but if you wait until you need someone to find them, then your chances of finding the right fit are considerably lower from the get-go. Greg Savage, founder of leading recruitment companies Firebrand Talent Search, People2People and Recruitment Solutions says, “Any recruitment business model that relies on candidates making proactive applications for jobs is destined to fail.” He promotes the idea of uniqueness in your candidate search, so that you get the ultimate benefit of seeking candidates that others aren’t also looking at. This can mean building a relationship that lasts over time, rather than a quick connection at the finish line to delivering on your needs.

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Sometimes a recruitment video can give you that extra edge over your competitors. Check out the good, the bad, the ugly of recruitment videos here.

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Congrats on getting through your unit to this point! So what have you done in this chapter? Well you've:Recognised how your Employer Brand supports recruitmentIdentified a range of recruitment methods and how to utilise them in your processesDeveloped long-term talent acquisition strategiesCreated meaningful job advertisementsDefined how to avoid discriminatory practices in recruitment processesSo what now? We recommend you put into practice some of the new skills, techniques and principles you’ve just learned. This is the best way we know, to ensure you know what you need to be successful on your journey – know what we mean? Now, let’s get into the next chapter!