Finding the right people to fill positions can be challenging, especially when the people you’re looking for may not even be applying for the job. These are “passive candidates” or passive talent who aren’t actively job searching and, according to LinkedIn, now account for 70% of the global workforce. Since passive candidates make little to no effort to find employment, they are much tougher to identify. However, if hiring top talent is on your to-do list, then you need to be proactively searching for these candidates and engaging with the passive workforce. Here are a few ways your company can implement an effective recruitment strategy to target passive candidates.
Instilling an employee referral program is a cost-effective recruitment strategy that will significantly reduce your company’s average time to fill. Referrals are not only a leading source of great candidates for 88% of employers but also produce higher retention rates and tend to generate the best return on investment (ROI) compared to other hiring sources. Design a referral program that encourages and incentivizes your employees to refer qualified candidates from their personal networks. With your employees’ help, you can tap into an entire pool of qualified passive job seekers and create a culture of teamwork.
Your company needs to be where the candidates are, and in today’s digital era, that’s on social media. With that said, it’s essential to increase your brand awareness and attract passive job seekers by being active on these platforms and investing in advertising campaigns on social media. Channels like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow you to create sponsored ads that you can leverage to showcase open job positions or highlight elements like your company culture to draw people in and attract passive job seekers.
If you want to capture the attention of passive job seekers, you need to focus on the aspects that make your organization unique. The job market nowadays is very competitive, and in order to attract the people you’re looking for, your employer brand must stand out from the pack. Since passive candidates aren’t actively searing for work, they wouldn’t leave their current position unless they were confident the new role you’re pitching would be more fulfilling and rewarding. So, when connecting with passive candidates, instead of immediately selling them on an open role, highlight your employer branding, company culture, and opportunities for growth at your organization. When you put that at the forefront of your recruitment efforts, you’ll see an increase in applications coming your way.
It’s important to put yourself out there as an employer and try to build connections. Utilize platforms to engage with top talent, the most popular one being LinkedIn, a gold mine of qualified passive candidates. As a profession-oriented platform, most profiles will include the necessary information you need as a recruiter, some even including links to their online portfolios. You can use built-in tools, like filters, to help you make a targeted search for what you’re looking for. Then when you find candidates you like and stand out to you, reach out to these individuals and invite them to apply for the open positions you’re looking to fill. This approach will help you attain talented passive candidates and make these individuals feel special that they were picked out from the crowd.