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How to Adapt Your Hiring Process for Remote Work

To provide insights on adapting hiring processes for remote work in today’s labor market, we’ve gathered valuable suggestions from CEOs, founders and other leaders. From emphasizing cultural fit in hiring to prioritizing remote work experience and adaptability, these experts share the changes they’ve made to accommodate to remote work with recent shifts.

Emphasizing Cultural Fit in Hiring

“Company culture is the backbone of any successful organization,” – Gary Vaynerchuk. This quote resonates in many ways. As a CEO with almost 25 years in the business, it’s been observed that employees should align more with the company’s values, ethics or overall vibe than their technical skills and experience.

Team leads and managers often struggle with employees, whether in-house or remote, who don’t gel with their team heads or with their team members. The decision has been made to focus more on cultural fit in the hiring process, specifically to accommodate remote work.

Now, there is a greater emphasis on behavioral interview questions. Candidates are often requested to take a personality test. This helps gain a better understanding of how they work and how they will fit within the team culture

Sandeep Kashyap
CEO and Founder, ProofHub

Utilizing Technology in Recruitment

One change to my hiring process I’ve made to accommodate remote work is relying more on technology. At the start of the recruitment process, I send applicants a timed typing test so that they can evaluate their knowledge and skills via an online platform.

This replaces the initial face-to-face interview, allowing candidates who wouldn’t be able to travel for an interview the chance to apply, regardless of their location.

It cuts out some biasing elements, helping me build a workforce that’s diverse and knowledgeable in all areas I’m looking for.

Michael Alexis
CEO, Virtual Team Building

Incorporating Informal Conversation in Interviews

We have introduced a pivotal element to our interviews: a designated time for informal conversation. By dedicating time at the beginning or end of the interview for a casual chat, we create an environment where candidates can freely express themselves beyond their professional accomplishments and technical prowess.

This informal interaction grants us invaluable insights into a candidate’s personality, so we can assess their compatibility with our clients’ culture and their ability to forge connections in a remote work setting. These qualities hold immense importance in ensuring long-term success within a remote work environment.

Brendan Bray
Team Manager, EC1 Partners

Transitioning to Virtual Interviews

One change we’ve made to our hiring process to accommodate remote work is conducting virtual interviews. Instead of traditional in-person interviews, we’ve transitioned to video interviews using platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

This change allows us to connect with candidates regardless of their location, making it more convenient for both parties involved. We’ve also adapted our assessment methods to evaluate a candidate’s ability to work effectively in remote settings, including their communication skills, self-motivation and adaptability.

By embracing virtual interviews, we can identify top talent and build a remote workforce that excels in our organization’s remote work environment.

Brian Clark
Founder, United Medical Education

Focusing on a Growth Mindset

Having a growth mindset is essential to succeed in a remote work environment.

People who are self-driven, results-oriented and eager to improve constantly will naturally become top performers over time.

The hiring process may be different based on the role you are trying to fill, the country in which you are hiring, and other variables. However, tailoring your hiring experience to uncover where the candidate sits on the growth mindset spectrum is absolutely key to ensuring your business’s long-term success.

Karim Bel Hadj Soulami
Founder, Creme de la Karim

Adding an Audio/Video Component to Applications

We understand how crucial it is for our team to be well-versed in remote-work software, so we’ve added an audio or video component to our application.

This way, we get a real feel for how candidates handle remote communication and collaboration. It’s been fantastic in helping us quickly identify top-level talent who can thrive in our remote environment.

Loren Howard
Founder, Prime Plus Mortgages

Conducting Virtual Group Interviews

One change we’ve made to our hiring process to accommodate remote work is conducting virtual group interviews using interactive online platforms. We found that traditional individual interviews lacked the dynamic and collaborative aspect that is essential for successful remote team members.

To address this, we adopted an approach where potential candidates are interviewed simultaneously in a virtual setting, allowing them to engage actively with one another and showcase their teamwork skills.

This method enables us to assess how well applicants communicate and collaborate in a remote environment, as well as evaluate their ability to adapt and think creatively under different circumstances.

By incorporating this innovative technique, we improve our chances of finding candidates who possess the qualities for successful remote work while enhancing the overall efficiency of our recruitment process.

Steve Dinelli
Founder, Marketer Interview

Prioritizing Remote Work Experience and Adaptability

Adapting to remote work requires a certain level of flexibility and the ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

When reviewing resumes and interviewing, a greater emphasis is now placed on candidates who have prior experience working remotely or have shown adaptability in their previous roles.

This allows for the identification of individuals who are more likely to thrive in a remote work environment.

Span Chen
Growth Director, Notta

Successful Digital Transformation Requires Future-Ready Tech Leaders

Across sectors, the pandemic has accelerated the momentum and importance of digital transformation—a buzzword that, writ large, refers to the integration of technology into all aspects of business. In 2025, global spending on digital transformation is slated to top $2.8 trillion. That’s more than double the figure for 2020.

Such tremendous, continued growth is evidence of the fact that digital transformation is not a one-and-done phenomenon. Instead, it’s an ongoing process—one that depends on having the right tech talent to support it. As such, competition for qualified technology talent has accelerated alongside digital transformation efforts. By 2030, the global tech workforce is expected to have a shortage of 4.3 million workers.

Any company serious about digital transformation must be equally serious about finding tech talent to fill this gap, particularly since today’s talent will turn into tomorrow’s tech leaders. With that in mind, let’s look at four fundamental strategies companies can use to hire the future-ready tech leaders required of successful digital transformation.

Align Technology and Human Resources Priorities

According to the iCIMS 2021 Workforce report, it takes companies an average of two months to fill high-demand tech roles. This hiring timeline is far too slow—particularly as digital transformation accelerates. One roadblock to faster hiring is the fact that HR and IT departments tend to have different priorities. HR generally values retention and diversity, while IT decision-makers generally prioritize technical skills and day-one readiness.

Hiring solely based on what an employee can do on day one is short-sighted, particularly since digital transformation is an ongoing process. IBM researchers have estimated the average “half-life” of a technical skill at just 2.5 years, meaning that successful tech staff and leaders must be prepared to innovate constantly and refresh their skills on a regular basis. Instead, IT and HR leaders should think about what a prospective employee could become after a few months of training.

Tap Into Non-Traditional Talent Sources

Many companies can’t keep up with growing tech demand in the wake of digital transformation because they are biased towards candidates from elite computer science schools. But U.S. colleges and universities collectively produce around 4 million graduates every year, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 42.5% of recent college grads are unemployed or underemployed. By hiring and training non-CS and community college graduates, companies can find the talent they need to keep digital transformation chugging along.

These overlooked talent pools are filled with non-traditional candidates looking to put down roots and build a long-term career with an established employer, meaning they are more likely to stick around and become the tech leaders of tomorrow. Additionally, more than half of students at two-year colleges are students of color or women. Research shows that diversity is an integral aspect of innovation. Innovation related to digital transformation is no exception.

Hire For Soft Skills

Digital transformation is about more than just technology. It’s also a cultural change requiring companies to continually experiment and adapt. Companies truly committed to digital transformation must hire individuals with these qualities—often dubbed “soft skills”—as well.

With the advent of bimodal and multimodal IT, workers must be flexible enough to act as sprinters one day (to innovate) and marathon runners the next (to maintain). Additionally, an understanding of customer service is essential, as most IT staff is now focused on user interface and user experience. Companies who hire for soft skills like resilience, flexibility and customer service—while being willing to train on specific technical skillsets—are the best-equipped for digital transformation long-term.

Upskilling Is Non-Negotiable

Technology moves fast. As mentioned above, the half-life of a technical skill is estimated at just 2.5 years. As a result, upskilling is no longer a nice-to-have feature, but an absolute necessity for businesses that want to boost revenue as well as improve employee retention.

Companies should build an upskilling program mapped to both their current and future-state technology plans. By building a continuous training curriculum that is tailored to their organization, these companies are better equipped to accelerate productivity and expedite talent mobility—i.e. junior- to mid-level transition. Furthermore, data shows that investment in upskilling can boost employee retention. Employees want to remain relevant, and they want to grow. Showing employees that you’re willing to invest in their careers is one of the best ways to boost retention.

The Bottom Line

These four strategies can help companies hire and train the tech talent needed to drive continued digital transformation. Non-traditional staffing methods are one way to put these strategies into action. Hire-train-deploy models are a natural fit for digital transformation efforts. Under such a model, a trusted staffing partner hires and trains talent candidates. They’ll screen prospective employees from a wide range of non-traditional sources, with an emphasis on soft skills like resilience. Then, they’ll train the talent to the client company’s liking while keeping the individual on their books.

Other non-traditional staffing methods that work well in the age of digital transformation are apprenticeships and in-house bootcamps. The bottom line is that digital transformation is an ongoing process. The tech world is moving fast, which is why talent must be hired with a longer time horizon in mind and a willingness to train. Only then will companies find and foster the future-ready tech leaders they need to succeed.

How Global, Remote Recruiting Leads to a Better Workforce

Back in 2020, when the world was adjusting to the new landscape that COVID had created, many companies needed to rethink how they carried out their operations. Remote-based work became a go-to model for virtually all industries that didn’t depend on a specific location or staff and manual labor. Forbes even called remote work the best legacy of the Pandemic.

But Covid-19 was far from the only factor that led to the rise of remote work. We’ve experienced our fair share of instability over the past few decades. To this day, the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2009 is frequently compared with the Great Depression. The Russian Invasion of Ukraine accelerated an already escalating energy crisis, leading to further financial crisis.

Of course, remote work existed long before the pandemic. Numerous technological advancements and new media platforms have made it increasingly possible to work from a variety of locations—not just in an office setting.

Moreover, in the past few decades, changes in the global economy have led companies across industries to consider outsourcing to countries that can help them access quality services at lower costs than they would find in their home countries.

The 21st century has ushered in an era of breaking down geographical barriers and building co-working dependencies across the globe. Having a diverse talent pool on speed dial—and for a fraction of the price it would cost in the home countries—allows companies to expand well beyond their borders. This practice offers a variety of benefits and has positively impacted the quality of the workforce.

A Global Talent Pool

Businesses in a variety of fields face stiff competition when it comes to recruiting. Finding the best people for different roles can sometimes be challenging, especially when it comes to locally sourced talent. Many local professionals simply don’t have the specialized skills or qualifications necessary to meet the expectations of employers.

Having access to a wide talent pool that is not limited to a specific country or region can open up a wealth of opportunities that benefit both parties. But how do you find that talent?

Choosing Tech Talent

Startups and smaller companies that don’t have enough available talent might start considering outsourcing some of their operations to individuals or entire teams across the globe because they often get a high-quality service for a fraction of the price. But weeding out the lower-quality candidates takes some due diligence—and it’s important to find the right talent for the roles.

Sometimes, differences in time zones and cultural values can be a potential setback until the teams are able to find common ground. There can even be a clash in fundamental business values. That’s why effective collaboration is so important.

The process of finding the best talent can be involved, but by putting your company culture and values at the center, you can establish a mutually beneficial partnership. You will need to:

  • Build a partnership based on appreciation for each other’s values
  • Establish global connections
  • Network, network, network
  • Invest in recruiting around the world
  • Recognize talent—and value it
  • Be prepared to negotiate working hours and PTO, especially when collaborating with teams or individuals across the globe that have different cultural values

With access to global talent and a diverse workforce, companies grow more quickly. They build a stronger, more motivated, multicultural, creative workforce that performs at a higher level and brings multiple perspectives together to solve problems and ideate successfully.

Targeting Specific Expertise for a Higher Ranking

Practically every business is eager to rank higher in search engine results. To improve their SEO and rankings, many companies hire experts to create AI-powered tools. But when they’re operating with a limited budget, how can businesses tap into top AI talent?

Instead of relying solely on local, in-person talent, businesses must consider remote recruiting. If you’re able to do so successfully, you can establish long-term relationships that will serve you well in the future.

Perhaps your business is based in the US, but there’s a terrific ML expert in Brazil. A working relationship can be mutually beneficial.

Remote Is More Appealing

For many people, especially members of the younger generations, flexibility is one of the most important aspects of any career. It’s so appealing, in fact, that the acceleration of flexible work arrangements has given rise to a new type of professional: the digital nomad. Digital nomads can be experts in virtually any industry. The common thread is that they want to be able to work from anywhere in the world.

Even beyond digital nomads, a majority of professionals crave flexibility. True, leaders may not be able to organize regular, in-person, team-building activities, but the tradeoff tends to lead to a more satisfied, independent and engaged workforce.

Because of this, businesses should be open to negotiating work models and arrangements, even if they have traditionally operated largely in person. Their willingness to do so will more than likely lead to recruiting a higher level of talent.

Keep Employee Satisfaction High

Productivity is, of course, paramount for delivering exceptional results. Sometimes, being stuck in a cubicle hinders productivity and performance. Many companies that have turned to a remote workforce have seen better results in terms of efficiency and performance.

And many businesses are taking notice. According to the third edition of McKinsey’s American Opportunity Survey, 58% of Americans report having the opportunity to work from home at least one day a week. Also of note: 87% of people who have the chance to work flexibly take it. So, it’s increasingly clear that professionals want to have options when it comes to how and where they work.

Conclusion

Remote recruiting isn’t just “nice to have.” It’s becoming crucial for businesses to survive and thrive in our modern world. With so much talent spanning the globe, organizations of all types need to embrace the idea of working with professionals who are not necessarily local to their company or even glued to their respective areas. This is the path toward finding the most qualified people for the jobs at hand.

Moreover, greater flexibility leads to a happier workforce. It reflects well on any business when employees are able to do their jobs according to their needs and wants. Additionally, the remote model leads to greater diversity and creativity and stronger performance and results. With so many benefits, why would a business choose to operate any other way?

Unmasking Deep Fakes: The Internet Can’t Handle the Truth

In this era of digital shenanigans, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell fact from fiction. Enter deep fakes, those sneaky AI-generated images and videos that look eerily real. They’re like the prankster of the internet, tricking us all. But fear not! A new hero has arrived on the scene – DeepfakeProof, a Chrome extension that fights back against these tricky buggers. In this article, we’ll dive into the importance of this tool and explore other ways to spot these imposters.

Deepfake Proof: Take Fake Detection to the Next Level

DeepfakeProof tackles the challenge of spotting manipulated images head-on. It’s like having a secret radar detector in your browser. With just a click, it shows you indicators that range from a cool blue checkmark for genuine images to an orange warning for potential deep fakes. If things get really suspicious, it goes full red alert. It even lets you know if the face is too tiny to recognize, because size does matter, apparently.

Glenn Kathy’s Wild Ride

To demonstrate the awesomeness of Deepfake Proof, let’s use a profile picture of everyone’s favorite person, Glenn Kathy. The tool scans the image, does its verification dance, and voila! A blue checkmark appears, confirming that Glenn Kathy is indeed the real deal. It’s like having a personal authenticity stamp for your online photos. Take that, deep fakes!

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room – image size. Sometimes, Deepfake Proof gets a little suspicious when faced with itty-bitty images. Facial recognition becomes a real challenge. But fear not, my friends! We’ve got some tricks up our sleeves.  This nifty tool lets you verify an image by searching for the individual across various platforms. It’s like a digital background check for your photos. Who knew spying could be so fun?

Sure, Deep Fake Proof is a fantastic tool, but let’s be real – it’s not foolfakeproof. With billions of faces on the internet, even the most advanced AI systems might have a hard time keeping up. That’s why we need to team up with other verification methods and tools. Think of it as a hilarious Avengers squad fighting against the spread of deep fakes.

In this crazy digital world, where deep fakes lurk around every corner, it’s crucial to keep things legit. Deep Fake Proof is a step in the right direction, helping us spot those imposters. But remember, one tool can’t do it all. Embrace a multi-faceted approach, use image search assistants, verify through different platforms, and have some fun with tools like Face Check ID. Together, we’ll safeguard ourselves against the madness of deceptive online content. Stay authentic, my friends, and keep laughing in the face of those deep fakes!

Other Dean Da Costa Content:

Dean has a free page of sourcing tools, links, and other recruiting resources that we highly recommend you check out! That page has an overwhelming amount of stuff, so you gotta really love sourcing to appreciate the infinite hours of work Dean has put into it. For all of the Dean Da Costa resources on RecruitingDaily, click here!

Attracting Top Talent: How to Stand Out in the Nursing Industry

Becoming a nurse has always meant choosing a crisis-proof profession. Registered nurses (RNs) work in hospitals, doctor’s surgeries, and many other healthcare facilities. In fact, nurses make up one of the largest segments of the American workforce and the majority of the healthcare industry. Specialist nurses are also highly paid.

Aside from being relatively crisis-proof, nursing also has a reputation for being a challenging choice of profession. Long hours, physical work and the potential of a negative patient outcome all contribute to the challenges nurses and other medical staff have felt.

Since 2020, all these issues have been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. Not only were nurses part of the frontline staff that did not get the chance to work from home. They also had to face being far more exposed to the virus than others, and many could not return to their families after their shifts. Add to that a range of other stressors, and it becomes clear why many nurses left their profession.

As a consequence, employers like hospitals are now competing for top talent, especially those seeking high-paying nursing careers. Here is a closer look at what your organization can do to stand out from your competitors.

Understanding the Current Landscape of the Nursing Industry

Nursing in America is facing a crisis. Over the next decade, medical industry insiders are expecting to see growing demand for nurses that will not be met by the profession’s steady growth.

To understand what is happening to one of the nation’s largest professions, we need to go back a few decades rather than just a few years. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), there are currently over four million registered nurses in the United States. Nearly 85% of those are actually employed in nursing. While that may sound like a sizable workforce, it is simply not enough to meet the growing demand for highly trained medical professionals.

This phenomenon is not new. Enter ‘nursing shortage’ as a search term in the archives of the New York Times and other media outlets, and you will see that similar shortages have been occurring for decades. This time, however, could be more serious. U.S. government predictions show that between now and 2030, more than 200,000 new positions for nurses will be created each year. That is equivalent to a 6% growth in employment every year. That growth is more than the output of nursing colleges can match. As a result, nursing shortages are likely to persist, putting pressure on employers to find and retain highly qualified nurses on their staff.

The Unique Challenges and Opportunities in Recruitment

What is driving the challenging situation of the labor market for healthcare facilities? When it comes to nursing, there are several historical and recent factors coming together.

While it is true that the pandemic has made the nursing shortage more acute, the problem started before many of us had heard of the novel coronavirus. In 2019, scientists predicted a nursing shortage caused by the increasing healthcare demands of an aging population. The study’s results showed a shortage in every U.S. state, with those in the western part of the country affected the most.

More recent research shows that the supply of registered nurses across the country fell by 100,000 between 2020 and 2021. This constitutes the largest drop in the nursing workforce since the 1980s. The authors of this study noted that many of those leaving their nursing careers were under 35 years of age, further compounding the problem.

Compounding Factors Contributing to a Nursing Shortage

Over the next ten to 15 years, a significant number of nurses will reach retirement age and leave the profession naturally. At the same time, the U.S. will have more people aged 77 and over by 2034 than people aged 18 and under. The need for care will grow.

It would be easy to think that the shortage could be solved by increasing enrollment in nursing schools. There is certainly significant interest in the nursing profession. However, for the academic year, schools turned away more than 90,000 qualified applicants because of limited numbers of faculty, classroom space, clinical sites and budget constraints.

Key Strategies for Attracting Top Talent in the Nursing Industry

No matter how much we analyze the reasons behind the nursing shortage, the outcome remains the same for healthcare providers: employers are under pressure to attract and retain the industry’s top talent. Here are some of the key strategies to help you achieve that:

1. Avoid Understaffing Shifts

Many nurses left their jobs during the pandemic due to burnout. Avoid losing staff this way by ensuring shifts run with full teams. Initially, this may mean relying on temporary nursing staff to fill vacancies and lead to an increase in operational costs.

At the same time, fully staffed shifts will help you avoid burning out your core team and increase retention, limiting staffing costs in the mid to long term.

2. Offer Job Progression and Training Opportunities

Work with your nursing team to find out what their goals are and where they would like to see their career going. Most nurses will be happy to take on the odd extra shift if they know that in a few months, they may be promoted or become eligible for specialist training.

Offering this kind of job progression will help your facility attract highly motivated nursing school graduates.

3. Reconsider Nurses’ Benefits Packages

Not everyone is motivated by pay. Ask your nurses about their pain points and find ways to address them. Something as simple as well-fitting, comfortable scrubs can make the difference between feeling comfortable all day or simply waiting for a shift to be over.

Offering childcare and other services on hospital grounds can also help attract highly qualified nurses and prevent staff from leaving when their families expand.

Benefits packages do not need to be the same for everyone. Consider offering options and allowing nurses to build a package that best suits their lifestyle.

Innovative Recruitment Techniques for the Nursing Industry

How can healthcare facilities ensure they attract the leading graduates? Aside from offering job progression and tailored benefits packages, healthcare providers can benefit from building a talent pipeline. Consider connecting with nursing colleges and nursing students while they complete their training. Provide opportunities to get to know your facility and meet your team.

By following this strategy, your hospital or clinic will be top of mind when it comes to choosing an employer after graduation. Becoming known as a responsible employer who cares for the nursing staff will also help attract top graduates.

If your facility operates different locations across the country, perhaps you can offer secondments to those? For many nurses and recent graduates, this approach would combine the reassurance of having a steady job with an opportunity to travel.

Final Thoughts

The American nursing shortage is likely to continue and perhaps worsen for the next decade or so. Building a talent pipeline, considering flexible working patterns, ensuring shifts are fully staffed and offering solid job progression can help your healthcare facility attract top nursing school graduates and retain your existing workforce. After all, without nurses and other medical professionals, you simply cannot deliver outstanding patient care.

14 Tips for Attracting Top Talent to Your Organization

To help you discover effective strategies for attracting top talent, we asked fourteen leaders and HR professionals for their best insights. From leveraging an employee advocacy program to maintaining consistent employment branding, these experts share their top strategies. Dive into the wisdom of CEOs, HR Managers and other leaders to enhance your talent acquisition efforts.

Leveraging Employee Advocacy Program

One strategy that has been highly effective in attracting top talent to our company has been the implementation of an employee advocacy program. We believe our employees are our best brand ambassadors.

When they are satisfied with their work environment, their role and the company culture, they express it, whether it’s during casual conversations with friends or on their social media platforms.

This authentic advocacy, seen and heard by potential candidates, acts as a powerful pull. People want to work where employees are happy and engaged, and our employees’ advocacy has proven to be a compelling testament to the positive work environment we strive to maintain.

Their genuine endorsement of our company attracts high-quality talent who are looking not just for a job, but for a place where they can grow, contribute and be part of a thriving community.

Martin Potocki
CEO, Jobera

Communicating Company’s Vision and Mission

Everyone wants to grow in one sense or another. Employees join a company with the dream of taking their careers to the next level. They plan their career path and work to grow it. If a company itself has no plans to grow, then how can employees imagine their future in it.

When hiring an employee, discussing the company’s vision and mission can boost the confidence of the candidate. This reassures them they are going to work in the right firm. Speaking about the company’s plan to grow significantly can attract top talent. As a result, talented candidates would like to be part of a growing company.

Many interviews have been given and some companies were not joined because they did not talk about their vision and mission. Skipping this part in the interview can snatch a chance from you to attract the right candidates for the company. Motivate applicants to join the company by talking about its future growth

Saikat Ghosh
Associate Director of HR and Business, Technource

Adopting Passive Sourcing Strategy

One approach we’ve found that works incredibly well is passive sourcing.

It’s a growing part of our recruitment process, primarily because of the sheer level of skill that can often be identified via relevant candidates who otherwise may not apply for an open role.

For example, on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, you can often find incredibly passionate potential candidates who are utterly ingrained in their specific niche or role.

While they may not be actively looking for a job, there’s nothing to lose by engaging with them and letting them know that they’d be a valuable asset to the team.

Wendy Makinson
HR Manager, Joloda Hydraroll

Sourcing Based on Leadership Recommendations

Our candidate sourcing has largely been done in-house, based on current leadership recommendations. One of our latest hires was actually a team package, which has turned out to be incredible.

The two just know how to work well off each other and have brought a game-changing viewpoint to the company.

Jarir Mallah
HR Manager, Ling App

Recognizing Achievements and Performance

The most influential strategy for attracting top talent is recognizing achievements and appreciating performance. Humans deserve timely appreciation and feedback.

While negative feedback is often given quickly for the sake of company improvement, there is usually a gap in appreciating an employee’s performance.

Employee-recognition programs have been integrated as part of the company culture. Team leaders and managers are encouraged not to reserve this appreciation for formal events or annual awards, but to accolade any achievement by any member promptly.

This approach improves the satisfaction rate and the overall performance of the employees, as peers are more focused on performing well.

Timely appreciation and recognition have proven to be a win-win situation, as there has been a visible improvement in the performance of the employees, resulting in tremendous growth for the company.

Sandeep Kashyap
CEO and Founder, ProofHub

Unleashing Puppy Power and Innovation Time-Off

At our company, we’ve mastered the art of “unleashing the puppy power.” Yep, you heard it right. We have an office dog program that woofs its way into the hearts of potential employees.

Statistics show that 75% of job seekers are more likely to apply for a position at a pet-friendly workplace. Plus, who can resist those wagging tails and adorable puppy eyes?

But wait, there’s more! We also offer “Innovation Time-Off,” where employees can dedicate 20% of their work hours to their passion projects. This freedom to explore their creative genius has attracted some stellar talents who are now our star performers

Himanshu Sharma
CEO and Founder, Academy of Digital Marketing

Fostering a Growth-Oriented Culture

At Authors On Mission, one effective strategy for attracting top talent has been fostering a growth-oriented culture. We prioritize personal and professional development, offering learning opportunities, mentorship and clear paths for advancement within the organization.

This culture resonates with ambitious individuals who are not only seeking a job, but a place where they can grow, learn, and make a significant impact. We have found that top talent is often drawn to environments where they are challenged, recognized for their contributions and given room to innovate.

By promoting a culture of growth, we’ve been able to attract highly skilled individuals who align with our mission and contribute to our collective success.

Vikrant Shaurya
CEO, Authors On Mission

Expanding Talent Pool with Remote Work

Ingredient Brothers is a fully remote team—remote equals borderless. By default, this provides us access to a wide range of skills and expertise, effectively expanding our talent pool and ensuring that we have the most qualified individuals for any role, regardless of their geographical location. This allows us to achieve exceptional outcomes and succeed in the ever-changing business environment

Eran Mizrahi
CEO and Founder, Ingredient Brothers

Prioritizing Sales Skills Over Specific Roles

One strategy effective at attracting top talent to our organizations has been looking for great salespeople rather than medical device sales reps.

Our motto has always been this: if you’re a successful sales rep, we can teach you about our device manufacturers’ products, benefits, features, and anything you need to know about hospital decision-makers.

Taking this approach has opened the door to potential candidates we can choose from, which has been key to casting a wider net and growing our business.

John Mooney
President, IML

Seeking Like-Minded Individuals

One strategy that has been effective is to look for like-minded individuals who share similar values. I like to look for psychologists who practice similar therapy modalities and, or ones who complement the expertise of others on our team. Doing so has always allowed us to find the right fit for our practice.

Azmaira Maker, Ph.D.
Founding Director, Aspiring Families

Sustaining an Inclusive Work Environment

Company culture can significantly affect job happiness and satisfaction among employees. Many people desire employment in an inclusive work environment that values and honors employee diversity.

The workplace should allow them to be at ease and work with no disturbance at their own pace while keeping track of daily goals. Maintaining this type of hindrance-free environment in the workplace helps keep top talents within the organization.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that supervision at every step and level of the organization is necessary to maintain this culture.

Kelvin Wira
Founder, Superpixel

Utilizing Social Media for Talent Attraction

Traditional recruitment avenues have their strengths, yet our agency has found remarkable success by turning to social media—specifically, Facebook—for talent attraction. This strategy has proven to be a game-changer, especially for reaching out to potential candidates embedded in rival firms, and it is considerably more cost-effective than using platforms like LinkedIn or hiring professional recruiters.

Facebook’s advanced advertising capabilities allow for the delivery of tailor-made job adverts to a sharply defined audience, including those currently working for competitors. Compelling and pertinent ads draw in superior candidates who might not actively seek a new job—effectively accessing the reservoir of passive talent.

This cost-saving approach has slashed hiring costs and consistently brought in a steady stream of high-quality applicants, underscoring the importance of considering non-traditional routes in the rapidly growing tech landscape.

Shane McEvoy
MD, Flycast Media

Crafting an Authentic Employee Value Proposition

Having an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that is authentic, differentiated, and summarizes the best of what you have to offer talent is the first step towards attracting top talent to any organization. Why? An authentic EVP conveys the unique essence and identity of the organization, reflecting its core values, mission, and culture. In today’s competitive job market, where candidates have many options, authenticity is key.

Differentiation is equally crucial. Top talent is in high demand, and organizations must stand out from the crowd to attract and keep the best candidates. A well-crafted EVP showcases the unique attributes that make your organization an exceptional place to work.

Finally, an effective EVP helps organizations align their internal and external strategies. By consistently delivering an authentic and differentiated EVP across all touchpoints, from recruitment campaigns to company culture initiatives, organizations can attract and retain the very best.

Nicole Fernandes
Senior Director, Employer Brand, and Culture, Blu Ivy Group

Maintaining Consistent Employment Branding

Every company should have consistent employment branding in today’s tight labor market. Just like marketing to a customer, it takes seven times for your brand to be trusted for a worker to come to apply for an open position. Companies that neglect their employment branding are going to lose their edge in this war for talent.

Andrew Crapuchettes
CEO, RedBalloon.work

The Six Essential Components of a Talent Marketing Strategy

Recruiting has undergone some massive shifts in recent years, and transactional or post-and-pray approaches simply no longer work, especially in a job market where skills shortages are the norm and there are far more open roles than candidates. But this environment also offers a massive opportunity: to build and invest in a talent marketing strategy.

By communicating your employer brand, showcasing the value of working for your org and promoting your company as an employer of choice, talent marketing drives awareness and interest in your organization, encourages referrals, increases the number of qualified candidates in your your pipeline and ultimately converts passive talent into active candidates when those roles open. And because talent self-selects into your process based on how well they align with your company brand, you decrease time-to-fill and cost-per-hire and reduce time and money spent on unqualified applicants.

Below I’m sharing the six essential steps for creating a solid talent marketing strategy.

Create Specific and Measurable Goals

If you’re just starting out with talent marketing, the first step is to get clear on what you want to accomplish. What is it you want to do? Increase overall brand awareness? Get more applicants? Shorten your hiring process? Increase your offer-acceptance rates? Naturally these may change from quarter to quarter or campaign to campaign, but having specific and measurable goals will help you understand if your efforts are paying off.

Define Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Your employer brand is how people outside your organization perceive what it’s like to work there, and will be at the heart of every communication you have with prospects and candidates. And they also make good business sense: companies with successful employer branding and EVP definition see a 50% increase in qualified candidates and 1-2x faster time-to-hire.

Because your EVP needs to be a true reflection of your organization, EVP creation is a bottom-up exercise. The most effective EVPs are shaped by direct feedback from current, past, and prospective employees. Existing feedback structures like employee engagement surveys, performance reviews, exit interviews and employee focus groups can all be used to gather data.

Competitive analysis will also be crucial for your EVP. After all, you can’t say what makes your organization unique if you don’t know what your competitors are offering to attract talent, and the intel you uncover by scanning the landscape will help you understand which benefits are table stakes and where you have a clear competitive advantage.

The final step to building an EVP is creating candidate personas that will help craft your overall employer messaging and better understand your target candidates. Personas also allow you to segment target talent more easily. Technical talent and marketing professionals may have different expectations about work; executive hires will demand a different approach than evergreen hires do; diversity hires may require attention to different elements of the job in your outreach and so on. The two best resources you’ve got for creating candidate personas are current team members who are thriving in roles similar to the ones you’re trying to fill and your CRM and/or ATS. Your recruitment tech will reveal patterns about who passes through funnels for specific roles, why certain candidates are rejected by hiring managers and the most effective candidate sources.

Create, Collect and Compile Content

Now that you’re clear on both your EVP and your candidate personas, you’ve got a solid foundation to build on, and it’s time to create an archive of content that you can draw from for all your recruitment marketing efforts. In addition to job descriptions and candidate FAQ pages, this might include virtual tours, episodes of an internal podcast, photos of company events or social media posts showing a-day-in-the-life or celebrating employee milestones.

Regardless of the mediums you choose, these assets should consistently highlight the themes in your EVP, whether that’s values and mission, career development opportunities, exciting projects the team is working on, employee perks, team-building, diversity, charitable initiatives and so on. The key is to show rather than tell what your EVP is. Thanks to your recruitment marketing content, talent should be able to imagine in detail what it’s like to work for you, bringing them one step closer to applying.

Remember that not all content needs to be created from scratch. You’ve likely already got an archive of content that can do double duty thanks to your marketing team. You should sit down with them to discuss which content could also work for recruitment purposes and whether they would be willing to create a few recruitment-specific assets each quarter.

Turn Employees Into Advocates With a Referral Program

We’re sure you know the benefits of referrals: compared with other hiring sources, they have a shorter time-to-hire and a lower cost-per-hire, a higher conversion rate and stay with the company longer.

Supercharging your referral program means being intentional with your efforts and giving current employees the tools they need to be brand ambassadors. When it comes to the program itself, it pays to be generous with incentives: a bonus is going to be much more powerful than a $100 gift card. What’s more, make the process of submitting a referral simple for them—no lengthy forms, no hoops to jump through. Provide them with outreach sequence templates so their recipients get both the personal touch of hearing from someone in their network and the most important details about the role and the org. Finally, increase the quality of your referrals by tracking the effectiveness of your sources. Perhaps you even motivate other employees by internally celebrating the ones who refer successful candidates to your company.

Build and Nurture Talent Communities

At Gem, we think of a talent community as candidates who aren’t ready to make a job change or whose skill sets don’t match any open roles, but would like to stay in touch with your company until the timing is right. You can build out your talent community by capturing contact info on your careers site and at recruitment events and by asking recruiters to add silver medalists or individuals they’ve sourced but aren’t ready to make a switch. From there, you should offer consistent, authentic glimpses of your company through customized and personalized email campaigns. In addition to job openings, talent may want to hear about company updates, employee or team profiles and how your org is navigating culture. Over time this gives talent a full view of your org, its mission, culture and values.

Notably, this is an area of Talent Marketing where many companies make investments even when hiring is slow: with fewer jobs posted, a talent community is a great way for folks to raise their hand on your career site even if they don’t spot the role that they were looking for today. It’s also the perfect time to nurture that talent with branded email campaigns so you are ready to go when hiring picks back up.

Analyze, Evaluate and Optimize

Evaluating your strategy might be the most important element of your strategy. Of course, you’ll want to know your numbers before you implement your strategy so that you have a baseline from which to improve. From there, you should track the data regularly to increase your ROI. Everything we’ve discussed above can be measured:

  • Google Analytics will show you how site traffic interacts with your careers page and where that traffic comes from.
  • Sourcing solutions can help you assess how compelling your outbound messaging is by tracking email metrics like open, reply, and interested rates.
  • Your recruiting CRM offers tailored reports with data such as pass through rates and let you measure the ROI on things like events, campus recruiting and source channel.
  • Your ATS will also give you valuable information about time-to-fill and candidate source.
  • A Talent Marketing marketing solution, can help you connect your top-of-funnel activities to bottom-of-funnel results to understand the effectiveness of different tactics.
  • Surveys can help you understand your candidate experience.

Collectively, analytics tell the story of your recruitment marketing plan: how—and where— are your efforts paying off? The more you optimize based on those generated insights, the better your conversion rates will be.

Final Thoughts

The right talent marketing strategy defines and communicates the organization’s mission, purpose and culture through all the right channels, creating awareness for talent who not only meet the role’s requirements, but who also share the company’s vision and values. Ultimately that means they’re not only more likely to apply to your org, they’re also more likely to remain with you for the long-term.

If you’re just getting started with talent marketing, begin with something manageable and focus on what you can do to make that element of your strategy better. There is no final best practice: you’ll be evolving for as long as you’re selling your organization, and data and metrics will help you do that. So get curious, experiment and find some joy in the ride.

Four Steps Organizations Can Take to Strengthen Employer Brand

The labor market is undergoing unprecedented change at an unrelenting pace. As a result, employers need to constantly assess their employer brand to ensure that the values they’re presenting align with relevant expectations of top tier talent.

Every organization’s employer brand will manifest differently depending on the values and beliefs that guide that work. At Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the notion that people make the difference is the bedrock of our organization and individual Maisons. We work to ensure that this belief shines through in our culture and values, ensuring our talent feels supported and engaged by the meaningful resources, initiatives and programs that bring our employer brand to life. And while the labor market will never be static when it comes to change and evolution, there are four foundational components that ladder up to a strong employer brand that can withstand ongoing transformation.

A Winning Recruitment and Retention Strategy

Recruitment and retention are paramount when it comes to setting your organization’s employer brand apart from competitors. It’s no longer enough to share job postings on job boards like Indeed or LinkedIn. By looking beyond traditional recruitment methods, organizations can establish a more diverse employee network—a growing desire for employees and job seekers alike.

At LVMH, we recognize the important role recruitment and retention play in attracting and retaining the most talented people. By being intentional about how we roll these efforts out, we can support our sustained goal of crafting the future with our current and prospective employees and driving our culture of excellence. We believe that people make the difference, so our talent strategy was developed to mirror that belief. This shines through our work with universities and colleges to engage a diverse group of emerging professionals, as well as through our Métiers d’Excellence program, which encompasses over 280 creative, craft and client experience roles (or “métiers”), each known for a unique savoir-faire that is vital to the success of the Group and our Maisons.  At LVMH, 80,000 professionals around the world practice Métiers d’Excellence—professions that allow us to control every link of our value chain, from the sourcing of raw materials to the production and the selective retailing of our products, while guaranteeing the high quality and excellence of our products and services.

LVMH is also intentional about building out its robust pool of talent so that it represents all corners of the world. In doubling down on DEI, organizations can build an inclusive environment that empowers employees to show up as their authentic selves which is good for business and an essential component of a successful engagement and retention model.

Strengthening Talent through Professional Development

Talent is seeking increased access to professional development resources, learning programs and mentorship and coaching. Professional development acts as a pillar of any employer’s brand because it is your tangible commitment to support the continued growth and advancement of your employees.

We help our employees prepare for their future career path through a range of learnings and initiatives aimed at developing skills, experience and expertise. This takes place through on-the-job experience, stretch assignments, formal learning through LVMH House, mentorship and coaching, to name a few.  A unique component of our employee experience includes our commitment to talent development through LVMH House, our Learning & Leadership Development center. Building deeper and broader connections across the LVMH portfolio of Maisons and developing a more profound sense of community are core to the LVMH House experience.

We also believe that talent must learn to own, lead and craft their own career and professional development, based on their passions, skillsets and aspirations. Via INSIDE LVMH, we support broader learning through a digital platform that gives students and graduates an opportunity to immerse themselves in our ecosystem and be inspired by our leaders. Another key initiative in the retail domain is THINK Retail, a new coaching-led leadership development program for our high-performing store directors in our largest, most iconic stores across all our Maisons. It’s a deeply introspective leadership journey focused on purpose, values, strengths and inspiration.

Mobility to Create Career Tracks

Internal mobility has become table stakes for organizations looking to remain competitive in a labor market vying for the same talent. Rooting your organization’s employer brand in its mobility strategy is a clear way of differentiating your company from other employers and keeps you top of mind among prospective and current talent. A strong mobility strategy has been linked to higher rates of retention, making it a fundamental performance indicator by which organizations can assess themselves.

As an employer of choice, we ground our resources, programs and mobility strategy in the understanding that the virtue of being part of the LVMH ecosystem is a one-of-a-kind aspect of our employer brand, making us highly competitive in a saturated labor market. When you continuously build upon meaningful experiences for all, across functions, brands and regions, leveraging what makes you unique as an employer, you are able to instill a long-term mindset of ongoing improvement and collaboration that only benefits your talents and organization. Our employees are able to grow within our organization, business sectors and geographies, thus exploring all aspects of our business and becoming active participants in our Group’s long-term mission and goals.

Succession Planning to Kickstart the Future

Savvy organizations and HR leaders recognize that succession planning is no longer a nice-to-have component of their employer brand, but a must-have. A thoughtful and intentional succession plan can be the make or break when it comes to such transitions, and that is especially true for senior-level positions. Succession planning is critical to strategic talent management and driving business success for the future – knowing your talent, identifying and assessing top talent, supporting growth and development and ultimately navigating leadership career journeys. An intentional, thoughtful and proactive approach to succession planning helps ensure the right leaders are ready and in the right roles to fuel the future.

As employers continue to navigate a new talent ecosystem, a clear employer brand that is rooted in addressing the expectations and potential of your employees is an imperative distinction. Through thoughtful analysis and work, your brand can be molded to help meet your company’s goals and employee needs in parallel. These four steps will not only help employees exceed their professional potential, but you will have a consistent employer brand that stands the test of time in an ever-changing market.

Using Talent Intelligence Throughout the Employment Lifecycle

Talent management looks vastly different from even five years ago. Today, employers have a high demand for talent with future-ready skill sets, well-functioning teams and lower rates of turnover. Luckily, employers have talent intelligence and predictive analytics as guiding tools to improve how they meet these demands through strategic and informed decision-making.

However, talent intelligence does not stop at the point of recruitment – it should be integrated into the full employee lifecycle, allowing talent and HR leaders to fully understand their workforce and proactively solve any root issues impacting the employee experience.

Using Predictive Methods To Employ the Right Skill Sets

The beginning of an employee’s experience starts with recruitment and selection, and there are multiple predictive methods to ensure you hire the best candidates for your open roles.

At the outset, start by assessing highly successful individuals at your organization currently in the job position you are hiring for. From there, you can build a target profile encompassing the necessary skills and performance qualities needed for that role. This allows recruitment teams to match candidates more seamlessly to a specific profile and predict how well a certain individual will perform in the role before moving forward with a hiring decision. This, coupled with behavioral-based interviewing processes, can better contribute to an individual’s propensity for success and ensure you hire the right fit for your organization.

At the heart of this behavioral assessment is learning agility. Not all candidates are perfectly equipped at the beginning to fully take on the work and responsibilities associated with their new job. Candidates with the agility to learn and expand in their role creates greater team diversity and flexibility – especially when pivoting to address external shifts in an industry.

Furthermore, organizations should go beyond using recruiting platforms like Glassdoor, LinkedIn and Indeed solely for job posting. These platforms capture data highlighting prevalent skill sets that exist in the current talent pool and how they evolve over time, which employers can leverage in their talent search queries. They can also provide helpful metrics like the number of page views or applicants for a job listing, and depending on these metrics, organizations can retool the job listing to better attract the right applicants.

Gathering Insights During Onboarding for Longevity

Recent research shows that 89% of employees who had effective onboarding are very engaged at work and have higher job satisfaction. Meanwhile, another recent survey found that 80% of Gen Z and millennial employees said it is acceptable to leave a new job before six months if it does not live up to your expectations – indicating the high amount of churn in a short time of employment many organizations are experiencing. Simply put, the way organizations leverage data to bolster an employee’s experience across their employment lifecycle matters.

To support a successful onboarding process, it is important to understand where new employees feel there are gaps in engagement so you can proactively address issues before continuing to grow your workforce. This can be accomplished by conducting surveys of new employees both at the 30-day and one-year marks after they have started in their new role to gauge satisfaction and identify any foundational issues they may be observing.

HR teams can also measure variables like how often a new team member reached out with questions during onboarding, how many items on the onboarding checklist a new employee completed, or if they feel settled in their new job. What you may find is that your hiring managers are not well-equipped to sufficiently onboard a new employee, which can be solved through ongoing training.

Driving Retention Through Intelligence

Using talent intelligence to recruit employees is just as important as using it to retain employees. It can be the linchpin in ensuring team members are successful in their roles, can fully integrate into their teams and are happy with their current employment.

Regular employee surveys can measure indicators like levels of engagement, the effectiveness of your internal communications, if employees utilize their benefits programs, or why employees have left their roles via exit surveys. Taking the time to gauge employee sentiment on these topics enables HR leaders to better pinpoint and proactively address existing issues in the employee experience, which can help reduce turnover and flight risk long term.

While talent intelligence tools are important to gather data-driven insights that will inform decision-making around how you manage talent, organizations do not need to implement every existing and technical tool to be successful. The most important aspect of talent intelligence starts with the human element of asking the right questions at the right time to truly listen to your employees, potential job candidates and the overall talent landscape. From there, you can make insights-driven decisions about how you recruit, onboard and retain employees – helping to paint a holistic picture of your employee experience.

Tech and Talent: Unraveling the Secrets of AI-Driven Hiring

If you’re a candidate searching for the right career, or if you’re a business looking for the right hire, it’s getting more and more challenging for you to find that perfect fit – and who’s in the middle of all of that? Recruiters.

In today’s fast-paced and competitive job market, finding the right talent can be a daunting task for recruiters. As a tech enthusiast, I am passionate about leveraging the power of AI to revolutionize the hiring process. In this article, we will delve into the secrets of AI-driven hiring, exploring how technology is reshaping the recruitment landscape and empowering organizations to make smarter, data-driven decisions.

The Promise of Objective Decision-Making

Artificial Intelligence has emerged as a game-changer in the hiring process. With its ability to analyze vast amounts of data, AI-driven tools offer invaluable insights into candidate profiles, skills, and qualifications. Gone are the days of manual candidate review, as recruiters now harness the potential of AI algorithms to streamline their assessment process, saving time and resources.

One of the most significant advantages of AI-driven hiring is its capacity to make objective and data-driven decisions. By removing human bias, the technology allows for fairer evaluations, fostering diversity and inclusion in the hiring process. This shift towards objective decision-making ensures that candidates are assessed solely based on their merits, leveling the playing field and providing equal opportunities for all.

AI-driven hiring tools are designed to identify potential candidates who might have been overlooked using traditional methods. By analyzing vast datasets and patterns, these tools uncover hidden talent, expanding the pool of qualified candidates for consideration. This not only boosts the chances of discovering top talent but also brings diversity and fresh perspectives into organizations.

In a candidate-driven job market, the candidate experience is of utmost importance as well. AI-driven tools enable recruiters to personalize interactions and engage with candidates throughout the hiring journey. Automated communication, real-time feedback, and seamless application processes create a positive and memorable experience for candidates, reinforcing the company’s brand and reputation.

Striking the Balance: Human Judgment and AI Automation

But it’s not all perfect with AI obviously. There is still room for a lot of improvement. Using AI and automation in general means being exposed to potential system issues and bugs that can impact the assessment of candidates. If those new AI solution providers don’t implement robust quality assurance measures to continuously check their algorithms and workflows, the impact it could have can be quite significant.

Other potential issues with using AI in recruiting is lack of transparency – AI algorithms are often perceived as “black boxes,” making it challenging for candidates and recruiters to understand how decisions are made. Transparency is essential to build trust in AI-driven hiring solutions. As such, it is important for any AI provider to provide insights into their algorithms’ workings and ensure that their customers have a clear understanding of how decisions are reached.

Another issue that I see with leveraging AI is this concept of over-reliance on Technology. But… you can argue that this is the case with any form of technology we’re using today. We are already over reliant on all the different forms of software and apps we’re using. So, in recruiting specifically, while AI can enhance the hiring process, my take is that it should not replace human judgment entirely. It is essential to strike a balance between AI-driven automation and human intuition. I encourage recruiters to use AI as a tool to augment their decision-making rather than relying solely on technology.

Overall, the future of AI-driven hiring holds immense potential for continuous improvement and innovation. As technology advances, AI algorithms will become more sophisticated, fine-tuning their ability to predict candidate success in specific roles. Augmented reality and virtual reality applications will further enhance candidate assessment by simulating real work scenarios and evaluating candidates’ skills in real-time.

How to Improve Candidate Experience During the Hiring Process

In the quest to improve the candidate experience during the hiring process, we sought insights from top HR professionals and business leaders. From leveraging technology for realistic job previews to adding personality to interviews, here are strategies shared by these experts to enhance your hiring process.

Leveraging Technology for Realistic Job Previews

We all know that a realistic job preview by candidates can directly correlate to early-stage turnover. As we enter greater technology capabilities, how can we create job preview insights along the way? We can use Artificial Intelligence to chat with prospective candidates to ask questions about a “day in the life.”

Social media takeovers by employees can give personalized perspectives on your environment and team dynamics. Employees can submit their own images and feedback via your chat channel, including the waiver, to use these real-time images in social and other job posting venues.

As job seekers continue to normalize to less “produced” content, the more “real-life” content you can curate, the more honest your employment preview will be!

Stacie Baird
Chief People Officer, Community Medical Services

Building Relationships With Passive Candidates

To optimize the candidate experience during high-volume hiring, we proactively built relationships with passive candidates. For niche profiles with limited talent pools, we took a unique approach.

We mapped out the talent universe, identified top talent, and reached out to them on platforms like LinkedIn. We engaged in conversations, shared exciting developments in our company and invited them to consultation calls and in-person meetings. By actively networking and nurturing these relationships, we generated interest and converted curiosity into a desire to join our organization.

This strategy had a significant impact on our hiring outcomes and employer brand. By showcasing our value proposition and building personalized connections, we stood out as an employer of choice. It improved our hiring outcomes by securing high-quality candidates and enhanced our employer brand as a company that values exceptional talent.

Sanya Nagpal
Head of HR, Leena AI

Tailoring Interview Questions to Candidate’s Experience

One thing we do is tailor interview questions and scenarios specific to a candidate’s experience, which allows them to understand how their experience fits into a role and allows us to explore role-development opportunities even prior to a formal offer.

Tracey Beveridge
HR Director, Personnel Checks

Implementing Feedback Surveys for Candidate Experience

At a previous company, a thorough feedback survey was developed to enhance the candidate experience. The goal was to ensure every candidate had a positive and fair experience, regardless of the job they interviewed for. The survey was sent to every candidate who reached the phone-screen stage, including people who were hired.

After implementing the survey, a signal was received on how candidates of different levels, professional backgrounds, and identities felt about their time with the company. This helped more effectively pinpoint issues, which were usually team-specific. With more data on hand, the team made informed process adjustments so future candidates could have an even better experience.

Alex Lahmeyer
Founder and DEI Consultant, Boundless Arc

Using Virtual Reality for Workplace Previews

One innovative approach I’ve adopted to enhance the candidate experience during the hiring process is using Virtual Reality (VR) to amplify empathy.

By immersing candidates in a virtual workspace, they can “walk a mile” in the shoes of different employees, gaining insights into their experiences and challenges.

This has proven to be a powerful tool for fostering understanding and empathy among potential hires, giving them a realistic preview of our inclusive work environment. Candidates can interact with diverse virtual colleagues, experiencing firsthand how our organization values and respects all employees.

This VR experience engages candidates uniquely and clearly communicates our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace. Thus, VR has helped to amplify the organization’s message and boost the overall candidate’s experience.

Vivian Acquah
Certified Diversity Executive, Amplify DEI

Enhancing Job Advertisements for Candidate Efficiency

The best thing you can do to enhance the candidate’s hiring experience is to take things back to basics with the job advertisement and consider how efficient it is for candidates to apply.

Ask yourself, “Is the job description true to the role, and is it likely to change?”

Wendy Makinson
HR Manager, Joloda Hydraroll

Prioritizing Clear Communication With Candidates

Communication with the candidate is key to enhancing the candidate’s experience during the hiring process. There are a lot of job seekers right now. We hire internally about twice a year and do a lot of recruiting work for our clients with our RPO services.

We focus on the candidate experience as part of our proven process. As we’ve spoken with candidates and clearly outlined when they could expect to hear from us, they are shocked that we are so transparent with our timeline.

Some candidates have even wanted assurance that we won’t ghost them, and we assure them that if they have conducted at least one interview with us, we will let them know either way in line with the timeline we just provided.

If something comes up that affects the timeline, we also make sure we contact them then to let them know there is a delay, the reason for the delay (if practical), and when they should expect a follow-up.

This level of communication makes all the difference.

Eric Mochnacz
Director of Operations, Red Clover

Focusing on Practical Tasks Over CVs

We immediately let our candidates know we do not care about their CVs, and we offer some questions and a practical task right away. This approach gives us the most information we need about our candidates.

We look at how quickly the application is filled out and how promptly the applicant responds to our messages. We’ve had outstanding success finding amazing team members who would’ve been overlooked if we had just played the CV-comparing game.

All the applicants we eventually hire always note this as one thing that impressed them the most about Ratepunk. Everyone we hire seems to love the hiring process and even changes their opinion on the HR position‌. We like crazy, motivated, and creative people. Sending a CV requires minimal creativity, so we’d rather just avoid that step of the process.

Justin Albertynas
CEO, Ratepunk

Providing Agenda Transparency in Interviews

Adhering to an agenda dictated by a timetable for all participants involved in the candidate experience may be obvious. Providing an additional layer of transparency grants the candidate clarity on whom they’re meeting, their title, and the aim of that specific conversation.

When multi-round and panel interviews take place, it helps the candidate prepare mentally and emotionally for what to expect at each milestone of the hiring process.

This saves time and energy if there are any gaps that need to be filled with unnecessary Q&A matters, which take up capacity since input may be needed by those not involved in this specific hiring process.

Candidates hosting a healthy degree of situational awareness can focus on the objective of getting hired rather than worrying about technical and operational issues that aren’t their concern. For example, confirm all participants, check that needed technologies are operating and a contingent plan is available if anyone is absent or late. This helps a lot.

Sasha Laghonh
Founder, Sasha Talks

Creating a Special Candidate Care Package

A fun way has been found to make the hiring process extra special for candidates. The “Candidate Care Package” has been created, a sweet treat for applicants. Inside, a personalized thank-you note, cool company swag and a heavenly assortment of chocolates can be found.

But there’s something even more exciting. Some lucky candidates will discover a “Golden Ticket” in their package. This magical ticket grants an exclusive tour of the office, where the team can be met in person.

It’s like winning a Willy Wonka-style adventure! Since this delicious initiative started, candidates can’t stop talking about it. They’re spreading the word like melted chocolate on toast. Spoiling candidates is important because finding the perfect match should be as delightful as savoring a scrumptious treat.

Himanshu Sharma
CEO and Founder, Academy of Digital Marketing

Streamlining Communication for Positive Candidate Experience

I’ve implemented a streamlined and transparent communication system. I have ensured prompt and personalized responses to candidate inquiries, providing clear timelines and updates throughout the process.

Also, I have used technology to automate certain stages of the process, such as sending automated confirmation emails and scheduling interviews through an online platform.

These measures have improved efficiency, reduced waiting times and offered a more positive and engaging experience for candidates, ultimately reflecting positively on the employer brand.

Brian Clark
Founder, United Medical Education

Update Candidates Throughout the Hiring Process

As a recruiter, the biggest frustration I hear from candidates is a lack of communication during the process and how long they take to hear back after each stage of the process. This has especially been a concern over the past couple of years, with time-to-hire stretching longer than normal in many companies.

It goes a long way toward making a candidate feel you value and respect them to keep them updated on what’s going on with your search.

This is especially crucial after the first interview. If it’s been more than a week since the last time you interacted with them, send a message to let them know why there’s a delay and when they should expect to hear from you regarding the position or the next steps.

If you’ve experienced an unexpected problem, that’s delaying your decision, send a quick message to all the candidates still in the process to let them know. Maintaining open communication is the easiest, most affordable way you can improve the candidate experience.

Archie Payne
CEO, CalTek Staffin

Personalizing Communication With Candidates

Enhancing the candidate’s experience during the hiring process can be achieved by personalizing the communication. This involves sending each candidate a welcome message and following up with them regularly throughout the process. It’s also important to answer questions they have as quickly as possible.

Specific examples of personalized communication with candidates include:

  • Using their names in every message sent.
  • Tailoring messages to their specific skills and experience.
  • Updating them on the progress of their application.
  • Expressing gratitude for their time and interest.

Personalized communication shows genuine interest in the candidates and their candidacy. It also helps to build rapport and trust, which can make the hiring process more enjoyable for both parties.

Brenton Thomas
CEO, Twibi

Adding Personality to Interviews

One way we’ve significantly enhanced the candidate’s experience during the hiring process is by adding some personality to interviews. We firmly believe that interviews shouldn’t be robotic and impersonal, but an opportunity for candidates to express themselves authentically.

So, we strive to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere that goes beyond the standard “Tell me about yourself” and “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” and fosters genuine connections. After all, we’re not just looking for a set of skills, but also a cultural fit.

By incorporating engaging conversations and bringing out the best in candidates, we ensure they feel valued, engaged, and excited about the opportunity. This personal touch not only leaves a lasting impression but also enables us to assess the true potential of candidates, leading to better hiring decisions and successful partnerships.

Richa Singh
Marketing Manager, SilverPeople

People Finder: A Comprehensive Search Tool

In this digital age, stalking…oops, I mean finding information about people has never been easier! Whether you’re on the hunt for a name, email, or even a phone number, there are tools out there to help you play detective. And one tool that takes the cake is none other than People Finder. Buckle up as we dive into this search extravaganza and explore its awesome features!

All-in-One Social Site Search

Prepare to be amazed because People Finder lets you search multiple social sites all at once! Just type in a person’s name, and this bad boy scours platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more. It’s like having a backstage pass to someone’s online presence. Talk about gathering intel with style!

Who said People Finder only cares about names? It’s a versatile beast that goes beyond expectations. Not only can you search by name, but you can also dig up info using email addresses. It’s like Sherlock Holmes meets Google! But fair warning, the search for phone numbers might be hit or miss. It all depends on whether the info is floating around the wild web.

A Sourcing Tool for the Pros

Calling all recruiters and sourcers, People Finder is about to become your secret weapon! Need to find a Java Developer? No problemo! Just type in the job title, and watch as relevant results pop up. It’s like having your very own talent-scouting sidekick, scouring social and professional platforms for potential candidates. Say hello to top-notch sourcing made easy!

Free and Fabulous

Guess what? People Finder is not only powerful but also completely free to use! Yep, you read that right. This treasure trove of information doesn’t cost you a dime. So whether you’re an everyday individual searching for someone or a savvy recruiter on the hunt for top talent, People Finder is your budget-friendly BFF.

In a world where finding people feels like a never-ending puzzle, People Finder: You Find Name swoops in to save the day! With its ability to search multiple social sites and its handy email-based queries, it’s a one-stop-shop for tracking down individuals. And let’s not forget its superpowers for recruiters, making sourcing a breeze. Best of all, it’s absolutely free! So, the next time you need to find someone or uncover talent, unleash the power of People Finder. It’s time to embrace your inner detective. Happy hunting, my friend!

Other Dean Da Costa Content:

Dean has a free page of sourcing tools, links, and other recruiting resources that we highly recommend you check out! That page has an overwhelming amount of stuff, so you gotta really love sourcing to appreciate the infinite hours of work Dean has put into it. For all of the Dean Da Costa resources on RecruitingDaily, click here!

The Pros and Cons and Hiring Remote Employees in 2023

As businesses continue to evolve and adapt to an ever-changing landscape, the debate surrounding the pros and cons of remote working rages on. So while some studies suggest that almost three quarters of professionals feel happier when working remotely, for instance, others point to a chronic disconnect between managers and employees concerning the benefits of remote work, with many organizations still wary of committing to a ‘work from anywhere’ culture.

So, is hiring remote employees the right move for your business? In this post, we’re diving deep into the intricacies of remote work, weighing the benefits against the drawbacks and helping you make an informed decision about embracing the remote revolution. Let’s get started.

5 Pros of Hiring Remote Employees

Access to a Wider Talent Pool

Remote work has eliminated the constraints of location, allowing companies to tap into a broader and more diverse talent pool. They are no longer limited to hiring within the proximity of a physical office. This diversity is valuable as it brings in fresh perspectives and innovative ideas, enhancing business innovation

The ability to hire employees globally, rather than just locally, is a significant advantage. This becomes particularly useful when expanding into international markets. For instance, if you’re a US-based company looking to establish a presence in the UK, you can hire internationally to access local expertise, gaining a deeper understanding of market trends and nuances.

Increased Productivity

While employees and managers may not be completely aligned when it comes to determining whether remote work is better or worse for productivity, several studies show that those who work remotely feel more productive as a result — in fact, as many as 90% of employees feel they’re at least as productive (if not more so) when working remotely compared to in the office.

A primary reason for this is that remote work empowers employees to work when (as well as where) they feel most productive. Instead of being restricted by rigid schedules, they can usually pick and choose the makeup of their working day: ‘morning people’ can start and finish early, for example, while those who typically hit their stride later in the day can continue working while most others have clocked off.

Cost Savings

Of course, one of the advantages of remote work that most businesses find impossible to ignore is its capacity to save costs. By reducing the need for ample office space — or doing away with it altogether if you’re prepared to go fully remote — you can save on overheads such as rent, utility bills, maintenance costs, and equipment.

But that isn’t the only way remote work can save you money. Companies who work remotely may see a reduction in employee turnover of up to 25%, meaning they’ll spend less replacing them — recruitment can be expensive and time-consuming. Check out this guide from Draycir on all the ways working remotely can save companies money.

Improved Work-Life Balance

As more and more of us were introduced to the possibility of remote work, many of us discovered perhaps its most significant personal benefit: a vastly-improved work-life balance. Remote work removes long, stressful commutes from the equation and allows employees to enjoy a more flexible approach to their work and home lives.

It also enables them to incorporate other lifestyle factors (such as childcare, medical appointments, and even small things like home deliveries) into their day without these impacting their work. This uptick in work-life balance is undoubtedly a boon for employers, too, since a happier, healthier employee is likely to take less sick days, feel more engaged in their work, and ultimately be more productive.

Environmental Benefits

With our society becoming increasingly eco-conscious — 60% of global consumers rate sustainability as a key factor when purchasing goods, for example — many businesses continue to strive to find ways to reduce their carbon footprints and mitigate their impact on the environment.

This is another area where remote work can offer an advantage. When the world shut down in 2020, air pollution decreased and water quality improved — environmental changes that can at least in part be attributed to a shift towards remote working. Removing commutes can cut greenhouse gas emissions, while businesses will have less need to heat and light office spaces.

The Drawbacks

Communication and Collaboration Challenges

While remote technology has undoubtedly come on leaps and bounds in recent years (video conferencing technology is now ubiquitous, cloud computing allows us to access files and information from anywhere, and project management software enables efficient allocation of tasks), it can be argued that it still presents challenges when it comes to communication and collaboration.

For instance, while more than three quarters of meetings are now conducted virtually, it’s not quite as easy to pick up on subtleties of tone and body language, which may lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication. And that’s ignoring the fact that some employees may simply not feel altogether comfortable using video conferencing technology, meaning they might be less eager to express themselves in virtual environments.

Managing Remote Employees

Remote work environments are built on trust. Since as a manager you can’t see your employees performing their day-to-day duties as you would in an office, you need to trust that they’re working productively, managing their time effectively, using company resources responsibly, and generally being a reliable employee.

This trust doesn’t come naturally to all leaders, however, and it can make managing remote employees a challenge. Less visibility of their output may mean less involvement in their work, for example, which can make it difficult to manage their development and measure their progress. Time-tracking software can help with this, enabling managers to gain visibility of tasks and projects their employees are working on.

Security Concerns

When companies were forced to quickly adopt remote working practices in light of the global pandemic, one of the primary concerns of such a rapid shift was security: remote work is heavily reliant on cloud technology, which enables resources and programs to be accessed and shared by multiple employees across the web. But does this mean it’s less secure?

The truth is, cloud services typically offer end-to-end encryption, but that doesn’t mean remote working is fully secure, particularly when employees are accessing company information from their own devices or using public Wi-Fi. More employees working in more locations also means more endpoints, meaning the potential attack surface is theoretically larger.

Isolation and Disconnection

While the flexibility and independence offered by remote working is generally seen as a good thing, it often means employees spending large amounts of time working alone. Many of them may be fine with this, of course (naturally, some employees prefer working independently over collaboration), while for others, feelings of isolation can creep in.

The reality is, while virtual meeting technology has advanced and messaging apps (such as Flock or Slack) are widely used, they simply can’t replicate the natural chatter that occurs in an office environment, from the occasional ‘water-cooler’ conversations to quick-fire work-related questions.

Blurring of Boundaries

We’ve covered the benefits of remote working when it comes to work-life balance, but there’s a potential downside to working from the place you also call home: as an employee, it can be difficult for to separate your work and home life, meaning the lines are often blurred, it’s not always easy to ‘switch off’, and you may end up working longer hours than your office-based counterparts.

Businesses may rejoice in the news that their remote employees might be clocking up more hours at their desks, but they shouldn’t be so fast to celebrate this fact: employees who frequently work long hours and don’t give themselves time to relax are far more likely to experience burnout, which will only hamper their productivity and cause them to become disengaged.

The Power of Talent Intelligence: Leveraging Data for Successful Talent Acquisition and Development

Is your company maximizing all the information you have at your fingertips to succeed in attracting, retaining and developing your talent?

Most organizations, even small ones practice some form of “talent intelligence.” The term simply refers to the purposeful process of mining and using data to develop informed decisions about the organization’s labor supply. By scaling these more effectively, your business can avoid harmful pitfalls.

A very common issue when implementing talent intelligence is considering how the labor market in specific markets can impact organizational success. If there is insufficient labor supply, knowing that in advance allows an organization to develop programs to ensure success. Also, understanding how competition in markets can impact those programs is key.

Case Study (Early Career Program)

At a prior organization, I developed an early career program strategy to address their past failures. This was important because lack of qualified labor would prevent their ability to grow the business over the next several years. During a meeting with executive leaders, I proposed focusing on second-tier state schools; places where we could be a large fish in a small pond.

One of the leaders asked why we were not focusing on a specific larger, more prestigious university. I explained the issue was the data showed our wages were not competitive of starting wages for graduates at that school within the programs we would target. The school was also located an hour from the closest branch location and the city only had one branch, which would make engaging candidates tough, and placements would require relocation.

Using data, we were able to show which universities would allow us to compete effectively within budget. We then matched those schools to locations in which the business demand would grow and/or cluster markets where we had multiple locations. This meant our local advocates could engage students and place them with limited relocation increasing our odds of success.

Launching this data backed strategy, we were able to meet organizational goals for the first time ever.

Candidate Profiles

Another good example of using “talent intelligence” is developing candidate profiles, the unique knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies needed to succeed at a high level. This is useful not only for external candidate pipeline but internal development programs.

Leveraging employee performance data and backgrounds, you can identify common traits (experience, competencies, etc.) For labor supply, you can then use data from public sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) or paid sources like Lightcast, or CareerBuilder that compile data from places like the Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. (EMSI) to build a comprehensive picture of the talent landscape within a given market.

For internal promotions use data that shows what jobs people held prior to their promotion. If 50% of your branch managers are internal promotions, would it be helpful to know what  those candidates share in common?

Case Study (Career Paths)

One of the projects I worked on was data analysis of recruiting trends for a major equipment rental company. Part of this project was assessing what roles people held before being promoted into a specific role.

Through this data, we noticed a unique trend among Yard Associates. This role was presumed to be a pathway for promotion into a mechanic role within the maintenance shop. The reality is it often was promoted into a counter sales role, which was also the most common source of outside sales representative promotions.

Why would the Yard Associate (a role checking out and checking in equipment) lead to outside sales? When we reviewed the intelligence, the answer was clear – They were the first and last person customers met so they were great at customer service. They also explained how the equipment worked so they were knowledgeable of a variety of types of equipment and their use.

Benefiting From Talent Intelligence

To be truly successful, here are some basic steps to ensure your success:

  1. Clearly define the issue you seek to measure & how it relates to the overall issues the business face.
  2. Collect your data from your human resources information system (HRIS), applicant tracking systems (ATS), performance evaluations, employee surveys. Consider what external sources of market data are available.
  3. Analyze the data to identify patterns, trends and correlations.
  4. Consider how to avoid:
    • Confirmation bias
    • Too small of a data set
    • Bias or homogenization implications (for example: pulling from one region instead of nationally)

Done properly, talent intelligence can help you make data driven decision. Strategies around available labor supply, candidate pipeline channels, and recruitment strategies. Branding and recruitment messaging can also be impacted positively.

By proactively using data and analytics to gain a deeper understanding, organizations can drive talent acquisition strategies that attract and retain top talent to ensure their success.

The Future of Work: What Does it Mean for Recruiters?

The world of work is changing rapidly. New technologies, shifting demographics, and evolving workplace attitudes are disrupting old ways of doing things and forcing organizations to adapt. For recruiters, these changes bring both opportunities and challenges. Being prepared for the future of work requires staying on top of key trends and honing strategies to attract and retain top talent in a shifting landscape.

Remote Work is Here to Stay

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the growth of remote work, proving that roles in nearly every industry can be performed productively outside of traditional offices. Surveys show the majority of workers value location flexibility and will seek out remote opportunities. A recent study found that 16% of the US workforce is fully remote – a share that could grow to 30% by 2025.

What does this mean for recruiters? Attracting top talent increasingly requires embracing remote hiring. Updating job listings to highlight remote options and being clear about any expectations around office attendance is crucial. Getting comfortable with video interviews, virtual onboarding and tools like Zoom and Slack that enable remote collaboration will be essential. Seeking skills like self-motivation, communication and time management that translate well remotely should be a priority, since personality fit matters more than proximity when hiring for a distributed workforce.

Paying attention to workplace culture will also be important. Workers want flexibility as well as connection. Rethinking compensation may be necessary, as salaries may need adjustment based on worker locations. Ultimately, the advantages of increased access to talent across geographies and time zones will pay off if remote work is embraced fully.

The Gig Economy Requires New Approaches

Full-time positions were once the norm, but contingent workers now make up a sizable chunk of the labor force. Estimates suggest gig workers could make up half the US workforce within the next decade.

Recruiting part-time, contract, seasonal and temporary workers often requires different strategies. Partnering with staffing agencies and talent platforms can help connect with skilled independent contractors quickly. Being extremely clear about assignments and timelines upfront is important, since gig workers value transparency. Offering competitive pay and personal development opportunities matters, since gig workers still want career growth. Building a strong employer brand is also key – in tight labor markets, top gig workers can be selective about the projects they take on.

Gig workers may be more distributed, but they still value purpose and belonging even if they aren’t full-time employees. Using online platforms to showcase company culture and values can help with this. Easy payment processes, strong communication systems and streamlined onboarding also help when it comes to retaining independent contractors over the long-term. The demand for skilled contingent workers will continue growing, so treating gig workers like an essential talent pool warranting attention and investment will be critical.

Upskilling Must Be Part of the Strategy

The skills gap is a huge pain point for recruiters. When open roles require capabilities your candidates lack, reskilling and upskilling become crucial.

Investing in training and development for existing staff and new hires is key. Making learning core to your culture, not just a box to check, is important – offer time, resources and incentives for skill building. Assessing current capabilities helps identify gaps so you can work with managers to understand team needs. Surveying employees about their passions and interests enables you to provide growth opportunities tied to what motivates them intrinsically.

Considering how technology like AI can supplement worker skills and increase productivity is also wise. Partnering with online education platforms for affordable, self-paced training options expands access to learning. Offering tuition reimbursement or learning stipends supports formal outside education. Developing mentorship and rotation programs provides valuable on-the-job learning. And measuring training outcomes ensures programs make workers more capable and productive.

Continuous learning helps raise the skills bar across an organization. Retention and recruitment get easier when you’re known as a learning hub.

A Focus on DEI Cannot Wait

Workers across generations and demographics are looking closely at organizational culture and practices around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). They want to align with employers demonstrating real commitment in this area.

Some ways recruiters can step up include auditing existing strategies and results, tracking diversity metrics, and looking for where bias could be creeping in. Updating job postings and websites to feature diverse voices and faces provides tangible signs of inclusion. Requiring bias mitigation training for hiring managers promotes fairness throughout the recruitment process.

Developing employee resource groups (ERGs) for underrepresented groups fosters community and retention. Partnering with organizations supporting disadvantaged communities can help widen the candidate pipeline. Promoting DEI in brand content showcases the internal work being done externally. And implementing formal mentoring and sponsorship initiatives helps elevate historically marginalized voices.

A diverse workforce provides competitive advantage. Now is the time for recruiters to take concrete action on DEI if they haven’t already.

Agility is Essential

The only real certainty about the future of work is continued change. Technology, economic conditions, global dynamics and a host of other factors will keep shifting constantly. Whether choosing to form an LLC, corporation or any other business structure, HR agility will be vital.

Avoiding rigid systems and regularly revisiting processes to see where more fluidity makes sense promotes organizational nimbleness. Empowering managers and other end users helps maintain agility, since they are closest to talent needs. Using workforce analytics enables data-driven decisions using insights into what works

Automating where possible streamlines cumbersome workflows. AI can take over repetitive tasks. Adopting scalable solutions provides the flexibility to adjust to evolving needs. Keeping up with business and technology trends shaping your industry through continuous learning prepares you for the future. And communicating changes openly and early ensures transparency as plans shift

By embracing agility as a core value, you’ll be able to pivot recruiting strategies based on emerging data and trends.

The world of recruiting is changing fast. While this brings new challenges, it also opens up possibilities. Listen to your people, leverage technology and keep honing your capabilities – and you’ll be poised to build the workforce of the future, whatever shape it takes.