Connecting with our candidates
Last week Greg Savage shared some valuable insights in a webinar with Job Adder (one of the leading recruitment industry CRM’s), one insight, in particular, stood out given how competitive the current market is for candidates. For most hiring managers and recruiters, when screening a candidate who isn't quite right for the role you're recruiting, often one of the last things said on that call is “I’ll be in touch if anything else comes up”. For today's job seekers, who are inundated with opportunities if they see a role listed with you, why should they apply? You've already said you'll be in touch. This attitude is possibly reflected in the low number of applications we are all experiencing.
Mr Savage used the term "building your goodwill equity". While some employers may be slowing down, this does not mean the demand for candidates is slowing down. By taking the time to reach out and chat to candidates, offering to review CV's, provide feedback or guidance and talking through how to nail video interviews you will leave a lasting impression on your candidates. You're raking in that “goodwill equity”, so when the right role presents itself you've already done half the hard work to engage your talent pool and ideally get your prefered candidate over the line!
Most businesses have accepted that their perfect candidate doesn't exist or aren't willing to make a move right now, chances are if they do exist they have already received multiple offers. Offering candidates that match 80% of your skill set requirements and investing in their training and development to bring them up to that 100% match, is a much smarter recruitment choice than waiting to find that perfect candidate. This is where partnering with a recruiter who has a database of skilled, relevant candidate connections can be your best friend!
At Retailworld one of our values is ‘People’, this doesn’t just encompass our team, but all stakeholders (customers, candidates and our industry) who we work with every day. We’re passionate about understanding all the skills and experiences of each individual, what they’re looking for and matching those to the needs of the businesses we partner with.
Given traditional job boards are not performing as they used to, partnering with a recruitment agency and utilising their connections should be one of your first ports of call when it comes to sourcing for your vacancy. “Making connections, it’s what we do best” has been Retailworld’s motto for many years, and with the current competition for talent, it’s more evident than ever how valuable long term relationships and connections across the industry are.
Below, in graph 1 you’ll find some evidence outlining the decline in job ad responses over the last year. Graph 2 demonstrates the value partnering with a recruitment agency and their candidate database can bring, with quicker response times to filling your open vacancy.
