August 21, 2023
Attracting your preferred candidate requires a combination of good planning, showcasing your company's strengths, culture and understanding the needs and aspirations of top talent. By investing time and effort into crafting a compelling employer brand, offering attractive compensation packages, and fostering a supportive work culture, you can secure the best candidates for your organisation and pave the way for long-term success
In today's competitive job market, attracting and securing top talent can be a challenging task for hiring managers. Despite headline news reporting net migration increases, the country being in a recession and faltering business confidence, it’s still a very tricky market for hiring managers wanting to ensure they secure their preferred candidate.
The best candidates are in high demand, and we continue to see candidates receiving multiple job offers. The candidate needs to be emotionally engaged by the time you make the offer. Relying on a competitive salary is merely an attractive transaction that anyone else can counter. We’ll explore best practice to ensure you engage candidates right from the outset and your proposition stands out from the crowd. A competitive salary is just the start.
Build a Strong Employer Brand
A strong employer brand is a magnet for top talent. Candidates are more likely to be attracted to a company that is known for its positive work culture, growth opportunities, and employee satisfaction. Showcase your company's values, mission, and success through various channels such as your website, social media, and employee testimonials. It’s particularly effective when HR and Marketing team up to create and promote the organisation’s value proposition on an ongoing basis.
Candidates are definitely doing more due diligence on an organisation before joining. If your best culture advocates are your people or team, have your prospective candidate meet them, so they can hear it for themselves. Proof is always far more powerful than promises here. Talk about your own journey with the candidate – why did you join and what keeps you there?
Define Your Ideal Candidate Profile
Before you even begin your search for the perfect candidate, it is crucial to clearly define the attributes and skills that make up your ideal candidate or as we call it, your Success Profile. Focus on three areas – 1. Core skills and experience required. What are the must haves in this area? 2. Key behaviours most critical for success and 3. Motivation and career drivers. Points 1 and 2 need to be specific and measurable. We can help you with this step, which can be harder than it seems.
Most importantly, if there is more than one decision maker involved in the hiring process then all stakeholders need to be on the same page before going to market. Once you have your Success Profile, you can structure your interview with the right questions and have shared meaning amongst the decision makers and a criteria to assess candidates against.
Timing
We very rarely witness a long drawn out process ending positively. Delaying the process will lead candidates to consider other opportunities, attend interviews or question how keen you are on them. Once you have your shortlist you need to move quickly to interview. The same applies to booking second interviews. Work out the availability of who needs to be in the room and work backwards from there. Remember the candidate is judging you and the organisation by the process, timing and communication, or lack thereof.
Once interviews are completed, it’s equally important to move with pace on any background checks and presenting a letter of offer to your preferred candidate, demonstrating they are wanted. We see first-hand candidates who become increasingly disheartened when the process moves quickly but then an offer is delayed up to a week or longer because stakeholders required for sign-off or contract creation don’t share your urgency.
Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits
While salary isn't the only factor that attracts candidates, it remains a significant consideration. Make sure the base salary reflects the role and its responsibilities. Don’t cut corners on salary and leave the door open for a counteroffer or a competing offer from your competition. Additionally, other highly desirable benefits include flexible work arrangements, health insurance, professional development opportunities, and performance-based bonuses. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to source a shortlist of candidates willing to work 5 days from the office – if you’re not offering at least 1 day from home you are definitely losing talent.
We often field calls from hiring managers to sense check their offer meets the market and candidate expectations. You're better to understand (and get sign-off for) the market rate upfront than waste time later.
Address Candidate Concerns
During the interview process, candidates may express concerns or hesitations about joining your company. Listen actively to their questions and/or concerns and provide honest and transparent responses. Show your willingness to address any potential challenges and be flexible in finding solutions. In fact, we recommend going as far as asking your preferred candidate what questions our concerns they still have before offering – there is always something, if only minor, if you dig for it. An extra chat with the hiring manager to close these off makes a big difference to the speed and excitement candidates show in accepting your offer.
If you have presented a letter of offer and the candidate is still on the fence, meet with them again over a coffee in a more informal setting to consider their feedback or concerns. Do this quickly (within 24 hours if possible) to avoid these doubts settling.
Conclusion
Attracting your preferred candidate requires a combination of good planning, showcasing your company's strengths, culture and understanding the needs and aspirations of top talent. By investing time and effort into crafting a compelling employer brand, offering attractive compensation packages, and fostering a supportive work culture, you can secure the best candidates for your organisation and pave the way for long-term success. The recruitment process is as much about them feeling good about joining as it is you assessing their capability.
Remember, your employees are the backbone of your business, and the right talent can drive your company to new heights. Failing to land someone or taking a very long time to find someone will only slow your growth.
If you are seeing a trend in candidates ghosting you, declining offers or simply taking too long to fill vacancies generally then get in touch here. We’re happy to help you uncover how your process might be letting you down.
