5 tactics to think like a talent acquisition leader

Trendy buzzwords in talent acquisition and the HR industry can send you down a rabbit hole of flashy technology and huge learning curves with the implication of an unlimited budget. While new platforms and systems can help speed up the hiring process and increase your knowledge base, finding and hiring candidates – and quickly – comes down to tried-and-true basics.

Here are five tactics for thinking big and improving efficiency, even if your team is small.

Brand your company

The recruitment process becomes exponentially easier when job seekers actively want to work at your company. To create that level of interest, brand your company as a place where great talent wants to work, which begins with using your company’s website as a platform to highlight company culture. You also need to share your brand message through all of your marketing materials, as well as social media channels, to pique job seekers’ interest.

Encourage employee referrals

Employers continuously agree that employee referrals are a top source of new hires. So, if you’re not using your workforce to attract new talent, you’re probably missing out on high quality team members. Current employees can speak to your culture and are often more attuned to finding people that will succeed at your business. While a sense of pride in their work is sometimes enough, offering benefits – compensation, gift cards and more – to employees who refer successful new hires can increase the flow of potential new talent.

Build strong talent networks

Establishing and maintaining a pipeline of talented individuals who have already expressed interest in your company considerably speeds up the hiring process. Building a talent network involves developing and nurturing relationships with candidates, long before relevant jobs are posted. Whether you’re using a platform that can send automatic emails or simply a reminder in your calendar, prioritize keeping in touch with these high-value candidates so they are primed and ready for the right opportunity.

Use data

Understand current hiring trends and how industries are changing to capture a snapshot of what your potential workforce might be facing. Salary reports and other data about compensation benefits can make you a more competitive employer.

Automate where you can

This can be as simple as creating rules for your inbox or setting up an auto-reply email to send to applicants. If you continuously hire for the same type of role, create a template for it, or build pre-written job descriptions that can be tweaked for other specific positions. Save yourself valuable time while increasing consistency by automating mundane hiring tasks.