Recruiting & Hiring Tactics vs. Talent

By Jessica Miller-Merrell 

Recruiting strategies have grown increasingly complex over the years. As an industry, we’ve done a wonderful thing by taking what we know about traditional recruiting and combining it with the ideas and tactics from other industries. We’ve taken bits and pieces from industries like sales and public relations, but perhaps one of the most leaned on industries we have available to learn from is marketing. In a lot of ways, what we do is closely aligned with what marketers do on a daily basis. We’re marketing our company as an employer of choice, they’re marketing their company as a leader in whatever it is that they do. We market job openings, they market products. It makes sense that we would be taking similar actions to reach our audiences.

Though there are probably more similarities than we can discuss in one sitting, I believe that there are two major ways we resemble each other: outbound and inbound strategies.

Inbound vs. outbound

Outbound and inbound marketing both have the same end goal - to win the sale, or in our case, hire the candidate - but the ways in which the two are handled are very different. Inbound marketing refers to an unsolicited response we receive from a marketing effort, such as an advertisement or job posting. We made the initial effort of advertising the product or job, but the customer or candidate proactively contacted us. Outbound marketing refers to our efforts to find candidates or customers and solicit a response, such as through a tradeshow, career fair, online sourcing or personal leads. The difference between these two tactics is that the customer or candidate is at a different place in the buying decision, therefore our approach must be different.

For those who proactively respond to a job posting, connect with us online at the prompting of an ad or seek out a conversation, the initial buying decision of applying has ether been made or is being contemplated. It shouldn’t be discounted that the actions they took very likely have to do with your efforts to reach them through one or more touch points, but in the end they took the initiative. Those you make contact with through outbound recruiting strategies are typically not as far along in the buying decision and in fact may never have even contemplated it before. They’ll probably require more education, effort and time. The strategies required to convert these two groups of prospects must be different because they are in different places.

A perfect mix

It’s unfortunate that many companies, HR departments and recruiters tend to be really good at one or the other, but many times not both. A robust and successful recruiting strategy requires both. This is especially true as companies scale and grow over time. Pushing your jobs listings only outward is not the best way to fostering long-term relationships with candidates, which is important for building a candidate pipeline and planning for the future. On the other hand, relying only on personal connections and employee referrals closes you of from thousands of potential candidates. The most successful companies will diversify, using many different channels and tactics to reach candidates. 

TalentCircles is the most comprehensive candidate engagement platform on the market. Take a product tour or request a live demo today. 

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology anthropologist specializing in HR and recruiting. She's the Chief Blogger and Founder of Blogging4Jobs and author of The HR Technology Field Guide. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmillermerell.

Talent Is Top of Mind To Every CEO Today

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

Everywhere I turn, the topic of recruiting, training and retaining employees and talent is buzzing louder than a bumblebee in spring. The skill gap and need for talent is the key component of many of the keynote talks and panel discussions from the conference circuit and from the one-on-one conversations. Open any magazine that covers business and the economy such as Fortune, Forbes and Harvard Business Review and you will find articles, resources and studies discussing how development, engagement and hiring can impact business in both a positive and negative way.

I recently wrote about the future of recruitment and trends and shared that 30% of CEOs say there is a concern they will not have the necessary talent to fulfill their future growth ambitions.

With all of the conversations about the need for talent for companies to succeed, sadly, there is little mention of the role that HR and recruiting actually plays.

Why is that? Even after all these years, it seems like the role of HR and recruiters as valuable business partners seems to be in question, and that’s more than extremely frustrating.

We’ve examined the needs of Blogging4Jobs readership and have found some important statistics that are relevant to the success of all levels ranging from human resources, operations, recruitment agencies and vendors. Why? Because if the CEO ain’t happy about HR then we all need to be working together to represent the industry as high performance leaders. Here are some important stats that we as an industry need to recognize so that as professionals, perhaps we can work together and earn that seat at the table.



HR: We Have a Problem

77% of more than 2500 business and HR leaders in 94 countries share that the single biggest challenge they are faced with is “reskilling” the HR function, according to the Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2014 report. This report also states a staggering minority of HR leaders, have confidence that their teams have the skills needed to meet the challenge of today’s global environment and deliver innovative programs that drive business impact. One third of HR leaders claim that their own HR and talent programs are just “getting by.”

Our Brand is Marketing’s Problem - NOT

Less than one half employees do not know what differentiates their employer’s brand from the competition, according to the Gallup’s 2013 State of the American Workplace report. A company’s brand should be that human piece that brings employees and their values together, leading to increased connection, morale and loyalty. Are you leaving the responsibility of your company brand in the Marketing silo? It may be costing your company talent.

Disengaged Employees are Expensive

50% of workers are not engaged in their work and this is expensive, costing U.S. businesses $450 billion to $550 billion per year, according the Gallup report. When workers are engaged and emotionally connected, they are up to four times more productive that disengaged employees. Are you making the business case to show your boss that you need those team building morale boosters?

It is clear that HR and recruitment leadership is critical to develop and manage the talent that is required for companies to succeed. Hopefully, some of these statistics can help you by becoming aware of the industry’s need for leaders.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s is the Chief Blogger & Founder of Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @jmillermerrell. 

Three Keys To Unlocking the Challenges of Talent Diversity

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

Move over demographics, there is a new category of diversity that reaches wider and deeper than race, sex or age. Managing today’s talent diversity must also now include the unique attributes of those individuals who hear the beat of their own drum.

Those who go against the corporate grain are often considered “different,” at times “adversarial” and clearly “non-conventional.” They may not easily conform, however if managed correctly, these unique types of talent can grow into strong leaders who can manage change and help grow innovation.

The lack of talent diversity can be quite stifling as companies seek to become more innovative. It would seem that business leaders would foster individualism and the diversity of thought to grow competitively. However, strangely, this is not the case.

Uniqueness is not a virtue in today’s corporate culture.

Based on a Harvard Business Review article, “Fear of Being Different Stifles Talent,” 66% of employers reported pressure to mute some acts of employee self identifies with 51% of those saying that perceived demands came from leadership.

We’ve discussed the importance of the candidate experience and the lengths recruiters must go to engage, communicate and create relationships with the most brilliant job seekers in order to lure them to their organizations, but the courting, communication and conversations don’t stop there.

Creating a culture of uniqueness goes beyond recruiting individuals who represent the path less traveled. Being open to the unique perspectives, points of view and experiences of existing employees should be rewarded and embraced as well.

Unlock the challenges to talent diversity.

When companies realize the value of attracting the true entrepreneurial talent that fosters innovation, efforts in the retention and development of this diverse talent will also be necessary. Otherwise, businesses will run the risk of having to staff a revolving door as employees realize the lack of uniqueness from within the organization.

There are three important points to consider when focusing on retention and development of employees who exemplify a truly unique mindset. Here is an overview of the key areas that will foster talent diversity in your organization.

1. Employee Development – either through a formal program or tuition reimbursement, the focus needs to be on growing the employee and fulfilling them as an individual. By encouraging the unique area of interest of an employee to grow, it enriches the talent pool as a whole.
2. Custom Communication – in the form of manager and employee. These must be intentional, regular and guided by the employee. Called one-on-ones these dialogues will help create a customized career path for each employee.
3. Flexibility – Everyone’s career journey is unique. Managers and leaders must be open to flexible career paths not letting their own personal judgment get in the way of the eager, entrepreneurial-spirited employee.

The future of business will be different than today’s typical corporate world of conformity. Successful organizations of tomorrow will require an innovative culture and workforce with unique capabilities. Understanding the value of “individualism” as well as fostering the talent diversity in your organization will be a critical role that will have an impact on the overall success of any business.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s is the Chief Blogger & Founder of Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @jmillermerrell. 

Talent: That's what makes you measure up against your competitors

By Marylene Delbourg-Delphis

Here is the challenge... HR professionals are often said to be conservative. So you have two ways to please them. Either you offer them:

—    Clones of the transactional tools they have used for ever and complained about for just as long ... and make replaceable by computer systems that will "fill positions" with replaceable hires; or 

—    A humane recruiting platform that is so disruptive that it eliminates all their complains, showcases their relational skills, their leadership and perceptiveness... and makes them invaluable at finding pearls even for simple tasks.

TalentCircles is the perfect illustration of the latter. We power a culture of people. Talent is what transpires when you interact with human beings, not something that anyone can hardcode in skills that thousands of candidates may have.

When you recruit for your small or mid-sized business, you want to find talent, i.e. people who are more than nine-to-fivers." You want to bring into your company individuals with the extra touch of soul that augments the dynamics of your team. That's why smaller businesses often proportionally accomplish more and in a shorter timeframe than larger organizations and achieve high visibility without spending fortunes in hackneyed marketing messages. 

A talent is originally a unit of measurement. That's true today too. It's what makes you measure up against your competitor and  has always enabled the Davids to defeat the Goliaths.