The HR Challenge: Attracting qualified candidates, rather than a realm of respondents who not only lack the required experience, and skills – both hard and soft but also fail to fit your culture.  It’s a complicated process and involves much more than reviewing resumes and interviewing a short list of candidates. Bad hires are costly and time-consuming. If you want better results, consider revamping your system. Consider these steps.

Face the Current Challenges –

A talentnow post lists three recruiting challenges, which play a role in today’s market.

· A talent shortage: According to surveys almost 75% of employers are struggling to find relevant candidates and more than 85% of the qualified candidates are not actively seeking a new position.
· Qualified candidates hold the reins: When top talent appears on the market, they’re typically hired within ten days, which boils down to a candidate-driven market. In fact, more than 20% of recruiters struggle with meeting the demands of qualified candidates.
· Your company brand is lacking: This challenge is perhaps the easiest and the hardest to change. Easy, because you can take specific steps; hard, because a negative reputation is hard to overcome. In our social media world, candidates can quickly glean who is and who is not their dream employer. In fact, 84% of job seekers say a company’s reputation is a critical factor.

Respond: Companies can’t change the shortage, and said shortage is why candidates hold the reins…but you can build your reputation and establish an attractive culture.

· Operate on ethical principles and maintain integrity.
· Stand behind your company claims.
· Be involved in your community, as well as globally.
· Treat your employees as your most valuable asset. Show appreciation and offer the best compensation program you can. Know your “market” when determining which benefits and perks to include.
· Communicate with employees. Ensure that they understand the big picture and how their role connects to it

When you create an attractive culture and a solid reputation, your company will naturally entice more qualified talent.

Adopt up-to-date recruiting tactics –

Be intentional about hiring diversity. According to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends Report, 49% of companies surveyed say intentionally incorporating diversity provides a better representation of their customers, 62% claim it improves company performance and a whopping 78% attribute it as a factor in improving company culture.

Create a robust and affirmative employee referral program: Focus on your top performers and engagers. Communicate your job description to them and reward them well when their recommendations turn into a great hire.

Reinvent your interviewing process: Make use of technology.

· Utilize video interviews, rather than phone screens, to narrow the list.
· Interview in a setting similar to your workplace culture.
· Include soft skills and emotional intelligence assessments.
· Adopt virtual reality assessments – it enables the candidate to “try on” a job.
· Use data to help make strategic hiring decisions and predict hiring outcomes.
· Use social recruiting strategies. 80% of employers claim that social recruiting helps them find passive talent.
· Consider mobile-enabled application processes.

Change your job description focus –

Evaluate what the job’s absolute requirements are, what you can train on the job, and what really doesn’t matter in the big picture.

Obviously, specific skills – especially technical ones – are crucial, but sometimes those skills are developed via experience, certifications, and online learning, instead of a degree. And sometimes, the candidate with a degree is sadly lacking in emotional intelligence, communication, and other critical soft skills. In addition to essential skills, pay attention to aptitude, attitude, work ethic, integrity, and people skills.

Attracting qualified candidates will remain a challenge, but companies who present an attractive culture and build a strong reputation, while staying informed on and embracing technology will reap the results they’re seeking – qualified candidates, who become great hires, rather than a pool of much less potential.

If you’re looking to hire the best talent in the business, contact Award Staffing. We will be able to help you find the right employees for your unique business needs. If you’re searching for more tips and trick on how to improve your company’s workforce, check out our hiring solutions blog.