Organizations should focus on their EVP, employer brand, and candidate experience to be successful in today’s market.
With more job openings than candidates to fill them, organizations will be fiercely competing for the best of the market in the coming months. One strategy that helps companies stand out is to position themselves as an employer of choice. Here, Chad Creamer, Executive Director of North America for Page Outsourcing, shares strategies to attract and retain your top talent in this competitive market.
Q: What steps can an organization take in order to position themselves as an employer of choice? 
A: Organizations can benefit greatly from having a well-designed, employee value proposition (EVP) and an effective employer brand strategy. There are many tools at HR’s disposal to share the “why” an organization is an employer of choice, including social media channels, blogs, an enhanced career site with videos and employee testimonials capturing your work culture. Employee testimonials are a useful and powerful tool to showcase your employer brand in an authentic way since the viewpoints are coming directly from current employees. This will provide candidates a clear idea of what it will be like to work for the organization.
While developing and EVP and an EB strategy is important, talent professionals, HR leaders and hiring managers need to understand the importance of a positive candidate experience throughout the entire interview and onboarding process. Unlike developing an EVP and creating an EB strategy that takes time and costs money, anyone involved in interviewing talent for an organization needs training on the importance of a positive candidate experience and be provided the guidance and tools for a consistent process from start to finish. The great news is this can be done immediately and at little to no cost. Everyone needs to understand that the days of asking candidates, “why should I hire you?” are long gone. Organizations need to go above and beyond to demonstrate to candidates why they should work for you and what they will get in return once they do.
Q: What are key differentiators for today’s talent?
A: Right now it’s a candidate-driven market. Today’s talent has more choices than ever before between the increasing number of job vacancies and the unemployment rate decreasing. Perks like free lunches or a pool table in the conference room are becoming things of the past. Today’s differentiators add specific value to employees, including career advancement, training programs, remote working, work life balance, upskilling, and reskilling. Strong corporate responsibility programs and DE&I initiatives also make a big difference. Employees are looking to work for companies that share their same values.
Although surveys have shown that it’s not the main driver for most candidates and current employees, organizations should not overlook the importance of competitive benefit packages and compensation. HR should be constantly benchmarking how theirs compare to other organizations in similar industries to stay competitive.
Q: What are some innovative attraction and sourcing strategies in this tight talent market?
A: That’s the thing, I’m not sure you have to re-create the wheel or come up with new innovative ideas to attract top talent in this market. No one would argue that sourcers and recruiters today have more tools and technology at their disposal than ever before to connect with and identify talent. But the question to ask is, are they really positioning their company as an employer of choice to convince candidates their opportunity is the best one for them?
In addition to fostering a positive candidate experience, taking the time to educate candidates on what their company can offer them is critical in today’s tight talent market. They should truly understand your companies selling points (EVP) at a macro and micro level. I know it may seem like I am stating the obvious, but again, with all the technology and automation used, at times it feels like the human touch has been lost. Picking up the phone and explaining in detail why your company is an employer of choice seems like a lost art. It’s quicker and easier to send an email, text or have a chat bot engage candidates at the beginning of the process. Then if not selected after going through five interviews, they receive an automated rejection email. My advice to attract top talent in our current market, don’t lose the human touch and be marketers of your company.
