Top Creative Talent Acquisition Strategies to Watch in 2016

Each year, hiring managers think of new, inventive talent acquisition strategies to encourage the best and the brightest candidates to join their staff. With the increased use of social media and mobile devices (77% of job seekers use mobile job apps!) organizations have to adapt their recruitment strategies to attract skilled workers. Here are some key trends to watch for in 2016 to remain ahead in the search for employees.

Consumerization of Human Capital Management

Consumerization of human capital management is quickly becoming one of the more common talent acquisition strategies as employers hope to blur the lines between hiring managers, communications, marketing and IT. Candidates want to come across companies that focus on collaboration and team work. HR departments want to create one overarching employer brand that candidates easily recognize and associate themselves with.

Companies, including Pandora and AirBnB, are making an investment in human capital and focusing on their employees’ total workplace experience. While some companies might be focused on various rewards and benefits, these two companies are trying to look at employees overall personal and professional experience. They create workshops and groups for these employees that help identify emotional, physical, virtual, intellectual and aspirational goals. Addressing and discussing these goals allows for employees to have a more fulfilling workplace experience.

One other way companies are experimenting with consumerism is trying to find ways to reduce employee health care costs. By doing this, companies are implementing new ways to cover these costs so employees don’t have to, and as a result providing them with more money to take home. How employers are applying consumerism to health benefits is by choosing health care plans with high deductibles, and giving employees health care reimbursement arrangements.

“Consumer-driven health plans will continue to rise as employers seek ways to reduce their exposure to the 2018 excise tax and reduce their benefit costs,” according to Larry Boress, president of the Chicago-based nonprofit Midwest Business Group on Health.

Struggling to find Marketing or Creative Technology talent for you organization? Contact Profiles to learn how our recruiters can help you find the perfect candidate.

Focus on Brand Advocacy

Several companies have recognized the power of brand advocacy and using employees to help drive the ship. Brand recognition is becoming a tried-and-true way to pull in new talent, with employers encouraging employees to share company benefits on their own social media accounts. Since 2013, employee advocacy programs have grown by 191 percent, and are expected to grow continually.

Why is brand advocacy so important? Because candidates often tend to trust an employee’s word over a CEO’s. According to research from Edelman Trust, 49 percent of people believe that employees have a better perception of a company than the founder, CEO or HR department. The concept of brand advocacy seems to be working, as 50 percent of employees share company information on their personal social media platforms. When shared the right way, employee brand advocacy can go far. Employee-shared content gets eight times more engagement than content shared by companies, and employee content is re-shared 25 times more frequently, thus making it one of the more successful talent acquisition strategies.

Merge Marketing and HR Departments

This might seem far-fetched, but it’s proven to be successful way to recruit employees for some major companies, such as GE and Lincoln Financial Group. Just take GE’s marketing campaign, “What’s the Matter with Owen?”. The witty ad focused on Owen, who was hired by GE as a programmer. However, everyone in Owen’s life assumes GE is solely a manufacturing company, and shows sympathy for Owen. The ad helped pivot GE into a digital industrial company, and pulled in more young candidates. After the ad’s release, GE’s online recruitment site increased by 66 percent each month.

What makes this merger a successful talent acquisition strategy? First off, Marketing and HR departments both involve attracting people to the company. In recent years, the two departments have come together to help attract new talent. Blurring the lines between departments opens up opportunities to focus on building communities in the workplace and develop more collaborative efforts. Instead of having a Chief Marketing Officer, companies might have a Chief Community Officer who works toward brand loyalty, human capital, increased sales and innovation. The role of Chief Community Officer will create long-term communities that reflect the company’s mission and brand, in turn supporting employer branding, company culture and brand advocacy efforts.

Offer Skill Building Courses

Companies that offer courses and opportunities to boost employees’ skill sets will always be more attractive over the competition to candidates. Simply known as MOOCs, or Massive, Open, Online Courses, these classes help employees advance their skill set and better adapt to their job. According to Class Central, more than 35 million people signed up for a MOOC in 2015, and that number is expected to grow. Shifting from general training into specific skill training makes employees feel valued and cared for, as a result increasing talent acquisition and employee retention.

Conducting an candidate search is one of the fundamental aspects of business. Implementing the right talent acquisition strategies not only makes your own workplace happy, but allows you to hire the right candidates. It’s the difference between making a strong hire or cycling through a gauntlet of bad employees.

For additional recruiting and hiring assistance, contact Profiles and see how our creative recruiters can help fill your positions quickly and efficiently.