How to Build an Effective Recruitment Strategy: 4 Essential Steps

In 2023, the talent market in almost every industry remains fiercely competitive. Despite recent mass layoffs, particularly in the technology and finance sectors, a crucial part of the job market outlook discussed by CNN is the continued war for talent. Job seekers, especially those in in-demand professions like information technology, can consequently.

However, the challenge is passed onto employers who now have to step up their efforts in attracting top talent. An effective and efficient recruitment strategy can be the decisive factor between organizational growth and an impending recession — so here are the essential steps companies can take to build one.

What makes a recruitment strategy effective?

A recruiting strategy is a concrete plan of action to help you identify, attract, and recruit the top talent suited for your organization's open roles. It's essential to follow a structured process from needs assessment to monitoring and evaluation, as well as to involve various levels of your organization throughout.

Identifying talent needs

First, organizations must be able to determine which current workforce processes need to be transformed in line with the ever-evolving job market. This step usually requires the supervision of the chief operating officer (COO). While there can be variations depending on the company, Investopedia highlights that COO roles can include spearheading change initiatives – including changes in the recruitment strategy to adapt to current trends.

With intimate knowledge of operations at every level of the organization, the COO can collaborate with human resources (HR) in identifying talent needs. It may entail scoping out the best and worst performers based on company standards or simply looking for departments or units that can be bolstered with new and qualified talent. As the COO belongs to the organization’s senior executives, they can align the chief executive officer’s (CEO) long-term business goals with investments in a potential talent pool.

Building and marketing your employer brand

Once specific talent needs are established, the next step is to develop a marketing strategy that can make the organization look attractive and promising to ideal candidates. This entails a proactive approach that goes beyond posting on job boards and waiting for applicants to come. A description of a chief marketing officer’s role by LHH highlights their importance in developing a company’s branding. CMOs are essential to promoting the employer value proposition and job opportunities across various communication channels.

Additionally, CMOs can undertake market research and studies to be on the pulse of what professionals nowadays need and want from their employers. For instance, HCM Technology’s list of employer branding initiatives recognizes that employees expect their health and wellness to be valued and supported by the organization. In this light, CMOs can lead the organization in centering recruitment efforts on marketing the company’s existing well-being programs and employee resource groups.

Diversifying talent pipelines

While a recruitment marketing strategy can help streamline traditional hiring processes, identifying an organization’s unique branding can provide ideas for alternative talent pipelines. Take, for example, how tech giant Google’s emphasis on workforce diversity creates readiness and mentorship opportunities for students of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-serving institutions. The company ensures this diversity extends beyond recruitment, mainly by leading conferences that foster a sense of community among their Black directors and employees.

Meanwhile, employer brands centered on building a supportive and rewarding company culture can consider an employee referral program. Referrals can reduce the time and costs per hire while still ensuring the quality of new hires since they’ve been pre-vetted by existing employees. This contributes to employee engagement retention in the process, too, as those with successful referrals can receive bonuses and incentives, whether monetary or not.

Investing in recruitment technology

Lastly, technology can be leveraged to speed up the hiring process and improve the overall candidate experience. It can come in the form of applicant tracking systems and automation software, which help save recruiters valuable time and money by handling repetitive tasks such as scanning resumes and scheduling interviews. Video technology can also be harnessed not just for remote hiring processes but also for marketing the company’s culture, work environment, and overall branding strategy.

But on top of figuring out what tools are needed for unique recruitment functions, chief information officers (CIOs) must be involved in selecting the tech solutions. CIOs can help vet vendors that meet the company’s specific budget and needs. They can also ensure that these tech solutions deliver a return on investment by being capable, integrated, and compliant with data privacy and security standards.

How do companies and organizations benefit from this?

What ties all these steps together are the significant roles that C-suite executives for operations, marketing, and information technology play in an effective recruitment strategy. A look at a previous article on ‘The C-Suite as the Talent Strategy Spearhead’ shows that involving senior leaders not only fulfills talent needs but helps drive business growth at large. In fact, bridging the gap between the C-suite and talent acquisition is already widely practiced. Of the 20 corporate leaders surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, nearly a third commit 30-50% of their time to talent acquisition.

When executives are proactive and hands-on with recruitment efforts beyond simply devising a plan, quality of hire is delivered at all job levels in the organization. Considering labor accounts for up to 70% of business costs, the overall alignment of talent strategy with long-term business goals extends lifetime value for the shareholders of companies, too.

A recruitment strategy that is evidence-based, targeted, diversified, and innovative can also improve financial performance.  Forbes notes that attracting top talent has helped organizations drive 3.5 times more revenue than those whose recruiting efforts were not as successful. Effective recruitment can also significantly reduce turnover costs, which Gallup estimates to range from one-half to two times an employee’s annual salary. Lastly, having the right people equipped with the right skills and placed in the right roles steers the entire organization toward a clearer direction in the long term.

Final Thoughts...

Collaboration across all levels has a pivotal role in developing a recruitment strategy that takes into account current talent needs, employer branding initiatives, diverse talent pipelines, and technology solutions. When executives and employees utilize their skills and are fully involved beyond functional competency, the organization can deliver real business value and cut the significant costs associated with hiring and turnover.

The Talent Management Institute (TMI) partners with institutions, companies, and industries to ensure that human resource professionals are capable of finding top talent and leading their organizations toward growth and success. To learn more about our services and solutions, feel free to check out the rest of our website.