Finding talent starts with the right network
Q: I’m looking to grow my business and for that I need to hire really talented people. But I’m a little confused as to where to start. What is the best way to find people these days? A: It’s a great question and one we recently did some research around. But before you think about connecting, you need to think about who you’re connecting with.
First things first, you need to define who you want to hire. What’s the problem you are trying to solve, or the opportunity you are trying to capture? What skills do you need to add to the team and what type of personality would best fit in?
After that the next question is ‘What’s your story?’ Why would someone want to come and work for you? That’s your Employer Value Proposition.
Get that right and you significantly increase the interest factor in your role and, more importantly, attract the kind of people who are more likely to love their job and stay longer.
Only once you know those two things – who you want and why they might want to work with you – do you begin mapping the market. This is the process of charting where your candidates are likely to live, play and work and deciding on the best sourcing strategies to reach them.
Which brings me back to your question: what are the best ways to find talent today?
We recently asked exactly that to hiring managers across New Zealand and the results paint a far more complex and interesting picture than you might expect.
Asked to name their most effective talent sourcing strategy, hiring managers chose online job boards at 47 per cent.
In No 2 position were recruitment specialists (43 per cent), followed by personal networks (29 per cent), referral schemes (28 per cent) and headhunting (25 per cent).
What is significant here is the variety in these top five responses: while technology solutions are key, so too are external solutions and people networks.
Digital may have forever changed the market but the new best practice in hiring is far from a digital-only approach.
The new best practice, in my view, is variety.
It’s using a variety of techniques and channels to source top talent, brought together through a single cohesive sourcing strategy.
Does the job include flexible working options? Then advertising in a publication for parents could be applicable.
Does the job involve leadership potential? Then engaging with young leadership groups on LinkedIn could be an option. For every job, there will be a different strategy.
And the key here is ‘mix’; farewell one-size-fits-all, in 2015 a multi-pronged, peoplefocused approach will be the key to connecting with great talent.