cover feature
The
Recruiting
Rethink
SOCIAL MEDIA, TECH AND FIERCE
COMPETITION HAVE RADICALLY
CHANGED HOW WE FIND, INFORM
AND ENGAGE THE BEST CANDIDATES
By Melissa Campeau
Most areas of business have been through seismic shake-ups
in the last decade or so. The rise of social media,
for example, has forced a complete redesign of mar-keting
strategy. Internal messaging systems are hosted
on platforms that didn’t even exist all that long ago. And hot desk-ing,
remote work and international teams are now commonplace
in many organizations.
When it comes to recruiting, however, it can often seem like
time has stood still. “It’s amazing, but the majority of Canadian
companies are still using the ‘post and pray’ method of recruit-ing;
as in, post your job and pray some good candidates apply,”
said Simon Parkin, president and senior partner with The Talent
Company and author of Hiring Right: How to Turn Talent into a
Competitive Advantage.
In the current economy, says Parkin, that’s far too passive an
approach to consistently secure top candidates. And given the rise
of social media, niche job boards, big data and storytelling – all
effective means of reaching potential employees, organizations
have the tools at their fingertips to recruit much more strategi-cally,
if they chose to.
In many circles, the competition for those candidates is fierce:
Statistics Canada reported that in 2016, for every two people who
retired from the workforce, only one person was poised to join it.
How employers capture a candidate’s interest, promote an orga-nization’s
brand and values, engage with candidates through the
hiring process and make the most of data can make or break an
effort to secure the best talent. So, if an organization hasn’t made
the leap to modern recruiting, right now is an ideal time for
a rethink.
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HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ AUGUST 2018 ❚ 15
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