Maintaining a stable talent pipeline for recruitment is crucial for any organization’s success. U.S. job openings rates remain historically elevated, and 39% of Fortune 500 CHROs projected that their companies would hire new people and expand their workforce in 2024. Technological advancements and the COVID-19 pandemic have shifted the recruiting landscape. To succeed, organizations must understand how recruiting has changed, refine their strategies to meet online job seekers’ expectations and behavior, and meet new standards for the recruitment process.
A Quarter of the Workforce Has Been Recruited Recently
About one in four U.S. employees (24%) have been recruited by another organization in the past three months, up from Gallup’s initial benchmark of 19% in 2015.
These elevated recruitment rates have held steady in recent years. Employees are just as likely to be recruited now as they were during the employee-friendly “great resignation” labor market of 2021. Despite market shifts, finding top talent to fill important positions remains a fundamental challenge and focus for business leaders.
To bolster their efforts, recruiters are increasingly turning to poaching employees, targeting workers from other organizations who are not actively looking or even watching for new job opportunities. These employees have a nearly one in five (19%) chance of being recruited within a three-month period, a 27% increase from 2015.
Online Recruiting Has Increased and Is More Effective Than Traditional Methods
The modern recruitment process has also moved more heavily into the digital space. Digital tools and increased adoption of hybrid and remote working arrangements have enabled organizations to contact more talent, and sought-after employees now have more options. Among U.S. employees recently recruited, 50% reported that organizations had learned about them through an online professional networking site, such as LinkedIn, up from 39% in 2015.
Organizations can increase interest and application numbers and secure top talent by focusing on the places potential candidates turn to most often when they are actively or passively looking for a new role.
Increasingly, employees who are serious about exploring new opportunities are turning to digital spaces. Employees who report being recently recruited through online professional networking sites (61%) and job sites and search firms (70%), such as Indeed, are significantly more likely to leave their organization than those recruited through other methods.
While traditional channels such as word of mouth (56%) or professional communities (50%) can still reach employees likely to leave their organization, they are comparably less effective compared with digital recruitment methods. Although these connection-based approaches enable more personalization and individualization in a recruiting approach, they are less likely to reach employees who are likely to leave their current organizations.
Digital Presence and Accurate Job Descriptions Are Vital
Organizations must refine their recruiting efforts to appeal to and quickly establish connections with online job seekers. A strong digital presence helps organizations reach more passive job seekers first when they transition to active, intentional job seekers.
Additionally, job advertisements must clearly and expressively reflect the nature of a role. Alignment between the job advertisement and job applicants’ skills and interests is the greatest influence on applicants’ decision to apply for a job (59%). Factors such as an organization’s mission and purpose (17%), the description of the workplace culture (16%), or online reviews of the organization (8%) have less influence.
Accurate job descriptions -- detailing key job responsibilities, relevant skills, and potential development paths -- help candidates assess their alignment with and interest in the role.
Using clear and descriptive job titles also captures the attention of job seekers whose skills and interests align with the role. Generally, providing realistic job descriptions upfront saves time and resources for both organizations and candidates.
How Organizations Can Stay Competitive
Recruiters face ongoing pressure to fill important roles in their organizations with top talent. To excel in the modern recruiting space, organizations must match or exceed their competitors’ recruiting efforts by maintaining a strong online presence, providing accurate job description details that will draw applicants and implementing an active online recruiting strategy. Organizations that adapt to market changes and optimize their approach to focus on digital recruitment will have a clear competitive advantage.
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