10 Innovative Ways Employers Are Effectively Recruiting

What are some innovative strategies employers are using to recruit people during a tough labor market?

To help employers find talent for their organizations, we asked business leaders and HR specialists this question for their best ideas. From seeking employee referrals to simplifying the application process, there are several tactics that may help you with your hiring efforts in this current labor market.

Here are 10 ways employers are effectively recruiting:

1. Seeking Employee Referrals

To effectively recruit people during a tough labor market, employers should focus internally through some sort of employee referral program. Word of mouth is still an unprecedented way to recruit people — no matter how tight the market gets. Having some sort of incentive for an employee who refers someone can also help you save a little bit of time and resources. Your current employees already know the culture, expectations, and qualifications already necessary for the job, so they’ll refer someone who will most likely fit and who is actively looking for work.

Randall Smalley, Cruise America

2. Attending Virtual Events

Traditionally, employers often did in-person job fairs. However, with the recent pandemic, many have started attending job fairs virtually. This might be considered innovative for some. As a military hiring network, we are always coming up with innovative ways to connect our military veterans with great job opportunities.

Jeff Finefrock, Military Hire

3. Getting the Help of a Search Firm

When you’re recruiting in a tough labor market, consider investing in an executive search firm. They are able to match your company up to people actively looking for work. It can be hard on the job seeker’s end 一 needing to know where to look for job openings. And, as a company, you’re juggling how to best advertise yourself. Making sure the potential candidates match your needs and that their needs are also met is a lot to take on. Recruiting through a firm can help streamline the process, especially in a tight labor market.

Ryan Nouis, TruPath

4. Offering Remote Options

During a tough labor market, it becomes even more difficult to find the right person for the job. However, the pandemic has opened the doors to employee flexibility and offered a possible long-term solution that can solve the issue altogether: remote work. Before the pandemic, labor shortages were exacerbated by geographical proximity. Now, that is no longer the case. With resources such as Slack and Zoom and an innate understanding that remote work can indeed “work,” the virtual office has enabled companies to increase their pool of applicants and find the right employee for the job.

Lori Price, PixieLane

5. Considering Outsourcing

In a tight labor market, widen your talent pool by exploring global staffing firms. The remote work organizations adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic will continue into the future. They increase company capabilities and decrease operating costs. At C9, we source qualified candidates with a rigorous recruiting process that includes portfolio, English language, and internet connectivity evaluations while providing flexible infrastructure options that enable potential candidates to work from home.

Phillip Lew, C9 Staff

6. Setting Skills-Based Assessments

An approach we lean on heavily while recruiting — in a tough job market or not — is our candidate assignment. Every role has a specific assignment provided to candidates, which results in several important outcomes. First, we have an objective tool to compare candidates. Secondly, we are given a glimpse inside of a candidate’s zone of genius and how that might be applied to their role. Lastly, we see how serious a candidate’s interest is, whether they actually complete the assignment or not (another important indication). If the assignment is done poorly, we get a chance to uncover that, as well. Hiring is one of the most important aspects for us, and the process helps us and our candidates make the best decision.

Jenn Christie, Markitors

7. Recruiting Independent Contractors

In today’s constantly fluctuating labor market, wherein employees are second-guessing their passions and priorities, employers continue to recruit people effectively via contractor positions. Indeed, a contractor position allows employees to remain autonomous, all the while providing them with the professional and personal flexibility to live life and explore other ventures/opportunities at the same time.

Jordan Duran, 6 Ice

8. Leading with Pay and Benefits

It is quintessentially vital for employers to attract and retain the best talent. Perhaps the most effective way of doing that is to provide ample benefits while also being a leader in annual pay wages. First, show prospective employees that you care by investing in progressive benefits. From medical and dental insurance to unlimited paid vacation, make sure that employees feel valued with the way they are treated inside and outside the office. Also, effective recruitment can be achieved in a tough labor market by increasing the wages of incoming employees. One way to afford this? Lower the wages of upper management. This will send a clear message to all employees: the well-being of this company is due to you and no one else.

Ryan Craver, Mallary by Matthew

9. Simplifying the Application Process

One of the easiest ways to attract more applicants is to simplify your application process. Don’t ask applicants to upload a resume and then also fill out a long form. If having the form is absolutely necessary, use an auto-populate feature based on their resume information to help expedite the process. You’ll quickly find more people applying to your open positions if it doesn’t take them long to apply.

Courtney Buhler, SugarLash PRO

10. Leveraging Storytelling

To improve recruitment efforts, companies should leverage storytelling and employer branding. In essence, it’s all about putting a face on a seemingly faceless corporation by telling a story of your employees, your employer value proposition, and how you’re different from the competition. If you want to be great at employer branding, don’t fluff your career pages with jargon and fancy buzzwords. Instead, I recommend you provide specific examples of the critical projects prospective hires will work on and highlight things that matter: flex schedules, growth opportunities, and the ability to contribute to impactful projects.

Magda Klimkiewicz, Zety

How JobsInTheUS Can Help

In any labor market, you should always be investing in recruitment advertising so that job seekers know your brand and you’re never left short-staffed. Use your company profile on any website in the JobsInTheUS network to highlight your unique company culture. For national and or niche visibility, add enhancements such as Juice-a-Job.

Feeling overwhelmed? Email our account managers and let them assist you with best-in-class products and advice on how to recruit for the long-term success of your business.