We are experiencing a full employment economy. Unemployment is at a 50-year low, which is good news, obviously. However, talent shortages create a real challenge for companies seeking to add to their teams. An organization’s ability to meet growth opportunities in their industries is limited when openings go unfilled.
Businesses that rise to the challenge by using today’s tight job market as an opportunity to develop a full employment hiring strategy will continue to compete well.

Based on our perspective as a recruiting partner for leaders in multiple industries, we believe a successful full employment hiring strategy requires hiring managers to think like marketers. We often advise job candidates to learn to market themselves. Now that there is a full employment talent shortage, the tables have turned and employers must realize that they are selling themselves as a desirable place to work.

Use these 4 core components of marketing in your full employment hiring strategy:

Brand your business.

What makes your organization a uniquely desirable place to work? Consider polling your existing employees to find out what they like about their work environment and your corporate culture. Sharlyn Lauby, human resources consultant, recommends conducting “stay interviews” as part of regular employees’ supervision. By doing so, you will find out why do they choose to stay and can include those insights as you promote your company as a best place to work.

Market your brand.

“Promoting a company’s values and culture—not just its open jobs—will be critical” in 2019, writes Roy Maurer for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He then quotes Amy Warner, director of talent acquisition at recruitment software company iCIMS, who says, “Employers are creating new roles dedicated to recruitment marketing in order to effectively promote their culture and values and attract well-fit candidates, because recruiting is harder than ever before.” Also, sign up for “best place to work” review sites, but participate wisely. Incentivizing positive reviews has the potential to get you into unethical waters.

Create a candidate journey.

Just as skilled marketing professionals understand they must engage customers along a continuum, or sales funnel, companies recruiting in this competitive environment must also learn to think in terms of an engagement process. “Recruiters that fall behind in using digital and social strategies are going to get left behind, not to mention put their employers at a huge disadvantage in the competition for talent,” says Lori Sylvia, founder and CEO of Rally Recruitment Marketing, as quoted in Maurer’s article.

Speak the candidate’s language.

Focus more on potential benefits to the candidate than on your needs. With this in mind, revisit your job descriptions. Use language a real person would use instead of boring jargon. “In a full-employment economy, the overwhelming majority of job candidates are passive ones,” writes Carole Oldroyd for Pandologic, a recruitment technology provider. “Give your job ads a makeover to capture their attention when you find them.” Consider including a copywriter on your hiring team. While you’re at it, test your application process and consider how you can simplify it and make it more mobile-friendly.

Always be recruiting.

Don’t wait for a job opening to engage with potential candidates. Relationships with all candidates should be considered valuable, even if you don’t currently have a job opening that fits them. Also, train your existing employees to realize that they are all on the recruiting team. Create a referral program, because they have networks of friends and family that might include your next star employee. Additionally, a solid LinkedIn business presence will position you well to be the first to come to mind when a talented individual decides they are ready for a career move.

Let us help find your next all-star hire in this full employment market

Working with an experienced, professional recruiting partner like Bradsby Group is an essential element of any hiring strategy, especially during a full employment cycle. We can help you compete successfully for talent that is in high demand. Don’t hesitate to contact us today.