What Attracts Top Talent?

Attracting top talent is one of the key priorities for any organization looking to succeed. The ability to attract and retain the best talent has a direct impact on an organization's ability to innovate, grow and achieve its objectives. It is essential for organizations to have effective strategies in place to attract and retain top talent, here are seven effective ways to attract top talent. 

1. Concentrate on Your Company’s Reputation. Your reputation precedes you. Therefore, first impressions really do matter. 75% of people would not take a job with a company that had a bad reputation – even if they were unemployed, according to Corporate Responsibility magazine.  Candidates need to know that your company is trustworthy and highly respectable in order to feel secure about seeking employment with you. Professionalism and ethical practices play a major role in creating a positive work culture and one that’s talked outside your walls. 

2. Monitor Recruitment Metrics. Recruitment metrics play a critical role in attracting top talent to job opportunities. By tracking metrics such as time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and applicant satisfaction, companies can identify areas for improvement in their recruitment process and make data-driven decisions to enhance the candidate experience. For example, if the time-to-hire metric is too high, it may indicate that the recruitment process is too lengthy or that there are inefficiencies in the hiring process. By addressing these issues, companies can streamline their recruitment process and attract top talent who are more likely to accept job offers from organizations that have efficient and effective hiring processes. Ultimately, recruitment metrics can help companies optimize their recruitment strategies, identify areas of improvement, and ultimately attract and retain the best talent for their organization. 

3. Make Your Response Time Swift. Securing top talent requires timely communication. If a candidate is actively seeking new employment, then they are likely evaluating multiple opportunities simultaneously. Therefore, you are most likely to secure top talent when you reduce your time to hire by quickly responding to candidate inquiries. Being swift in your response time shows the candidate that their time is valuable to you. If a candidate is left in the dark or feels that they have been “ghosted” during the recruitment process, then they will move on to other options. 

4. Rely On Recruitment Marketing, Not Just Inbound Applications. Studies show that recruitment teams are more likely to attract top talent by marketing their opportunities than solely relying on inbound applications. By proactively taking the initiative to promote your opportunities to  qualified job candidates, your chances of finding top-quality recruits is higher than it would be from merely posting your job and hoping candidates apply. Recruitment marketing teams start with a job and then make sure their job gets in front of the right audience, instead of the other way around. 

5. Pursue Passive Candidates. Don’t limit the search for new talent to just active job seekers. Passive candidates need a good reason to change jobs as they’re not looking to make a change. So, if you’re able to land a passive candidate, know that they’re coming to work for you for good reason and you’re likely able to lure top talent if your offer is a good one. Perhaps it’s because of higher compensation, professional development opportunities, and a better work/life balance.

6. Embrace Employee Referrals. Happy employees are your greatest asset because studies show that 88% of employers believe that employee referrals are the best source to secure top talent. Employee referrals are highly effective because not only are referral hires more likely to accept job offers, but they also yield a higher retention rate than other hiring methods, according to data from Zippia. 

7. Stay In Contact with Candidates In Your Talent Pool. Even if a candidate is not the best fit for the role they applied for, it is still beneficial to keep them in your talent pool for potential opportunities in the future. Chances are, if a candidate doesn’t meet all of the necessary qualifications for the role you are hiring for, it is likely that their skills and experiences are aligned with another role. Keeping the lines of communication open with candidates through use of a talent community is a great way to peak their interest in your company and encourage them to apply for other openings.

Attracting top talent ultimately boils down to how well your recruitment team is performing. Monitoring recruitment metrics and investing in how you engage with candidates will help you to improve your recruitment process and in turn have the ability to focus on top talent.