Sometimes recruiters and HR professionals forget what it’s like to be a job seeker. We default to hiring systems that collect and sort thousands of resumes instead of thinking about how to recruit and retain top talent, and that’s accomplished by focusing on the true human experience.
Let’s face it: looking for a job is frustrating.
I know we can do better as HR professionals, and an industry as a whole.
From how we engage and draw candidates to our open roles to providing a positive candidate and interview experience, we must consistently work toward building stronger connections and relationships with candidates.
How to recruit and retain top talent: Enter HXM
The shift from traditional HR to human experience management (HXM) can help retain and recruit top talent by delivering HR systems and tools specifically designed around what people need to feel supported and be engaged.
Modern HR tools:
- Are more accessible and user-friendly, available across all touchpoints
- Are more intelligent, delivering personalized experiences to help recruit the best talent, while motivating and retaining top employees
- Incorporate AI to match traits and abilities to potential jobs
- Make onboarding more transparent
Where do we begin?
First, stop thinking of hiring as a war for talent.
“If you’re looking to recruit a DevOps person that can operate a massively scalable system, you’ll probably try to get someone from Amazon or a similar business,” explains Hung Lee, co-founder and CEO of Workshape.io. “In banking, if you need a trader, you’ll try to get someone working the front desk at JPMorgan Chase. In those cases, the competition for talent could be described as a war. For everyone else, that term doesn’t make sense.”
The marketplace is highly competitive, but it’s not a war.
“The notion that we’re all in competition with each other is a little damaging to our industry,” agrees Lars Schmidt, founder of Amplify and cofounder of HR Open Source. “It suggests there is no room to collaborate or cooperate or share ideas. And that offends my open source sensibilities.”
The real battle may be helping HR executives understand the need to broaden their recruiting efforts.
Recently the CEO of Wells Fargo blamed a limited pool of black talent for the company’s lack of diversity. (He later apologized.)
“If you’re going to the same places to recruit talent, you’ll only get a certain percentage of the people you’re looking for,” says Minda Harts, Founder and CEO of The Memo, LLC, and Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU. “You can’t go to the same pool and expect a different wave. What would it look like to recruit at a historically black university? What if a company partnered with headhunters that focus on diverse talent?”
The Rise of HXM: LinkedIn Live Series
If HR doesn’t evolve, talent acquisition and retention is going to become more difficult as younger generations enter the workforce. Catch the insights, ideas, and comments from our experts HERE.
The employee experience begins with the candidate experience
Candidate interest and engagement begins with the first exposure to your company. Hart asks:
- “Does the job description signal an equitable environment?”
- “Does it show that I would have a voice when I’m hired?”
- “Is there transparency in this company?”
Companies can take steps to nurture candidate relationships and foster a sense of connection and belonging. After all, by definition engagement is the action of engaging or being engaged. In other words, it simply does not happen automatically.
Investing in solutions that make it easy to develop compelling career sites and execute personalized communications is key to an engagement strategy that keeps candidates interested and informed.
“The ambiguity that happens at every job application is something companies can easily address,” says Schmidt. “An application portal can show candidates where in the process their application is in real time. There are a variety of ways that recruiters can bring a little humanity to their processes.”
Be optimistic about recruiting tools and technology
We need better ways to find out whether a candidate can do the job.
A resume is crafted by prospects to describe themselves in response to how a company defines the job opening. “It’s basically two sides of the marketplace trying to get a match between their non-validated data,” says Lee. “It’s very problematic and often we don’t get it right.”
The good news is that great technologies – like psychometric testing tools, game-based assessment tools, and others – can help companies make better decisions.
Schmidt is bullish on the possibilities of artificial intelligence.
“Some case studies are using AI to identify people’s traits and accomplishments and match them with those of your top performers,” he explains. “It allows you to identify candidates that the traditional application process would never find – someone who doesn’t have the job title, didn’t attend the right school, or lacks the typical background. That drastically expands the talent pool you can tap into.”
HXM plays a role throughout the employee journey
It’s not just the recruiting processes that needs rethinking. Companies must also deliver an exceptional experience for employees – and that’s where the practice of HXM and the right tools can help.
Another LinkedIn Live viewer, Katie Augsburger, an employee experience strategist and founding partner of Future Work Design, says that consumer experiences have raised the stakes for employers.
“We’ve moved to a consumer market that tailors experiences based on the individual’s needs. Candidates are expecting to see organizations that care for their unique employee experience, which includes the type of training they need to be successful and benefits that work for their lifestyle.”
This is where employee listening is critical, allowing companies to harness ideas and feedback that then drive ongoing experience improvements.
Once hired, an employee’s first 90 days are the most critical. Personalized onboarding can set up new hires to be productive from the start.
HXM can create a better experience for employees by facilitating continuous feedback, helping employees know whether they’re meeting expectations and requirements.
I’m passionate about the need to recognize and reward good work, as it’s essential for attracting and retaining talent. Happily, many companies understand the need for recognition.
“Financial compensation will not make an existing employee super motivated,” says Lee.
“What they need is the ability to make a contribution – one that is recognized.
It goes beyond policy.
It needs to be at a cultural level.
People need to feel empowered to praise their colleagues or managers.
If you build the culture correctly, you don’t even need the policy.”
Listening to candidates and employees can go a long way in creating positive experiences that boost confidence, productivity, and engagement. Tools and technology are there to help.
