Winning the War for Talent in 2021

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As the competition heats up among industries to snag the best of the best to fill open roles, it’s becoming more clear we are experiencing a “War for Talent.” The phrase “War for Talent” is not a new term in the recruiting industry, as it was first coined in 1997 by Steven Hankin of McKinsey. In their 2001 book The War for Talent, authors Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones, and Beth Axelrod predicted that “the make-or-break for firms in the next two decades would be the ability to attract, develop, and retain talent.” In 2021, we’re in the thick of that battle, struggling to beat out the competition and win over top talent. Though there is an uptick in hiring across the board, with a closer look you’ll see just how small the market is when targeting top-tiered talent with niche skills and specialties. With over 7 million jobs recently posted online, the industry is experiencing an abundance of open roles and a lack of qualified candidates to fill them. In light of this sudden and increasing need for talent, job seekers are left with the upper hand. In today’s market, when it comes to winning the war for talent, employers need to take meaningful action by offering unique benefits, remaining flexible, improving branding, and focusing on retention post-hire. 

War for Talent: 4 Steps

Roll Out the Red Carpet

The current job market is in the hands of the job seekers — so it’s important to get to know your audience. Millennials for example, (who in just five short years will comprise almost 50% of the workforce) have different expectations for jobs than their predecessors did. 86% of Millennials put values, like respect for peers, before salary and 82% prefer to work from home at least one day a week. Now more than ever, hiring managers and companies need to be rolling out the red carpet and concede to the demands of those on the job hunt. Large, leading tech companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have been perfect examples of this in the past as we’ve seen them building, buying, or rehabbing office spaces to make them attractive and appealing to workers. However, today’s climate calls for a little more creativity as the majority of companies and candidates are switching to the work from home model, making fancy office spaces obsolete. Companies are now branching out, offering new incentives like Peloton bikes, paid time off for mental health, additional vacation days, raises, and bonuses to keep their employees motivated and happy. Unfortunately, if you’re not doing your homework to find out what benefits your employees actually care about, you’ll be taking a shot in the dark. 

Poaching and persuading top talent isn’t an altogether new concept but with today’s market, it’s now become a crucial part of everyone’s talent search. The rule of thumb when recruiting for top talent while competing in any industry is to assume there is always another offer on the table. Whether the candidate is actively interviewing for other roles or gets offered a promotion/raise by their current employer when handing in their notice - push your boundaries and dive deep to find what you can offer that no one else will. 

Be Flexible & Act Fast 

With so many competing offers and employers incentivizing candidates to stay where they are - quick decisions in the hiring process are crucial. Just imagine, while a hiring manager is contemplating possible,  better candidates, the perfect candidate they let go cold is accepting another offer. With the majority of talent currently working from home, the process of taking an interview during the day has become a breeze. Candidates can resign from their current position and start a new one with the simple act of shipping back one laptop and receiving another in its place. This simplified and fast-acting turnover is exactly why it is imperative to remain flexible, open, and decisive when recruiting top talent. 

The flexibility shouldn’t stop there. Being open to offering a flexible schedule in today’s market is another “must-have” on a majority of applicants’ lists. It’s been reported that “up to half of employees might quit their jobs if remote or hybrid work arrangements are not provided post-pandemic.” Due to this new norm, industries across the board are now competing on a national scale rather than with their local markets. By choosing not to employ remote workers, you are actively limiting your candidate pool. Offering a flexible work schedule is becoming non-negotiable when keeping up with the competition. With job seekers in the driver’s seat and in a position to make demands, hiring managers need to be listening. 

Step Up Digital Branding & Awareness

Enticing a candidate to join a new company goes beyond what’s written on an offer. Most potential hires are conducting their own research on companies they’re looking to join, digitally. With the internet as the new marketplace, it is absolutely crucial to have a stellar online reputation and top-notch digital branding in place. As a simple fact of life, first impressions are everything - and more often than not, that introduction doesn’t come straight from a company email. 

When a candidate is deciding if they should apply to a company, their first instinct will be to dig up some background information and see if they can picture themselves at the company. Ensuring consistent, clean, and up-to-date branding across all platforms positions you as a well-oiled machine, and instills a sense of confidence - which will result in more applicants. 

Beyond consistency and aesthetics in branding, companies should be going above and beyond to create buzz in their industries. PR initiatives and posting exciting company news online can get job seekers’ attention and spark a good impression before they even land on your website/social channels. Another common way candidates look into a potential employer is through their online reviews and testimonials. This goes without saying, but poor reviews are one of the most passive reasons top talent will walk away from a job offer or even an initial interview. Open the door to communication by conducting exit interviews with employees leaving the company to uncover and address issues before they affect your incoming talent. Better yet, encourage satisfied customers to leave a positive review about their experience.

Invest in Training

With the added competition of today’s recruiting market, it’s important to remember that your job isn’t done when a new hire is made. In some cases, this is when the real work begins as your focus shifts to retaining that hire. One of the best ways to ensure retention of new hires is training, training, training! Investing in thorough and continued training programs is crucial in today’s market when the act of making the initial hire is already such an uphill battle. Hiring professionals agree that “in every industry and sector, among companies large and small, a new conversation must occur as upskilling and reskilling become the new norm.” Employers need to be more proactive by providing employees with the resources and time needed to learn the material and skills. Companies can focus on creating their own internal training that’s specific to their processes by including real on-the-job examples. The biggest mistake you can make after landing a top talent hire is to go into their employment blindly. Do your research and leverage tried and true methods to make sure you retain that expertise in-house. 

With the intensity of today’s job market, offering unique benefits, remaining flexible and fast-acting, and ensuring retention after a hire is made can give your company the edge it needs to land top talent. Just like this job market overall, the way recruiting is conducted is changing at unprecedented speeds. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, Blue Signal can help. We’re experts in this realm and most importantly, we have the dedicated time to complete the open job searches you need filled. A significant benefit in working with a recruiting firm such as Blue Signal is the ability to target passive candidates, which is a game-changer in this climate. The days of waiting around for candidates to come to you and apply to your job posting on their own are over. According to a LinkedIn study, only 15% of employees say they are completely satisfied with their jobs and would not be open to a change. In the midst of this “War for Talent,” you want to be working with the best. If you’re ready to start a conversation about how you can better target and retain top talent in your field, reach out to us today. 

How to Use Social Media to Land a Job

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In some form or another, almost everyone you know uses social media as a way to connect with others. In fact, there are 3.725 billion (and rising) active social media users. According to recent studies, people have an average of 8.5 social media accounts. Although many take advantage of the connections made through social platforms, most don’t think about leveraging those same connections to land their dream job. 

Are you a job seeker? Take advantage of these 5 key tips to help maximize your online presence and stand out from other applicants.

 

1. Keep Your Profile Up to Date

After reviewing your resume, the first thing employers look at is how you present yourself online professionally. They want to ensure that their new hire is going to represent their brand in a positive light. Make sure your username includes your first and last name, and change any connected emails to one that you wouldn’t be embarrassed to send out. SportsMan82 may be fine to communicate with friends and family, but you want to make sure you are making the right impression from the start. Make sure your profile image and posts are professional. Delete any posts that feature alcohol, profanity, overtly political statements, and any other controversial topics. When searching for a job via social media, it’s imperative that your profile reflects who you are as an employee.

 

2. Share Your Online portfolio or CV Online

Online portfolios are a great way to showcase your skills and past work experience. Use your portfolio to share facts about yourself and display your achievements. Take your portfolio one step further and create a blog; write about relevant topics related to your industry and expertise. There are plenty of free websites and tools that can be utilized to create a portfolio or cover letter to feature on your profile. Personal branding is essential to set yourself apart from other candidates, so make sure all of your social media pages are consistent across all platforms. If the jobs you are looking for don’t need a CV or online portfolio, instead, use your profile to illustrate your personality and display work you are proud of. Don’t be afraid to let people know you are searching; include a short description of your qualifications in your bio so employers know that you are taking your job search seriously.

 

3. Follow Major Players in Your Field 

When searching for a new role via social media, it’s essential to follow the companies you are interested in on social media. Currently, 91% of employers are using social media to hire talent and believe social media will become a more significant source of hire in the next 5 years. Aside from the traditional job search options like LinkedIn and Facebook, unconventional methods are just as effective at finding a job. Look on Instagram and Twitter for #hiring, and even check out the Reddit job page. Be sure to follow not only the companies you are applying for, but also any that you may garner connections from. Join public and private groups on social media to gain access to key industry players in your field. 

 

4. Engage in Online Conversations 

Tap into your connections to stay in touch with those who are working your desired role in similar industries. Make sure you are commenting, liking, and sharing relevant posts to show employers that you are up to date on industry trends. Oftentimes, hiring managers want to see that you are involved in current industry events and are keeping up with trends. Send personalized messages to your connections in an effort to find common ground and interests, one of those connections may just be someone who can help you get your foot in the door of your dream workplace. Help yourself appear in more search results by taking advantage of Search Engine Optimization tools; use hashtags, keywords, and tag your location

 

5. Don’t Over Interact 

The last thing hiring managers want to worry about is being spammed by an applicant through social media. Although you should connect with people in the field you are searching in, make sure you are not overstepping your welcome by over liking and commenting on posts. Make your interest obvious, but do so in moderation to avoid seeming desperate for the role. Just think about how you would like to be interacted with if you were in their shoes. It’s important to respect their privacy when it comes to interacting online.

Social Media Stat

Since the development of modern technology, social media has proven to be a gamechanger in the job search process. The job prospects and learning opportunities on social media are endless; 94% of professional recruiters network on social media and use it to post jobs to an extensive community. Take your job search to the next level by taking advantage of the opportunities and connections social media has to offer. 

Social Media Best Practices for HR

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In a world where 1 in 5 page views occur on Facebook, and Twitter users generate 6,000 tweets per second, social media is no longer a small element of the modern community life, it’s the beating heart of how we interact. It might be tempting to just leave social media totally in the hands of your marketing team, but the reality is that the whole company—including HR—needs to be on board.

While the social media landscape is still in a state of flux, success in this area isn’t random. Social media best practices go beyond marketing and PR: they’re about how people interact. Since HR is the industry of people, human resources professionals need to have a social media strategy. What can an HR professional do to harness social media for a positive employee culture?

 

1. Know the channels your employees use. Listen to what they say.

Together, customers and employees are the two groups that shape the reputation and image of your company. Their voice is much more powerful than any marketing or PR effort. Find out what platforms your employees use, and what they’re saying about you. It takes very little time to get an impression of what the public thinks about you as a company and an employer.

The easiest social media platforms for managing your reputation are LinkedIn, GlassDoor, and the first few pages of Google searches. These are the first places your job candidates will be checking before they decide to work for you. Facebook and Twitter are less straightforward, but you can track buzz and interactions around your company to get an understanding of where you stand.

Social media should already be part of your hiring process. Not only should you source candidates through LinkedIn (or work with recruiters who do), you should vet potential employees’ social media profiles during the hiring process. It will give you an insight into their personality that may not come out in a formal interview.

 

2. Celebrate on social media.

Embrace opportunities to celebrate your company on social media. Use your LinkedIn page, Twitter account, and Facebook company page to share promotions, new hires, company outings, fun traditions, perks, and milestones. Post often and at many levels — new and senior employees alike deserve recognition for hard work.
Twitter employee praise
Include photos or videos to boost your views and humanize your company. Since your employees already use social media every day, show your appreciation for them where they (and the competition) can see. Make your competition envious of your workplace culture.

The key to this approach is consistency. Decide on a social media calendar, then design a process for selecting an employee to celebrate. Keep the process fair so that other employees don’t feel left out.

This personalized, grass-roots approach costs little time and money and dramatically boosts retention and your online reputation. When you paint a clear picture of your company’s selling points, you will attract and keep top talent.

 

3. Form strong bonds with your PR and marketing teams.

They’re the ones who manage your company’s branding and voice on the front lines. If you don’t communicate, you’ll miss out on insights into your people and potential candidates. Share your visions with each other. Talk about ways you can help each other reach those goals.

Your goal is a strong correlation between your brand and your employee culture. There is no substitute for keeping your finger on your company’s pulse. When individuals and departments are dissatisfied, they talk, and they may not talk to you first. A culture disconnect comes off as disingenuous to your customers and makes it hard for you to attract and keep your top employees.

 

4. Don’t try to gag people.

Twitter banned HR social media You can’t monitor everything (nor should you want to), but you can get an idea of your employees’ social media habits before and after you hire them. Trying to shut people down will only fan the flames.

A hyper-strict social media policy never goes over well (and may actually be illegal): “The National Labor Relations Board has concerns about companies that run with these very broad gag policies that relate to things going on in the workplace,” says Jon Hyman of the legal advisory firm Kohrman Jackson & Krantz.

Instead, integrate social media into your employee communications. Make a space for employees to talk internally and confidentially. Don’t rely on traditional methods (the anonymous comment box in the break room is outdated). Today’s employees are vocal and have many tools at their disposal to be heard. Let them know that you hear them so that you can solve problems together before they feel compelled to take their frustrations to public arenas.

If you notice a negative trend in what employees are saying, you have an opportunity to fix the problem and build on your strengths. Turning around an unhappy employee is a win for everyone, including you: workplace morale improves, productivity goes up, and you don’t lose an employee.

 

5. Ask for good feedback.

In addition to sharing successes from your own perspective, encourage employees to leave employer reviews on GlassDoor, Facebook, and other social media channels. Job seekers are more likely than ever to research company culture during the interview process, and positive employee reviews are a powerful tool to give you legitimacy. Dissatisfied employees speak up more often than happy employees. Avoid asking when your employees are likely to be stressed or nervous–such as close proximity to annual performance reviews, audits, or looming project deadlines.

Another great tactic is to create avenues for employees to share their own good news, such as a perk-related Twitter hashtag, or encouraging employees to tag themselves and share company event photos on Facebook. Your marketing and PR teams may have additional ideas and resources. One note: offering incentives in exchange for good reviews is not allowed.

Apple Glassdoor review

GlassDoor is the top platform for workplace culture reviews. Many job candidates read through these reviews during their company research. 

6. Know when to tune out.

Some people are determined to say negative things. Inevitably, some will stick. The best policy is to treat your people well.

Good news is the best antidote for bad press. Take advantage of opportunities to spread good news and fix problems promptly. Truly listen to your employees to clear up issues before they become exacerbated. Manage expectations and company policies right from the start to keep your employees happy. Most importantly, show your company in the best light by celebrating success.

How America’s Most Popular Companies Are Winning the War for Talent

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LinkedIn recently released its report listing the Top Attractors, the US-based companies with the strongest power to attract top talent. This list of the 40 most popular companies was compiled from billions of actions of job applicants, employees, and industry professionals. Find the full list on LinkedIn here, along with data for the world and selected other countries.

How does a company become a Top Attractor—the employer equivalent of a celebrity?

 

Their brand is idealism.

The main driver behind the success of Top Attractors is not their financials—or even their products—so much as their mission. Top Attractors have powerful branding that supports a lofty mission statement.

In 2009, Simon Sinek gave a clairvoyant TED Talk that described how the top companies of the last decade had succeeded in doing the impossible. It was called Start with Why, and it described how “people don’t buy what you do—they buy why you do it.” Many Fortune 500 companies have a large market share but fail to inspire top talent because people cannot trust or connect with their vision. On the other hand, Top Attractors want to change the world, and they convey it clearly to their customers.

Two-thirds of the companies on the list are run by founders. This is important: entrepreneurial founders have strong ideals and a gift for inspiring people with their mission. Elon Musk famously said he focuses on company rules at Tesla, because company ideals are “fairly obvious.” But even at Tesla, lofty ideals reign supreme. Elon Musk excels in harmonizing an environmentally friendly problem-solving message with beautiful technology that customers feel good supporting: stylish electric cars, affordable solar panels, reusable rockets, and self-driving technology.

Image: A $150,000+ investment in brand ideals. Tesla is #8 on the Top Attractors list.

A $150,000+ investment in brand ideals. Tesla is #8 on the Top Attractors list.

 

Uber describes its mission directly in its job descriptions, offering applicants “the rare opportunity to change the way the world moves. We’re not just another social web app, we’re moving real people and assets and reinventing transportation and logistics globally.”

 

Top Attractors create meaningful buzz.

Company size matters a little, but not much. The more important factor is their reach. These companies employ just 1.6 million people altogether. By contrast, the #1 Fortune 500 company (Wal-Mart) employs 2.1 million people worldwide, more than all 40 Top Attractors put together. However, the company has to have a big enough reach to create buzz and reach people deeply and often.

Even the most popular companies are not above negative press. The New York Times sharply criticized Amazon in 2015 for its “bruising workplace,” and Tesla faces possible bankruptcy if its Model 3 does not perform to standards. Apple has showed up in the media several times for horrendous factory conditions in China. But these same companies know that if people believe in them strongly enough, no bad press is strong enough to deter them.

Many of the founder-CEOs are household names: Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos. People follow them on social media and know what they think about politicians. They make outrageous claims about what projects they plan to tackle next. Sometimes they even tweet back. By comparison, Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, and CVS Health from the Fortune 500 list are faceless—and faceless corporations are not popular with many people.

 

Glamorous employers are stylish, surprising, and almost always B2C.

People want to work for the brands that make products they love, and so consumer-facing brands dominate the list. Out of the top 10 companies, 9 are omnipresent B2C brands, like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon. All invest heavily in delighting customers and providing a seamless user experience loaded with helpful, free features. Their brands prioritize sleek innovation. People trust them because they always seem to be ahead of the curve.

Consumer products have the power to be status symbols, which holds incredible brand power. By contrast, B2B companies have a much harder time attracting top talent through brand value. People want to work for the companies whose mission and products align. Salesforce and Tableau are two notable exceptions. They achieve high brand visibility by putting themselves in front of top employees every day with a fresh, sleek product line and a forward-thinking philosophy.

[Image: iPhone progression]

Image: iPhone’s touchscreen technology amazed the world in 2007. Touchscreen technology was invented in the 1960s, and IBM released the first true smartphone in the 1990s, but Apple usually gets credit for both.

 

The element of surprise is fundamental to these brands. Apple’s culture of innovation has trained people to expect to be surprised and amazed at every new product. Each of the Top Attractors has magic in their brand, an appearance that they can do the impossible. This also drives competition. When competitors fail to delight and surprise their customers, Top Attractors gain both customer base as well as top talent looking to make a move to more exciting and popular companies. They are not loyal to the product as much as they are to the company and what it represents.

 

The most popular companies promise skills, not tenure.

Image: Jeff Bezos came under fire in 2015 for Amazon’s high turnover and troubled workplace culture.

Image: Jeff Bezos came under fire in 2015 for Amazon’s high turnover and troubled workplace culture.

Pressure is intense inside the halls of Top Attractor companies. Less than 15% of Amazon’s workforce survives beyond the 5-year mark. Even with huge perks, the fast-paced workplace forces many employees out after a short stint. Not only that, but salaries are not always the highest in the industry.

How do these popular companies continue to attract the best of the best? Because even a few years at a rockstar company like Facebook or Amazon can guarantee an employee success for years after they leave. The talent war has many layers, and companies compete strongly for alumni of top-performing companies to get access to their skills. Therefore, candidates feel that even if they burn out at a Top Attractor company, the skills they learn there will pay dividends for the rest of their career.

 

Need to attract better talent? Blue Signal can help. Contact us with your hiring need at: [email protected].


[Guide] Researching Job Candidates on Social Media

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Nearly three-quarters of internet users have a social media footprint, making social recruiting one of the top ways for today’s employers to fill their open positions with the best talent. The majority of employers (at least 60% as of April 2016) use social media recruiting as part of their candidate sourcing process, and many conduct additional research on candidates’ social media profiles before making a hire.

Each platform has its own nuances and advantages. Here are tips for where to look, and how to find the right information:

LinkedIn and Professional Networks:

LinkedIn social media researchLinkedIn is a treasure trove of information about a candidate’s professional life. Many professionals post blogs, articles, publications, past work, and professional updates on their pages. A vibrant LinkedIn page signals that a candidate has invested time in staying up-to-date with his or her industry and in networking with the professional community. The variety and breadth of material on a candidate’s page provides insight into their influencers and professional interests. The same principles apply to niche professional social networking sites similar to LinkedIn.

How to check them:

With the exception of premium members who opt for total privacy, all LinkedIn members have a public page that anyone can view; simply search by name and current employer. Closer connections have access to more information, but it is preferable not to send a connection request solely for the purposes of seeing more information on a candidate.

Blogs:

Nearly every job requires strong written and verbal communication skills. Hiring managers can gauge verbal skills from an in-person interview and written skills from a candidate’s thank-you note, however, the interview process mostly reflects the candidate’s communication skills under pressure. Writing samples such as professional or personal blogs reflect a more complete picture of the candidate’s written communication style. Professionally themed pieces better indicate the level of communication that a hiring manager can expect to see from the candidate during his or her employment.

Personal blogs, while not as relevant, are a valuable window into the candidate’s personality, special interests, and the kind of audience they seek to engage.

How to check them:

A simple Google search of “(Candidate name) blog” will sometimes return relevant results. If not, it is generally easiest to ask the candidate during an interview if they have a blog URL they are willing to share.

 

Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more:

candidates social mediaPersonal social media profiles offer a previously unavailable window for employers to explore a candidate’s personal life. Normally, a potential employer would see only a faint glimpse of this during the interview process, filtered heavily by what the candidate chooses to reveal. Social media profiles involve far less control on the candidate’s part and can provoke a dilemma for a potential employer who may see more than they bargained for.

How to check them:

It is legal to view a candidate’s public social media profiles as part of a job search process without a waiver, but the best practice is to wait until after meeting a candidate in person and to verbally disclose that the hiring protocol includes a review of public social media channels. Why? A hiring manager and a candidate each have time to prepare themselves before an interview; a candidate deserves the same opportunity to prepare his or her social media footprint for scrutiny by a potential employer. Additionally, it adds a layer of protection against potential accusations of unfair discrimination. Proceed cautiously, and when in doubt, seek professional legal advice.

As a general rule for all social media interactions, be consistent. Use the same searches and processes for each candidate to ensure fairness, and formally document any positive or negative hiring decisions made with information gathered from a social media profile, including screenshots. The interviewing process is still the best format to judge a candidate’s fit; treat social media as an extension of the in-person interview.

Lastly, be aware that candidates conduct their own social media research on prospective employers and hiring managers. It is well worth it for hiring managers and their HR departments to consider their own social media footprint during the interview process.

 

Additional reading:

Watch out for pitfalls, risks of using social media in hiring – Read More

Employers: Social Media is Your Friend – Read More

 

Need help with your hiring process? Contact our team of executive recruiters at [email protected].