The youngest of the baby boomers are now in their fifties, and the largest population of workers is now comprised of Gen X and Gen Y. The most recent group to the workforce, the millennials, now represent over a third of the US workforce. With this great influx of technology-savvy workers, the days of cubicle farms filled with huge desktops are numbered. Millennials that are entering your workforce are not just looking for a paycheck, they need to be convinced that you are the right fit for their needs. How does your company look in their eyes?
Mobile first and upgrade your Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
Reaching millennials will need to be lead by a mobile-first strategy. Mobile devices are here to stay, and job candidates want to use what is in their hand to conduct their lives and their work. All customer-facing interactions need to be on par with the latest technology trends. Your main website has to be mobile responsive, and any recruiting efforts need to have the feel of a native app. Millennials need to feel that you represent what they want, seamless, intuitive communication, and the best current technology. Ask yourself, if they are tempted to apply, is this process an easy one?
Clunky mobile apps lead to far higher rates of non-submitted applications. How does your site compare to others that millennials may also be looking at? Once they have applied, will your ATS weed out the best or the worst? Have you considered going a step further and introducing an A.I. platform to help find the best candidates? We are now at the point where those organizations using the best tech will gather the best talent to their groups, leaving the rest to apply to organizations with less sophisticated systems.
Maximize your employee referrals.
Current employees often find the best new hires. They sell the company and culture better than any recruiter, ensuring an excellent fit and long-term commitment. How can you assist in this process? Incentive offers buried deep in the HR tab of your intranet are not very helpful. Modernize the effort by bringing attention to recruiting programs on your homepage with a link to open positions, and introduce new ways of connecting their social networks to your recruitment efforts. Have an active, pay-based referral program and pay well for hired referrals. Even consider a repeating annual payment for each hire an employee has brought in. This small annual incentive will keep attention on recruiting efforts.
Engage the applicant
Once interested, how do you get an applicant to commit to your organization? Email is no longer the only way to communicate and is becoming slightly dated. Take advantage of the tools candidates are already using. A quick video call or a Facebook message can provide the necessary interaction to capture the candidate’s focus. Are you capturing their preferences in the application process?
Staffing strategies have to evolve as the candidates evolve, and successful past efforts will not cut it as the needs of the employees change. Staying ahead of the curve means transitioning to methods that get you the best hires. Strong mobile technology, improved ATS, and a turbocharged referral system would find you the most qualified individuals.
