How To Compete With Big Brands While Recruiting?

When it comes to compete with big brands while recruiting, do you also as an HR manager or head of an organization have this thought – 

“We are offering the opportunity to work remotely. Therefore, we are already a step ahead of our competitors in the talent hunt race”

If your answer is Yes- It’s a wake-up call for you. It’s high time that you come out of this thought.

When you are competing with big brands to rack up the best talent for your company, just being remote-friendly is not enough.

It only makes you one of the 80% company leaders who plan to allow employees to work remotely at least part of the time after the pandemic or one amongst that 47% who will allow employees to work from home full-time.

Moreover, social media, job boards, and other channels have flooded the jobseekers with countless job opportunities making it even more competitive for employers.

So if you want to attract the best talents you need to know ‘how’. More so if you are a small company competing with the big brands.

Did you know? 82% of companies don’t believe they recruit highly talented employees, and those who do, just 7% of them think they can retain their best talents.

The labor market is tightening at a rapid rate. So when it comes to finding qualified talent for your teams,  you need to get creative enough to compete with the top brands. 

How to compete with big brands while recruiting?

Here are 3 Actionable ways to help you stand out as a company in this competitive job market.

1Encourage autonomy and offer opportunities for advancement

Offer your employees flexibility and work-life balance. Top candidates are attracted to companies that will allow them to make an even bigger mark.

Provide your potential hires insight into how they fit within the company’s overall growth strategy. Make the top candidates feel valued and explain how their role will impact the company. 

Top talents are drawn towards an innovative place where they can make a real difference.

Did you know? 54% of hiring professionals say work flexibility encourages retention and 51% agree it attracts candidates.

Offer to help your potential employees explore new opportunities and upward mobility. It could be seeking promotion or continuing education programs or offering a clear career path.

According to the SHRM Report, about 88 % of millennials emphasizes an organization’s commitment to professional development as an important contribution to job satisfaction.

To top it, according to a Glassdoor survey, career opportunities is one of the top five considerations job seekers take into account before accepting a job offer.

2Elevate your employer brand

Employer brand is how your company is perceived as a workplace. It stands for the reputation you hold in the eyes of your former, present, and potential employees. 

Establishing a good employer brand is undeniably the best way to attract a team worth big brands’ envy. Your employer brand will give your potential hires an idea about how it is to work in your organization.

It will make them feel excited about what the future has in store.

To win the best talents your employer brand should answer- why they should work with you and not your competitors in the first place. 

Define what you are selling as an employer. Treat your potential hires like your customers. Even Glassdoor endorses the view that candidates are increasingly treating a job search like online shopping.

Just like you sell your customers the benefits of your product and services, sell your top talents the benefits of working with your company.

Sell them your value proposition and your company culture. Make sure your unique EVP syncs with your company culture.

Showcase and highlight employee experience on social media platforms.

For example-  Microsoft uses Twitter to showcase #MicrosoftLife while McDonald’s uses Snapchat to reach out to younger recruits. 

Did you know? 83% of millennials are actively engaged when they believe an organization fosters an inclusive culture. 

While catching the attention of the best talent is important. It is only half the battle. You also need to offer the benefits that your employees will value most.

Communicate the advantages you have to offer your potential employees. This might include benefits, perks, work environment, and other important aspects.

Highlight the benefits your team has to offer. Make your perks people-centric. You don’t need to stop at the standard paid-time-off.  

You can offer something atypical. It may be your travel perks. For example-Airsorted, a high-growth company pays close attention to the travel needs of its employees. 

3Get your employees in the game

Make employees your ambassador. Capitalize on them to help boost your brand image and reputation in the competitive labor market.  

Review platforms like Glassdoor have become one of the key components of the present job search process. Research shows that 70 % of job seekers now look at Glassdoor reviews before making their decisions to work at a company.

Which makes it even more important for employers to build and manage their employer brand on Glassdoor.

If your company fails to actively protect its employer brand on Glassdoor, negative reviews may hurt your hiring pipeline.

As Peter Phelan, founder and CEO of ValuesCulture has said “Your employees are the best-kept secret when it comes to positive reviews,” Therefore, ask your engaged and top-performing employees to post a Glassdoor review before you initiate a big hiring push.

Also make sure you time your request for review strategically- around positive employee milestones, promotions, anniversaries, and positive company moments.

Run a referral incentive program to motivate your employees to refer to stellar candidates. You can also use networking to build personal relationships with other business people for word-of-mouth referrals.

Did you know? Research from Bersin by Deloitte found that employee referrals are the number one way organizations find high-quality candidates.

51 % of organizations surveyed named employee referrals among their top three most effective sourcing channels.

Since most companies are already using referrals, you can take a step ahead by equipping your employees with a ‘recruitment card’ which they can slip to someone they think will fit in your company. 

Conclusion

Remember, It all begins with figuring out what makes you different from your competitors. Find the best in you and rigorously emphasize on them.