By: Marie-Pierre Huot & Julie Zitano
In today’s ultra-competitive labor market, attracting talent is not a one size fits all model. RPOs, Agencies and large Corporations are in the middle of the “war for talent”. With unemployment rates continuing to hold steady at almost record lows, the pool of available talent is tightening, and top tier applicants are expecting a level of ease in connecting with employers. Coupled with the need to operate with more speed and lower cost, it is imperative to operate a highly efficient talent acquisition model, with an emphasis on digital candidate connection.
As smartphone usage continues to rise, everyone is connected almost all of the time. Candidates not only want a mobile-friendly experience, they expect it. Our recruitment team has partnered with several vendors specializing in digital recruitment to ensure we continue to attract and retain top talent. Strategic partnerships with our vendors have allowed us to stay away from RPOs and retain an in-house recruitment model.
One of the tools we lean on to tap into candidates’ reliance on smartphone usage is an all-in-one text messaging solution for staffing and candidate engagement. This allows our team to increase efficiency of communication with applicants and keep them engaged throughout the candidate journey. From initial reach-out sharing job details to reminding candidates to complete their application and assisting them through the offer process, we can manage a vast majority of communication almost instantaneously through text message. With an average response time of 9 minutes, this addresses our need to connect with candidates in real time.
Two years ago, we started to address the gig economy as well as freelancers as we saw an appetite for this strategy. The ideology is based on flexible, temporary or even freelance jobs and it turned out to be a hit. Our recruiting is orchestrated via an online platform and gives us an edge with speed to market and the redeployment of our active staff. The gig economy is a hot topic that you will hear at dinner tables across urban cities as the gig economy can benefit workers, businesses, and consumers by making work more adaptable to the needs of the moment and demand for flexible lifestyles and/or budgets.
In addition, communication through FaceTime and Skype is becoming the norm for a wide range of consumer demographics. With this in mind, Mosaic has partnered with a digital interview platform. This tool allows for both live or pre-recorded interviews available to candidates and hiring managers across a variety of operating systems (IOS, Android, PC). In addition, we can offer branded video content, introducing applicants to our organization and giving them a feel for our people and culture. Partnership with a digital interview platform has revolutionized our ability to connect with candidates from coast to coast, reducing the hassle of scheduling interviews, cutting travel cost and offering candidates and hiring managers flexibility in completing their application.
Lastly, it comes as no surprise that social media is at the forefront of our talent acquisition model. Millennials and Gen Z rely on social media for communication, entertainment, news and even dating, so why not expand its horizons to the job market. Whether through LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, social media brings forth the opportunity to showcase Mosaic through our company-sponsored pages, and to connect with both passive and active applicants through groups and communities. For minimal investment, we can utilize geo-targeted and boosted posts on Facebook to directly target candidates based on location, demographic and interests. For a moderate investment, we can customize a marketing campaign through LinkedIn, whereby ads will show organically in potential candidates’ news feeds. Both options provide detailed analytics, helping you understand the reach of your ad along with conversion to application.
As mobile usage continues to rise, our talent acquisition team will seek new and innovative digital trends to incorporate into our already robust strategy and ensure we continue to deliver top tier talent on behalf of our clients.