Why You Should Not Limit Talent Search to Exclusively Online?

In 2020, the global job market will be seeing an influx of enormous new job seekers - the Millennials entering the workforce in huge numbers. With many baby boomers planning to retire soon, this new generation will join the workforce and fill vacant positions.

As fiercer competition continues to attract top candidates from the talent pools, employers should also update their hiring strategy to ensure that their organisation appeals to potential hires.

Interestingly, despite ample influence of technology and Internet in the recruitment process, it seems that conventional methods of hiring remain the most effective source to find quality hires. Jobvite Recruiter Nation Survey in 2015 noted that 78 percent recruiters believe traditional employee referral program is the most successful method to bring in top talents.

This figure far exceeds the other modern hiring practices implied, such as social networks (56 percent), internet job boards (37 percent), and mobile career site (19 percent). Besides referrals, hiring interns have also become recruiter’s favourite, with 55 percent respondents stating that interns make great new hires.

The statistics indicate that while you should take advantage of the advanced technology, there are times when offline and traditional hiring method is proven to offer more tangible returns on investments. If this is not convincing enough, then here are reasons why should not limit talent search exclusively online:

1.       To know the quality of potential hires beyond CV

The idea of online hiring might sound simple and quick. All you are required to do is post job ads on career pages, screen out applicant’ resumes, call candidates for interview rounds and eventually hire the best talent from the lot.

However, here’s the rabbit hole of online recruiting mechanism: you do not know the true quality of new hires. They might showcase great track record on resumes regards qualifications and experiences, further interesting interviews to impress the hiring manager and seek a job offer. However, when you hire them, it might turn out that they do not perform as expected. If you do not want to encounter such a situation, offline hiring via referrals could be a great feasible alternative.

2.       To gauge their cultural-fit

Some candidates might meet all the requirements needed for job openings. Unfortunately, when they become new hires, they find difficulty in adapting with your company culture due to different values and background.

Such scenarios will unlikely happen if you implement and follow organised referral networks. When your employee shares some recommendations, you can ask them beforehand about their cultural fit.

3.       To create faster hiring process

When you hire interns who have been previously working part-time in your company, then you can save more time on the long critical hiring process. As interns are already accustomed with your company culture, all they need is to adjust themselves back and integration is easy. So, they do not require long onboarding programs and processes, they can transition into their job roles quickly.

4.       To save more money

It is no secret that the whole recruitment and onboarding program for new employees requires investments and lot more money. Conducting offline talent search will save the cost of advertising on online job boards, headhunters, or recruitment agency fees. Through this approach, you can spend less on internal labour costs.

5.       To boost employee morale

LinkedIn research demonstrates that referrals strongly impact employee retention. The data highlights that referral program impacts both the referrer and the referred, as both parties will stay longer with the company, compared to other employees who are not involved in the program.

Finding the right person to fill in particular job roles is a daunting task, which requires you to not only bring in someone who fits the job requirement, but might eventually fail to adjust with the company culture in the long run.

More than the above, the hiring managers are on hunt for special talent, who is passionate about their job roles and engaged with the job to meet company expectations. While social and mobile hiring strategies have been hyped to receive all-time attention from fresh graduates entering the world of work, here’s a tip for the passionate to not completely ignore on harnessing potential mediums of offline hiring such as referrals and intern placements.

Next read: Navigating New Career Pathways Without Having to Start Over Again