5 Ways to Become Innovative Recruiters  

Recruiting employees can be a challenging task. Finding the right talents to fill various roles can be especially tough during a recession, so recruiters have to work best with their hiring strategy. If not done correctly, an organisation’s recruitment efforts can lead to job applicants who are not qualified for the roles, who have a lack of diversity, or who might decline the job offers. A poorly designed recruitment process can also make you miss out attractive and prospective job candidates, including those who work for competitors. 

That being said, it is important for recruiters to upgrade their approach in recruiting talents, thus transforming the company to be ready with the challenge of future recruitment. Jennifer McClure, former human resources executive and founder of Unbridled Talent, in Talent Connect 2019 conference, shared five approaches to identify the right skills at the right place at the right time. Here’s what Jennifer said on how to be more innovative in recruitment. 

1- Maximise the use of data 

HR leaders should understand beyond knowing the profit and loss that the business is running. It means that managers need to analyse the information available to them. Measure the success factors of people who are successful in their key role and implement it in your own recruitment strategy. Recruiters should also ask themselves: what are the factors that might be predictive of people who are a good fit or of people who might bail out early? After that, recruiters must collect and pull out data from the answer. The data collected can be the keys to recruitment success. 

See also: Why Internal Hiring Matters?

2- Think beyond the department 

Jennifer noted that many people claim to be a strategic recruiter or a strategic HR leader. Yet, they do not fully understand what it means to be a strategic recruiter or HR leader. 

Strategic people in business think about business needs first, Jennifer added. Therefore, make sure you are not playing small. Don’t confuse tactics with strategy. Making a real impact in business requires thinking beyond your department’s incremental goals. You might still do some tactics of recruitment but your goals need to be how are we going to radically impact the business? 

3- 10 minutes with business leaders 

One of the best ways to get to know a business on a deeper level is to spend time with its leaders. Start by requesting a quick meeting with the functional heads of each department in your organisation. In a 100,000 employee company, Jennifer said, it might be tough to get time with top leaders, but aim to meet with the highest--level managers possible, even a 10-minute chat can give recruiters valuable insights. 

What to ask? Jennifer recommended asking leaders: 

• What are the top three challenges that you and your team are facing that could potentially prevent you from hitting our business objectives in the next future? 

• Ask questions that are designed to get a specific answer, instead of general answers 

• Ask questions that can involve creating a list, such as what are the three problems you are facing? 

4- Be a change-maker 

Being a change-maker in an organisation is all about the relationships you build and the influence you exert. It is not about your title but your position on the organisation chart. It is also about: are you able to help people solve business problems? So, rather than sitting back and taking notes in meetings, an innovative recruiter is those who do their homework and come armed with data and ideas for new ways of doing things. 

5- Expand your universe 

To become a more innovative recruiter, grab a book, said Jennifer. Plug into a podcast and invite someone new to coffee. Take a class and be curious. Do things that expand your mindset. In addition, it does not have to be all industry related books or podcasts. Jennifer suggested books in general such as Harry Potter or books about romance are also a good study that can show you how to be a better communicator. 

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