Salt and pepper, bread and butter, talent and engagement- there are a few pairings that simply share a stronger bond than others. With recruiters working hard to improve talent acquisition strategies, there’s recently been a strong focus on building talent engagement to reel in all-stars that could change your company’s future.
What is talent engagement you ask? It’s taking the right steps to capture the attention of candidates that could potentially be a great addition to your organization. A goal that can be achieved by using a mix of different tactics, finding quality candidates to add value to the workforce becomes easier to achieve for even those tough-to-fill vacancies.
Ready to revamp your candidate engagement and establish yourself as an employer that knows how to impress prospects? Awesome! Here’s our take on some tried and tested methods to truly establish your credibility as a master of attracting the toughest talent groups:
1) Entice candidates with recruitment marketing:
Researching your dream candidate’s job search patterns, and marketing your brand via the medium that best resonates with them, is the secret to recruitment marketing that drives results. Candidates are no longer satisfied with poor communication practices and outdated job descriptions offering little to no spark and incentive for them to consider applying.
There’s plenty of avenues to highlight your culture and attract interest exercises a smaller interval such as engaging content on your customized careers website, providing 3D office tours, using employee testimonial videos, inviting questions on the social channels, and updating the company’s blog frequently. Remember to be different, exciting and of course- true to your vision.
Using content creation creatively with the intent of sharing compelling insights that build your employer brand as fun, futuristic and progressive is a great solution to engage talent. Every additional step you to market your brand is a new touchpoint with the potential of driving more resumes to your talent database. This means that the rewards to be earned from recruitment marketing are practically endless.
2) Keep an eye on your online reviews:
Job seekers, active and passive, have earned their reputation for being strong researchers when it comes to scrutinizing organizations to work for. In fact, a recent research found that 55% of job seekers abandoned applications after reading negative reviews online, meanwhile only 45% of the employers took the required measures to address those reviews.
With so many websites from Bayt to Glassdoor serving as platforms for employees to share their experiences associated with their employers, there’s an abundance of information 
available for talent to review and form decisions based on.
This is precisely why your HR team should make it a standard practice to regularly check the dialogue happening around their company name, and ensure that the viewpoints being shared are positive. By actively monitoring online presence, your recruiters can relax with one less worry of talent being driven away due to a poor online reputation.
3) Find new channels of communication:
Too many times employers make the mistake of assuming that it’s only the candidate’s responsibility to keep checking their portal for new positions and opportunities. Monotonous and time-intensive, the employer’s talent engagement naturally takes a hit by not being able to deliver a two way channel for regular communication.
This is why companies should ensure that their job portals have opt-in email sign-ups for job seekers interested in being informed about updated vacancies. Helping your target audience gain access to hassle-free information not only helps score extra brownie points, but also enables employers to take advantage of a broader recruitment channel.
4) Personalize your messaging:
While we’re still on the topic of communication, it’s important to add in the perks of personalizing all emails and related correspondence. Generic emails and impersonal messages no longer cut it when it comes to impressing the top talent league that you have your heart set on.
By using an ATS like Talentera, you can be sure to stand out from the crowd by using automated email triggers that make your prospects feel they’re a genuinely a crucial part of your organization from the get-go. Laying down the foundation for a more personal relationship, your talent will look forward to receiving emails that extend beyond boring mass messaging. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the higher response rates from candidates eager to learn more about the prospects of becoming a staple part of your corporate family.
5) Commit to a seamless application process:
There’s nothing that turns away talent from your doorstep faster than an excessively complicated application process. Job seekers are short on time, and want to be able to apply for 
new opportunities without having to fill a tedious number of fields. This is why studies found that out of a sample group of job seekers, 60% stopped filling out a job application simply because the process was too long.
Revisiting your application process, and prioritizing a job portal that offers the flexibility to upload resumes and import profiles from professional networking sites, is a non-negotiable asset to have your side. From uplifting talent engagement to paving way for a positive candidate experience, there’s a lot for your recruitment process to benefit from.
Conclusion:
Talent engagement can make or break your organization’s success story. Anything over 5 clicks to fill out a job application will send off your dream prospect to a competitor, and boring impersonalized emails will have them wishing for a more sincere choice of communication. Take charge of your online presence and use recruitment marketing to build a reputation that will make heads turn. 2019 is your year, and talent engagement is your secret route to success (psst- no one else has to know). Good luck!
About Talentera
We strive to build a top-class online recruitment solution that will help organizations from every discipline to recruit smarter, faster and easier. A product of Bayt.com, which leads the job site market in the Middle East region, we are privileged to have served thousands of employers of every shape and size in the region and it is this 14 years of rich online recruitment experience that we have poured into Talentera.
If you’d like to speak with an expert to learn how Talentera can improve your company’s recruiting processes, please get in touch.
