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Make recruiting a process that is structure and tracked
What would you think of a farmer who decided to skip all the plowing and sowing and jump right into harvesting? You’d think the farmer was deluded and crazy? How can a crop be harvested if the seeds were never sown? How can crops grow if the soil isn’t plowed and watered? It would be insanity to think a farmer could go straight to harvest without doing all the things necessary to cultivate their crop.
This is how many organizations approach recruiting. They have a critical opening and suddenly they want to harvest top talent. Like the farmer they too need to cultivate the talent pool and sow their employment brand long before they start to harvest. This means that recruiting has to be a process that is incorporated into the overall company culture . It has to be an ongoing activity that is measured and tuned.
Here are some simple ways high performing organizations sow seeds and cultivate a healthy crop of top talent:
- Promote their company as a highly desired place to work
- Create relationships with potential employees as early as high school
- Advertise their jobs to attract top talent rather than screen out applicants
- Profile key jobs
- Establish an ongoing relationship with a niche search firm
Of course, there are variables specific to every organization. But the faster companies begin to cultivate their talent pool, the faster they’ll have the right people to hire.
The Strategic Employer 