Hiring will resume. Is your candidate pipeline in place?

As states are beginning the process of reopening, certain business sectors will come back to life quickly— and smart companies are building their pipeline of candidates now in order to meet the demand. While we are all preparing for the unforeseen “new normal,” it follows that every organization and industry will face unique circumstances and thus will have different hiring needs. Life will come back online, and when it does, companies need to be prepared to hire. NAS would like to offer a few thoughts to help you develop your hiring strategy and streamline the pipeline-building process.

Assess your needs. You need to take both a pragmatic and holistic approach in determining your hiring needs. What are your intentions? Do you need to hire ASAP, in planned stages or just consider candidates for future needs when the timing is right for your company? Whatever your particular situation, you still need to have a solid candidate pipeline in place.

Timing is everything. Determine the “message” you plan to go to market with, as well as the appropriate timing for sending out communications. In order to expedite the re-staffing process, it makes sense that you’ll probably want to reach out to your database of laid off or furloughed employees first with “welcome back” job offers and messaging. The onboarding process will also move much faster with rehires. If you plan to open up hiring on a wider scale, it is key to leverage your brand now.

Brand exposure is vital. Although the world is in a holding pattern and we’re all holding our breath, now is not the time for your company to go silent. In fact, now more than ever, candidates need to know who you are and see that you are active and engaged. Your outreach efforts will clearly indicate that you’re planning for the future, and this will serve to keep your organization top of mind with candidates.

Given your organization’s specific timing and budget considerations, there are many recruitment marketing and communications options to consider. A few strategies to build your pipeline now include:

• Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even Snapchat). Social media marketing is a great way to spread the word and are popular mediums at this moment as people are reaching out and connecting with one another on a highly personal level. As a fluid medium, social engagement will also serve your company well in leading into what’s next for us all. With a social media campaign, you can target certain individuals by geographic location, as well as through their likes, interests and behaviors on specific platforms.
• Programmatic media buying is an ideal option to manage and target active job seekers. It allows you to sponsor, set bids and budgets for your sponsored jobs and see rich analytics on your job’s performance. Through targeted bidding, your jobs will find the right candidates – giving you more ROI, insight into the performance of your job postings and intelligence for future strategy. NAS has its own proprietary programmatic marketing platform called MediaPro, as well as in-house experts on staff to help you navigate the process.
• Google PPC can help you to pinpoint and hone in on targeted audiences, attract them in a passive manner and then support your candidate sourcing effort with a landing page with a properly aligned message you are conveying.
• Indeed Targeted Ads appeal to people across many occupations and also offer the option to target very specific audiences, locations and industries.
• Text and email marketing – quick, but frequent, reminders will no doubt serve as an excellent method in communicating with desired audiences. NAS offers ACTIVATE™ , which includes a marketing outreach platform designed to send emails and texts to your opt-in candidates, either as individual messages or as part of timed campaigns with tiered messaging. A key advantage of this tool also features a landing page with option to include a data capture form, thus allowing you to build a pipeline of engaged candidates eager to hear from you. It also provides a way for candidates to respond quickly – and your recruiters to follow up just as fast.

Revisit your ERP. Word of mouth speaks volumes, and people are likely to trust their own circle of friends and colleagues. Once your company reopens, you may wish to implement an Employee Referral Program or reinvigorate your existing program with new messaging. Get your current employees behind your hiring efforts so they can pass the word to those that may be in need of employment and match the culture of your organization. Again, this presents a great opportunity to build your pipeline of candidates.

Recruiters and Hiring Managers must get involved by pushing communications to every channel, network, list of leads/candidates, past applicants, former employees (the latter two will require personalized messaging directed to the specific audience), Talent Networks, industry organizations and groups they belong to, etc. There are many channels for outreach, and your hiring team needs to be actively engaged in the process. Speaking of which, you may also wish to consider an expedited hiring process. If your business is in need of help and needs to hire quickly, it follows that the typical hiring timeline should be streamlined to fill the need.

Consider targeting remote workers, particularly if your company’s “new normal” allows for off-site opportunities in the future, whether on a full-time, part-time or contract basis.

Don’t shy away from the truth. Don’t be afraid to address the current state of matters in your messaging; namely, how your company was affected by COVID-19, where you are hiring and how you are moving forward in your efforts to repopulate your workforce.

We are all making adjustments to make life work in the best ways we can, now and in the future. And we will get back to some semblance of normalcy. Contact NAS and let us help you determine your best media strategy, craft your messaging and ensure that your candidate pipeline is ready to roll when the time comes.

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