Did you know? Employee turnover can cost companies 6 to 9 months of an employee’s salary to find and train their replacement. According to a report by SHRM, the costs for highly trained positions can be even higher, up to 213% of the annual salary. Efficient hiring not only saves significant costs but also prevents the loss of productivity and morale. We’re all seeking top talent and ideal candidates to fill roles, making it important to prioritise effective hiring practices.

Recruitment campaigns achieve the most success when they combine targeted advertising and effective talent engagement strategies. These tactics save time and ensure that businesses make well-informed hiring decisions that stand the test of time. However, many businesses encounter challenges in this area, resulting in missed opportunities and decreased productivity. A well-honed recruitment process can help bridge this gap, and this is where talent engagement comes into play. By engaging potential candidates effectively, you can attract, select, and retain the right employees, thereby driving success and fostering growth.

 What is Talent Engagement?

Talent engagement goes beyond just advertising vacancies on job boards. It involves actively connecting with and evaluating potential candidates to find the right fit for your organisation. This includes:

• Attracting quality candidates
• Shortlisting & selection applicants
• Selecting hires who align with your organisation’s values and culture

This often includes in-depth assessments like behavioural interviews or skills tests to ensure a candidate’s fit with your organisation. By focusing on the most qualified candidates, you can save time and resources while increasing the likelihood of successful hires.

Why is Talent Engagement Important?

Effective talent engagement has numerous benefits:

• Cost Reduction: With the right support and tools, talent engagement can improve your recruitment ROI. A lengthy hiring process can mean losing top candidates. Efficient processes help you stay competitive.
• Employer of Choice: Engaging with your talent pool creates a positive candidate experience, enhancing your employer brand. A strong brand attracts more applicants, increasing your talent pool.
• Employee Longevity: Understanding a candidate’s goals and motivations helps determine their fit with your organisation, leading to higher engagement, productivity, and retention.
• Inclusivity: Crafting an inclusive hiring process free from bias ensures fair evaluations. For example, skills assessments provide accurate benchmarks for hiring decisions.

Talent Engagement Activities that Get Results

We asked our Talent Engagement team at Scout Talent to share their best tips and advice on how companies can excel in Talent Engagement. Here are seven actionable activities that can significantly impact your recruitment success:

1. Understand Your Ideal Candidate

Start with a detailed discussion to understand your vacancy and ideal candidate. This helps tailor your recruitment process to attract the right talent. At Scout Talent, this is the first step our team takes with our clients to ensure all information is accurately gathered and aligned with the specific needs and expectations of the role, setting a solid foundation for a successful recruitment campaign.

2. Craft a Custom Interview Guide

Develop a standardised interview guide to ensure consistency, fairness, and thoroughness. This approach helps evaluate candidates uniformly against your organisation’s needs and values, while also ensuring that all critical topics are covered during the interview process.

3. Stay Informed with a Recruitment CRM

Use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and Recruitment CRM for full visibility of all applications. This ensures a transparent and organised recruitment process that can keep recruiters, hiring managers, and other stakeholders up to date. According to recent research, 75% of recruiters use an ATS or similar tech-driven tool to review applicants and strengthen the overall candidate experience. For more insights on the benefits of an ATS, check out our blog on “Navigating HR Tech: ATS vs. HRIS – Finding the Right Fit for Your SMB’

4. Rating and Ranking Applicants

Back in step 1, you created an ideal candidate profile. In this step, you should evaluate candidates against that key selection criteria and rank them. This helps in making informed decisions about whom to advance to the next stage.  ATS software, like Scout Talent’s :Recruit supports you by giving you the option to automate the rating and ranking of candidates, helping you identify your ideal candidates faster.  You could also consider using AI-powered resume screening tools to analyse candidates based on relevant keywords, qualifications, and experiences. This enhances the accuracy and speed of identifying top candidates, allowing you to make informed decisions about whom to advance to the next stage.

5. Two-way Screening Interviews

Conduct efficient interviews with top candidates. Consider using video interviews preliminarily and in person for final round interviews. This saves time while still providing the opportunity to gain deeper insights into each candidate’s fit. Another approach to consider is using AI to standardise interview questions, which can help ensure consistency and fairness in the evaluation process.

6. Pre-employment Checks

Candidates who are aligned with your organisation’s culture and values are likely to be more productive, enjoy more job satisfaction, and have a longer tenure. Asking behavioural questions during the interview process, and implementing behavioural assessments as part of your process, can help you gain these important insights for fair and accurate shortlisting & selection. We offer a range of pre-employment checks through our marketplace of top-rated software providers.

7. Utilise Talent Pools

Leverage AI-powered search within your talent pools to quickly find candidates with the necessary skills and experience. Use Recruiment Marketing and Talent Pooling software (like Scout Talent’s :Engage) to send branded emails and maintain continuous engagement with both active and passive candidates, enhancing your employer brand and improving your recruitment efficiency.

By implementing these talent engagement activities, you can improve your recruitment process, enhance your employer brand, and ultimately secure the best candidates for your organisation.

Kickstart Your Talent Engagement Today

Scout Talent offers a strategic approach to hiring with targeted recruitment advertising and talent engagement activities. By partnering with our team of experts, you can enhance your hiring results without increasing the time to hire. If you’re looking for support in engaging top talent, get in touch with us today to learn more about our talent engagement solutions. By investing in effective advertising and engagement strategies, you can attract and retain highly qualified candidates, ultimately leading to better hiring outcomes.

Free Guide: A Deep Dive into Talent Engagement

We’re excited to announce a comprehensive guide on Talent Engagement. This guide delves deeper into the best practices for shortlisting & selection candidates, beyond just the interview. Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Multi-layered Talent Engagement Process: Learn how to capture comprehensive intel on candidates through behavioral and skills testing, additional screening steps, and observation.
• Three Levels of Appraisal: Discover how to assess candidates across appearance, skills and knowledge, and attitudes and motivations to ensure the best fit for your roles.
• Practical Tools and Tips: Gain access to practical tools and expert tips for conducting effective interviews, skills assessments, and behavioral testing.

Download this valuable resource that will empower you to make the right hiring decisions and enhance your recruitment process.