Why best-fit is the only fit for recruitment

Riccardo Galli

The majority of today’s job seekers comprise talented twenty-somethings with an eye for perks, a need for adventure and an understanding of technology.

Although businesses may easily hire them, these digital natives are often difficult to retain.

To avoid being left behind by employees for new opportunities elsewhere, businesses have to truly dig deep to understand today’s job seekers and their drivers in order to secure and nurture the next big talent. Integrity and transparency are the only way to assure the right candidate is walking through your door because they believe in your company’s vision.

Socialising your market

There is a new trend for projecting a vision and ethos, which includes creating captivating video content and engaging via social platforms to promote that content and ultimately find the best possible fit for an organisation. Video plays an important role in seeking out Millennials, as this is often their first ‘go to’ source for information.

Companies are getting wise to the need for creative visuals that have the ability to be shown across various platforms to a wide group of individuals. One example of many is JP Morgan, which recently shared its use of SnapChat as a recruitment tool for young talent. This shows just how important social media is to this generation and should be a fundamental cornerstone in any efforts to recruit the best fitting talent who share the company’s vision.

Increasing retention rates

Generation Y are interested in changing the world – they want to be part of brands with vision, innovation and ambition – and as a result they aren’t afraid of changing direction for the ‘right’ company.

This is where it becomes important for recruiters to avoid gaining a ‘quick hit’ by simply filling roles with any candidate. The approach has to be focused on the right candidate for the right job and the best way we can do this is to be transparent with our offering. More than two-thirds (67%) of employers believe retention rates would be higher if candidates had a clearer picture of what to expect about working at the company before taking the job (Harris Interactive Survey for Glassdoor, 2014).

We know that even after having explored companies, it is hard to understand whether someone’s skill set is the ‘best-fit’. We use machine learning-based technology that learns from recruiters’ behaviour and can advise on relevant job-opportunities for which they are likely to be shortlisted for, saving time and effort. Additionally, utilising multimedia to provide invaluable insight into a brand is a fundamental part of being transparent. Through honestly showcasing opportunity, companies can only attract the best talent for the job, increasing reliability and retention.

All mobile everything

According to the Pew Research Center, more than half of 18–29 year old job seekers have used their smartphone to job hunt and less than 40% of Millennials reported using a traditional job board, according to Jobvite data. Technology is the first step to attracting the right talent and is a real challenge for companies that want to appear as being smart and attractive to future employees. For these companies, It becomes crucial for them to have a company page that is mobile responsive.

However, just being mobile-ready is not enough. Companies must also maintain the social elements of their business if they are looking to attract Millennials. Social networks are one of the most important sources for job seekers and employers need to invest in generating attractive content that is both mobile responsive and socially engaging.

Avoiding location

Digital connectivity and social communication tools have allowed today’s workforce to attain mobility and flexibility without losing touch. As a result, today’s workers are more fluid, less location-based and ready to take on the right opportunity. We try to encourage job seekers to be brave, and consider jobs abroad, because the job that can best nurture your talent may not be near home. This is why you cannot choose ‘where’ you may be searching for a job.

In order to attract talent that is ultimately going to be professionally and personally satisfied, that talent must feel like they are working towards a mutual goal, and as if they are contributing to a joint vision of the company. To do this, companies must think about their message, their vision, their attitude towards employees, and then communicate why people should join their team. When it comes to recruiting digital natives, it is essentially about the ‘cause’ that they will help to direct. Experiencing a potential role or company in a truly immersive way is the key to finding the cause that best-fits the candidate.

Riccardo Galli is Co-founder and CEO of Meritocracy