The past few years have brought major changes to the employment market. The number of open roles and widespread talent scarcity mean candidates have options – lots of them. And with so much competition for top talent, employers must create an attraction strategy that’ll allow them to make strong connections and stand out from competitors.
Throughout the recruitment process – from first contact to onboarding – applicants want good communication and a candidate-centric experience. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) can provide the expertise, processes, technology and focus to ensure you’re providing stellar services to prospective hires. Here’re six ways an RPO can help reduce attrition, retain the best candidates and reduce cost-per-hire:
1. Defining and creating compelling, tailored messaging
Tailored messaging is vital to grabbing candidates’ attention and keeping them engaged – beginning with defining exactly what the message will be for each segment of your target audience. For some audiences, the flexibility of working primarily from home to accommodate other life responsibilities might be key. For others, particularly younger generations, a diverse and inclusive culture and sense of purpose may be top of mind; who will I work with and what will we be achieving together? A full-spectrum RPO like Cielo has the analysis, research and employer branding capabilities to help you identify that messaging, develop it into compelling communications, and use it to create digital and person-to-person connections.
2. Delivering varied, engaging communication throughout the recruitment process
Keeping a candidate engaged begins with how you present yourself to the market. Every point at which a candidate interacts with your company is a chance for them to engage further – or drop away. It’s important to work with the employer brand team to deliver communications that give each individual relevant, engaging content. From videos of the candidate’s future team in action to podcasts providing thought leadership on key issues in your sector – giving a prospective employee content that stimulates, informs and delivers a sense of belonging will help reduce the number of dropouts. Cielo can help effectively deliver this messaging through a broad range of channels, using our advanced recruitment technology platform Cielo TalentCloud.
3. Developing a candidate-centric process that moves fast
In today’s competitive talent market, it’s more important than ever to deliver a candidate-centric process that’s simple, fast and clearly outlined from the outset. Companies that respect a candidate’s time will fare much better than those that waste it. An ideal process may include a mobile-friendly job application, no more than two interviews, and one assessment if needed. Having a minimal number of contacts is important too – with one case manager for each candidate. Cielo can work in true partnership with you to plan and deliver a rapid assessment process that drives momentum and enthusiasm, preventing competitors from offering jobs to the best talent before they complete your recruitment process.
4. Using the technology that suits your candidate
Agility is important when it comes to candidate-facing technology. Whether it’s email or via chat, being able to build – and respond to – a multi-channel conversation that suits the individual candidate is key. The Cielo TalentCloud platform provides smart technology that helps the candidate interact simply with tailored content, using the media that suits them best. Cielo TalentCloud can help move things forward in an integrated way at every step of the process. For example, it can manage video interview scheduling, allowing candidates to book themselves in a time slot that suits them – a system that makes life easier for candidates, hiring managers and recruiters alike. As an RPO, Cielo combines a high-tech, high-touch approach, where candidates receive unique interactions both in the digital arena and through direct one-to-one contact with sourcing experts.
5. Ensuring speed throughout the end-to-end process
An RPO can help plan the entire hiring process from defining messaging to engaging with the candidate and managing assessments. A guided partnership can ensure it plays out quickly and effectively, controlling timelines and supporting internal contacts to prevent delays and deliver a positive experience for everyone involved. From ensuring interviews are set up efficiently and answering candidate questions, to making sure contracts and offers are sent out promptly, an RPO will make sure the momentum never stalls. This can take a big burden off internal teams, freeing them to work on other key projects.
6. Using a dedicated preboarding team
Cielo has a dedicated preboarding team that ensures candidates stay engaged from verbal acceptance to start date via a welcome call to explain next steps and any preboarding activities. The team seamlessly guides candidates through the preboarding and compliance process, providing a single point of contact for candidate concerns up to and including their first day. For the client, this ensures a fully compliant, engaged candidate with minimal risk of withdrawal while also ensuring an exceptional candidate experience long after the verbal offer is extended.
An RPO can concentrate solely on sourcing, engagement and selection – which means faster delivery, more interaction and engagement, and real economies of scale. The result? More engaged candidates, who move rapidly from interested applicants to loyal and productive employees.
