Today’s demand for IT talent runs deep, but the related pool of options is shallow, said Kim Miner, a talent and leadership effectiveness expert who shared tips on recruiting and maintaining talent during the IT Services and Support Community meeting, held Tuesday as part of CompTIA’s Annual Member Meeting in Florida.
“There’s a war for talent,” said Miner, and it’s crucial for companies to develop rallying cries to recruit the right people. To attract quality talent, an organization must develop a compelling brand and differentiate itself from the competition.
Know Yourself First
Top employees have their pick of companies, so organizations need to identify what they stand for and the value they offer potential employees.Craft and use a recruiting statement to attract eyeballs, and keeping that message short and to the point, she said. “In an age of text messages and Twitter, you can send out five paragraphs,” she said.
It’s also important for organizations to broaden their recruiting sources. Over the last four years, recruitment on social media has grown 73 percent. The young talent most companies are seeking live on social media, and that’s where you have to go to recruit the best talent.
When she joined Brother Americas, Miner had $10,000 in her budget for new talent recruitment — money that might have traditionally gone to updating the corporate web portal or offering referral bonuses. Instead, she put her entire budget toward LinkedIn because company portals should be used to present the employee brand rather than simply post open positions.
Tips to Successful Recruiting
Miner shared several key tips for HR in their recruitment process.
- Define a customized recruiting pitch and reach out to candidates early on.
- Engage employees and understanding multiple generations. For the first time in history, we have four generations in the workforce, she said, and millennials are driving dramatic change in the consumer marketplace.
- Once you’ve got the right people on board, give them the opportunity to keep growing. Organizations must provide ongoing development and learning opportunities to sustain that.
Miner also stressed the importance of asking employees to share their ideas and to always be authentic.
“The war on talent can be won,” she said, but you must understand your enemy and the battleground on which you are fighting. Top companies are trying to recruit top talent, and to wrestle some of those folks into your own stable, you must develop and execute a solid battle plan, celebrate your victories and continue to strengthen your troops.
Preston Grisham is CompTIA’s senior manager for public policy and public sector communications.
