6 Innovative Solutions for Attracting Talent

Building a team of qualified professionals is critical to long-term business success at any organization. However, in an increasingly competitive labor market, finding the right talent to fill skills gaps on your team is only a piece of the puzzle. Standing out from other organizations to attract top workers is just as important—if not more so.

Rather than simply posting open roles on job boards or your company website, now is the time to implement more innovative ways to attract talent. Consider testing creative recruitment methods and measuring the results of each to determine which solutions to keep in place long term.

Examples of innovative talent attraction solutions include:

1. Offer and promote workplace flexibility
2. Highlight awards and worker success stories
3. Launch creative social media campaigns
4. Drive applications with QR codes
5. Leverage AI to simplify the application process  
6. Engage and develop existing workers

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1. Offer and promote workplace flexibility

When the global pandemic hit in 2020, many organizations had to quickly make the switch to remote work. While nearly half of organizations plan to maintain some form of remote work in the next five years, the companies with return-to-office mandates in place have seen pushback from workers.

A survey from Clarify Capital of 1,005 remote workers found that 68% of respondents would rather look for a new job than return to the office. Additionally, 34% say it would take flexible working hours to return to the office.

Workers now recognize the benefits of increased workplace flexibility—including no commutes, improved work-life balance, and fewer distractions, to name a few—and don’t want to return to the old ways of working. Instead, they expect companies to trust them to drive business outcomes no matter where or when work gets done.

Promote flexible work options that your company offers through any channels where candidates may interact with your employer brand, such as job descriptions, your careers page, and social media posts. This can help your team engage talented workers who will only consider opportunities that support remote work and flexible schedules.

Another way your team can embrace workplace flexibility is by expanding your talent search beyond exclusively full-time, in-house candidates to include independent professionals. Our 2022 Freelance Forward survey reveals that 39% of the U.S. workforce completed independent work in the past year, an increase over the year prior. Tapping into the skills of independent workers can help expand your talent pool and reach individuals who desire increased autonomy and flexibility in their careers.

Related: Why Companies Are Using Freelancing Platforms To Find Remote Workers

2. Highlight awards and worker success stories

In addition to desiring flexibility, skilled professionals want to work for people-centric organizations where team members are valued. In fact, research from Glassdoor shows that 86% of workers and job seekers surveyed are likely to research company reviews and ratings when deciding where to apply.

Excite prospective team members about joining your team by highlighting why your company is a top place to work. For example, if specific individuals have uniquely grown and evolved in their careers with your organization, create written or video testimonials highlighting their success. Or, if you’ve won awards such as making a list of top local companies or best workplaces for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), formally announce the accolade and share it across your recruitment materials.    

Promote workplace awards accolades and team member testimonials across your recruitment assets, including:

• A dedicated careers page on your website
• The company blog
• Employer brand videos
• Social media posts
• Email newsletters to your candidate database
• Job advertisements
• Worker review websites
• Printed recruitment materials at career fairs  

3. Launch creative social media campaigns

A Content Stadium survey of 250 recruiting team members found that 96% of respondents use social media in their recruitment efforts, with the top goal being to increase the number of applications. At a minimum, most companies share links to their job openings on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. However, traditional job posts can easily get overlooked in social media feeds.

As younger generations in particular increasingly embrace social media, developing and launching creative social media campaigns can help your recruiting efforts stand out from other organizations looking to attract top talent.

One creative way to promote open roles and your overall company culture on social media is by sharing engaging videos across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. These videos can cover a wide range of topics, such as a day in the life at your company, worker testimonials, highlights from a recent team event, and job search tips directly from your recruiting team. Some companies are taking it a step further by engaging well-known social media influencers to record videos about why job seekers should join the team.

Tracking the latest social media trends and building an effective social media recruitment strategy requires careful consideration. If you’re looking to improve your social media recruiting efforts, consider enlisting the help of an independent social media specialist, who can help you embrace the latest channels and trends to attract qualified talent.

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4. Drive applications with QR codes

Most individuals today almost always have their mobile devices on hand. According to data from Appcast, 67% of job applications are completed via mobile device. Rather than exclusively trying to stand out when candidates are overwhelmed with options on a job board or other online sourcing channels, consider creating offline advertisements with links or QR codes pointing to your open roles.

By adding QR codes to physical advertisements, a prospective team member may come across your job openings when they least expect it—such as when they’re commuting to and from their current job—rather than when they’re scrolling through several pages on a job board. QR codes are also easily trackable, helping your team effectively measure which advertisements are driving the most traffic.  

Some ways to incorporate QR codes into your recruitment strategy include:

• Billboards
• Signage near high-traffic public transportation stops
• Magazine or newspaper advertisements
• A sticker on the window outside your place of business (if applicable)
• Recruitment assets at job fairs

Keep in mind, if your team encourages mobile applications using QR codes or any other method, keeping your applications short and concise is important. Requiring prospective team members to fill out too many fields on a mobile job application may turn away qualified talent.

5. Leverage AI to simplify the application process

Research from Appcast found that a staggering 92% of individuals who initially click “Apply” on a job never complete the application. A variety of factors can lead to candidates abandoning applications, including lengthy or time-consuming questions, a lack of options to apply on mobile, and candidates running into questions or frustrations with the process, among others.  

One way to simplify the application process and make it more engaging is by embracing artificial intelligence (AI) technology. More specifically, organizations are increasingly utilizing AI-powered chatbots and assistants to match individuals with jobs that align with their skills and experience, guide them through the application process, and answer questions along the way.

Some examples of chatbots and AI assistants designed specifically for recruiting include:

• Paradox. Olivia is a conversational recruiting solution offered by Paradox that helps improve candidate engagement and simplify hiring. Key features include instant job matching based on information shared during the chat conversation, text-to-apply capabilities to increase application conversions, and automated assessments to better understand candidates’ skills.
• Hirevue. An AI-powered recruiting assistant directs candidates to best-fit jobs and sends automated follow-up messages through text or WhatsApp to keep individuals updated on status and next steps. The assistant also automatically moves candidates forward in the applicant tracking system (ATS), saving recruiters time and supporting a streamlined experience.
• Phenom. An intelligent chatbot points candidates toward relevant job openings based on skills and location, and prescreens for specific qualifications. After individuals apply, the chatbot automates interview scheduling to eliminate time-consuming communication between recruiters and candidates.‍
• Jobvite. An AI-enabled chatbot supports text-to-apply options, asks candidates prescreening questions, and answers their specific inquiries about the application and hiring process. Throughout the process, intelligent messaging capabilities help recruiters automate candidate communication to improve candidate conversions.

6. Engage and develop existing workers

While a primary focus of recruitment is identifying and attracting new workers from outside the company, proactively engaging, developing, and retaining existing team members is just as important. Improving engagement and retention can help your team save on recruitment resources and costs that would otherwise be spent backfilling roles when team members leave.

As in-demand skills rapidly evolve, offering resources for your team to improve their skills and develop new ones can better position your business to adapt to changing business needs and priorities. In fact, research from TalentLMS and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) found that more than one in two companies surveyed are facing a skills gap, and half of them are addressing it by training existing employees.

In addition to ensuring your organization addresses skills gaps, offering development opportunities can also help with retaining current workers and attracting new ones. A report by The Conference Board found that 58% of professionals surveyed say they are likely to leave their company if they lack professional development resources. Additionally, research from the American Staffing Association found that 80% of employed U.S. adults consider a company’s professional development and training offerings an important consideration when accepting a new job.

Some ways to improve engagement and encourage development among existing team members include:

• Assigning stretch projects and experiential learning activities
• Encouraging cross-team collaboration
• Offering mentorship opportunities
• Granting access to online learning platforms
• Providing stipends for professional development events and courses
• Collecting and acting on team member feedback
• Recognizing and celebrating worker achievements  

Related: The Most Effective Talent Development Strategies

Partner with an expert recruiting specialist

In today’s competitive labor market, thinking outside the box and using innovative recruitment methods can help your organization more effectively attract top talent. Selecting and implementing creative recruiting solutions can take time and involve some experimentation to figure out which methods work best. Rather than managing the process on your own, consider partnering with a skilled recruiting specialist.  

Experienced independent recruiting professionals are available on Upwork to share the latest best practices based on their expertise. They can recommend innovative recruiting solutions that align with your business goals. Find the best independent recruiting specialists on Upwork today.

Project Catalog™ can simplify the process of engaging a skilled independent recruiting professional. Search for fixed-price projects or one-on-one consultations and select the option that works best for your recruiting needs. Get started—browse available talent acquisition and recruiting projects today.

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Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.