What does recruiting mean?
The term recruiting, also known as staffing or personnel acquisition, describes the process of attracting and selecting suitable candidates for open positions in a company. This process covers several steps and methods. The aim is to make sure the company finds qualified and suitable employees. These employees should match the requirements of the position and the company culture. That means recruiting deals with the following aspects: determining needs, advertising the position, and identifying and approaching suitable candidates both passively and actively. It also covers application management, selecting candidates, negotiating the offer and onboarding.
Recruiting aims to find the right person for vacant positions. It is meant to reduce the cost and the time needed to fill positions. At the same time it is meant to support the company's growth. Successful recruiting has a positive influence on how attractive you are as an employer and encourages employee retention.
Digitalization in recruiting
Probably the biggest change in recruiting in recent years is the rise of digital measures in attracting employees. By now the majority of companies rely on purely digital recruiting. But what can digital recruiting actually look like?
Online job portals and career pages
Both employers and employees have benefited greatly in recent years from the growth of online job portals: in a few clicks, employees can get an overview of suitable vacancies. At the same time, employers can reach a considerably larger audience with their job ads. And with considerably less effort, too.
But positions are now advertised online not only on external portals. Many companies now have their own website, even when their service cannot be accessed online. It is also readily used to advertise vacancies. Under the “Careers” tab, interested candidates find an overview of all the company's job offers.
Social media recruiting
Another major achievement of digital recruiting is the conquest of social media platforms for attracting employees. Whether lifestyle platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, which tend to be used for entertainment. Or platforms such as LinkedIn and Xing, which were created specifically for employers and employees. Companies now present themselves here as well. Not only with an advertising aim, but also as an attractive employer.
Companies can present themselves here in two different ways: either purely “organically”, that is, with posts on their own profiles, which is 100% free of charge; or through paid ads. These paid ads can be tailored to certain target groups so that, ideally, they are only shown to relevant users.
Mobile recruiting
Mobile recruiting is about making application processes and the recruitment of employees possible on mobile devices too. These days we expect to be able to access every website perfectly on mobile as well. In private use, the laptop is hardly used any more. So application processes also have to be possible from a phone, so that everyone can access them.
Benefits of digital recruiting for SMEs
Digitalization in recruiting brings many benefits. A strong online presence does not only give employers the chance to reach a larger group of potential applicants. Employees can also form a picture of the company much more quickly. That way they can find out whether it suits them.
By using job portals, active job seekers can find your job ad quickly. They do not have to have known your company beforehand. With a good social media presence you can draw people's attention to you. That applies even if they are not actively looking right now. It works through both organic and paid posts. If you then also make the application process possible on a mobile device, candidates can apply from anywhere. That happens as soon as they see your job ad.
Innovative methods and technologies
Besides the digital presence of your job offers, there are other newer technologies as well. These can help you recruit new employees.
Artificial intelligence and automation
When it comes to artificial intelligence, a great deal has happened in recent years. You can use AI at various stages of your recruiting process. Starting with the wording of job ads, artificial intelligence can help you. It can word the text in an appealing way and tailor it to the target group. You can also use a chatbot on your website. It can answer potential applicants' questions about the application process and the company. This option can save you a lot of time. It is, however, somewhat more complex. Alternatively, you can also use artificial intelligence to automate the initial shortlisting of applicants. The artificial intelligence filters applications by qualification and picks out relevant applicants for you. Of course this option has its catches too. If you filter only by qualification, you may overlook motivated and capable applicants. These applicants may not have exactly the background you are looking for. Even so, they could be a good addition to your team. So be careful when using AI in your application process.
Video interviews
Since the coronavirus period in particular, we have grown more and more used to video conferences. You can put that to good use in recruiting too. Applicants in particular will be considerably more flexible about their availability. To get to know someone in the first place, a short conversation on platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams can be enough. Do you have the feeling that the applicant could be a good fit for your company? You can still invite them for a personal meeting on site.
Benefits of new technologies in recruiting for SMEs
Technologies such as online interviews and the automation of processes can support you a great deal in recruiting new employees. You save not only time but, in the long run, money too. By offering video interviews, you can choose between more applicants. Interviews are easier to arrange. Applicants can also attend them from other cities or during their lunch break.
Employer branding and employee retention
As part of recruiting, new trends such as employer branding and employee retention, known as retention management, should not be forgotten either. Employer branding is about building a strong employer brand in order to stand out as an attractive employer on the labour market. Good employer branding can increase the number of applicants. But employer branding also has a direct influence on retention management, that is, tying employees to the company. With certain measures you can make it more attractive for employees to stay with the company long term. That saves you time and money and allows you to stay competitive in the long run, even in a skilled labor shortage.
Find out more about employer branding and retention management.
Paula Menninghaus, co-founder of Strong Partners, describes just how strongly satisfied employees affect your own employer brand:
“If I feel good, if I am satisfied and say: ‘I have such a great employer, I am in such a cool company’ – then I am happy to recommend it to others. That is word of mouth, which is very, very important.” – Paula Menninghaus, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Strong Partners
In the podcast Paula takes the thought further: she explains why, as a customer herself, she prefers to buy from companies whose team visibly stands behind their own product – a principle that applies just as well to recruiting. More on this in the podcast episode “Angepackt”.
Conclusion
To sum up, it is crucial to use modern recruiting methods. That is how you can successfully master the challenges of the skilled labor shortage. Through digitalization in recruiting you reach potential candidates more broadly and more precisely. Online job portals, social media and mobile-optimised application processes offer you numerous options.
Innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and video interviews make the selection process more efficient and more personal. Employer branding likewise plays a central role. A strong employer brand, supported by good employee retention, can be decisive. Flexible working models and attractive additional benefits can help tie the best talent to your company in the long term.
It is essential that SMEs continuously adapt and improve their recruiting strategies. That is how you win young talent for your company. The targeted use of modern methods and technologies helps to overcome the current skilled labor shortage and to be prepared for the future.
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