A COMPILATION OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE

RECRUITING STRATEGIES USED BY

LEADING FIRMSERE.net Webinar August 26, 2015

© Dr John Sullivan

49www.drjohnsullivan.com

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Introduction

Few put much effort into a strategy

What is the name of your recruiting strategy? Most don’t have a written strategic rec. plan (90%)Most can’t name their own recruiting strategyMost don’t communicate the strategy outside of

recruiting (To hiring managers and executives)Most don’t change resource allocations based on

their strategyFew measure whether the strategy is working or

whether another one is superior (improvement in the # of qualified

applications, on-the-job performance of new hires and hiring manager satisfaction)

Few shift the strategy with the economy

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Elements of a strategy

The 6 elements of a recruiting strategy? 1.Definition – a strategy is a long-term high-level

master theme or plan that focuses recruiting resources and actions under a single unifying purpose, goal or approach

2.It has strategic goals – measurable goals remind everyone what they’re supposed to focus on

3.It is longer-termed – rather than changing frequently, it stays the same unless there is a major change in the recruiting environment

4.It includes action plans – a plan, goals and a focus will have little impact if it is not accompanied with action plans for execution

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Definition

What is a strategy? 5. A competitive advantage – in order to win, it

must differ from the strategies used by your talent competitors. You should select a strategy that best counters your talent competition’s strategy

6. It is broader than a recruiting tool – the theme and focus of your strategy tells you which recruiting tools, sources or approaches to select

Recruiting strategy – target active jobseekersRecruiting tool – attend a job fair

Consequences

The consequences of no or a weak rec. strategyYou are less likely to reach your recruiting

goals… if your approach doesn’t “match” what the current marketplace for talent requires

You can go in the wrong direction with no focusYou will waste a large amount of recruiting $’sRecruiters will be frustrated without directionWhen there is a shift in the economy… or the

power of the recruiting relationship, you are likely to be caught unprepared

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What are the available recruiting strategies?

There are 36 major recruiting strategies19. A recruiting culture 20. “Best source” strategy 21. “Magnet hire” strategy22. Data-driven decision making23. Best benefits/best pay 24. Remote work/flexible scheduling 25. Emphasizing “the work” strategy26. Rely primarily on the product brand27. 100% employment branding strategy 28. Low wage, country specific hiring29. Flexible/contingent workforce 30. Hire for this and the next job 31. Technology substitutes 32. Prioritization of jobs based on impact33. Acqui-hiring34. Integrated Talent management 35. Hire to hurt/Hire to learn36. Poaching/Guerilla recruiting 8

1. Butts/ Bums in chairs 2. Entry-level skills/ hire at the bottom 3. Hire those that can do two jobs4. Hire the best and brightest 5. Hire for skills over experience 6. Hire for attitude, train for skills 7. College hires8. 100% active “they find us” strategy 9. 100% “passive” “we find you”10.Hire the entire team (lift outs)11. Purple squirrel/recruiting innovators 12.Best time/Counter cycle hiring 13.Pre-need/talent pipeline14.Social media recruiting 15.Personalized recruiting 16.All media approach 17.Talent communities 18.Find “their work” online (contests)

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I’ll now go through each of the recruiting strategies…

and I’ll provide details on the most innovative ones

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36 possible recruiting strategies… listed in 7 descriptive categories

Category #1 of the recruiting strategiesThe skills that you target

1. Butts in chairs

2. Entry-level skills/ hire at the bottom

3. Hire those that can do more than one job

4. Hire the best and brightest

5. Hire for skills over experience

6. Hire for attitude, train for skills

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Highlighting an innovative strategy

Hire for attitude, train for skills strategyGoal/purpose – when exceptional service is critical, you can’t easily change attitude. So hire those with a great service attitude and then train them on specific job skillsKey features:• Deemphasize experience, skills & education• Detailed assessment of a candidate’s attitude• Extended onboarding to double check attitude• Invest heavily in new hire training

Firms that have utilized it – Southwest Air, Zappos

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Category #2 of the recruiting strategies

The type of candidate that you target

1. 100% active “they find us” strategy

2. 100% “passive” “we find you” strategy

3. Hire the entire team (lift outs)

4. Purple squirrel / recruiting innovators

5. College hires (regular or remote)

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Highlighting an innovative strategy

Remote college hiring strategyGoal / purpose – because top talent don’t always go to “top universities”, recruit at “every university”. By utilizing remote sourcing and assessment tools and only invite the best to your headquarters.

Key features:• Find them using the Internet, contests & referrals • Utilize telephone and video interviews to assess• Sell them during a headquarters visit

Firms that have used it – Nestlé Purina

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Category #3 of the recruiting strategies

When to recruit 1. Best time / Counter cycle hiring

2. Pre-need / talent pipeline

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Highlighting an innovative strategy

Pre-need / talent pipeline strategyGoal / purpose – rather than JIT hiring for high-volume jobs, build a talent pool or pipeline. Continuously source and assess for minimum qualifications and then pull from that pipeline when a job opening occurs.Key features:• Keep in contact with “almost hired” candidates• Continuously source, assess interest & qualifications • Utilize the talent pool when an opening occursFirms that have used it – UBS bank, Red 5 Studios, and most consulting firms and executive search firms 

Create a “most wanted list” pipeline

Red 5 Studios identified “100 dream prospects”ID your “gamechangers” at the start of the yearThen develop an individual profile on each target

using social media and personal blogsRed 5 airmailed each one a free iPodThe message on each was personalized to the

prospect… complete with artistic packaging and a recorded message from their CEO

90 of 100 recipients responded (3)

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Category #4 of the recruiting strategies

A focus on a favored recruiting approach

1. A focus on social media

2. Personalized recruiting

3. All media approach

4. Talent and applicant communities

5. Find “their work” online

6. A recruiting culture

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Highlighting an innovative strategy

Find “their work” online strategyGoal / purpose – don’t rely on resumes and profiles, seek actual work examples/ideas. Get a sourcing advantage because many top people don’t post resumes and their work may be a better predictor.Key features:• As part of the referral program and their daily

activities, encourage employees to find great work • Hold Internet contests to find hidden talent• Search blogs and social media (GitHub, Pinterest)Firms that have used it – Most tech firms, Asana

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Highlighting an innovative strategy

A recruiting culture strategy (#1 most effective)Goal / purpose – rather than relying on recruiters, make every employee a Talent Scout. Key features:• Set the expectation for over 50% of hires from

employee referrals• Measure and reward referrals• Provide a toolkit to help employees find referrals

Firms that have used it – Google and Eaton

In a recruiting culture, everyone is a “talent hawk”

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Category #5 of the recruiting strategies

A focus on producing the best recruiting results

1. “Best source” strategy

2. “Magnet hire” strategy

3. Data-driven decision making

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Highlighting an innovative strategy

Data-driven decision making strategyGoal / purpose – rather than relying tradition and that instinct, use a data-driven approach to determine the best message channels, sources, interview approaches and recruiters.Key features:• Metrics ID the factors that predict on-the-job success• Metrics can ID what is not working• Metrics can influence managers to act correctly

Firms that have used it – Google and Tesla

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Learn from Google

Laszlo Bock VP at Google

Source: entelo.com using 1 million resumes

Anniversary date at 36 months

Anniversary date at 24 months

Anniversary date at 12 months

Waiting period

What causes these recent hire “turnover spikes”The intuitive approach would merely guess…

But the data-driven approach would know precisely why

When recent hires quit

Years at the firm

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Shift to data-driven decisions

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Source: Entelo 2015

Poaching seems even… until you add DecemberDuring what month should you start your sales recruiting efforts?

When do salespeople accept a new job?

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Category #6 of the recruiting strategies

Emphasize the firm’s primary attraction feature

1. Best benefits / best pay

2. Remote work / flexible scheduling

3. Rely primarily on the product brand

4. 100% employment branding strategy

5. Emphasizing “the work” strategy

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Highlighting an innovative strategy

Emphasizing “the work” strategyGoal / purpose – top performers and innovators are more concerned about “the work” that they’ll be doing, than working conditions. So focus recruiting messaging on “the work” that they will be doing.Key features:• Show them that others are already doing “the best

work of their life”• Reveal the significant impact that they will have

Firms that have used it – Apple and Facebook

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Category #7 of the recruiting strategies

A focus on business impacts 1. Low wage, country specific hiring2. Hire for this & the next job / growth hiring strategy 3. Technology substitutes 4. Acqui-hiring5. Integrated Talent management 6. Hire to hurt / Hire to learn7. Poaching / Guerilla recruiting 8. Agility / flexible / contingent workforce 9. Prioritization of jobs based on impact

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Highlighting an innovative strategy

Prioritizing jobs based on business impact strategyGoal / purpose – because all jobs when filled with a quality hire don’t have the same impact, identify the jobs with the highest business impact and focus your recruiting on them. Key features:• Identify mission-critical jobs• Work with the CFO to identify high-impact jobs• Poach high-impact talent from your competitors

Firms that have used it – Google, Uber and Agilent

The highest impact hires

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1. Sales manager (target the top at each of your primary competitors)2. Sales professionals (target the top at each of your primary competitors)3. Product development manager (target the most innovative firms)4. Product innovator and "idea person" at any competitor5. The GM of your competitor’s most profitable business unit6. Customer service managers from firms with high customer service ratings7. Market research managers at competitor’s that excel at market research 8. Brand managers at firms that have recently built or improved their brand 9. Director of advertising at competitors that excel at advertising 10.Supply chain manager from the most efficient competitors11.Logistics managers, especially the best from transportation companies 12.Chief technologist at industry leading firms 13.Leading social media expert in your industry14.Top safety/maintenance managers (especially in heavy

manufacturing/chemical)15.Partner relationship manager from firms that excel at building strategic

relationships

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The benchmark firms to learn from

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Firms with the most innovative recruiting strategies

• Google• US Army• Sodexo• CACI• Intuit• E&Y• Zappos• DaVita• Marriott• Facebook• Apple• Uber• Startups

Do we have time for more questions?

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Did I make you think?

JohnS@sfsu.edu or www.drjohnsullivan.com