by Raghu Nandhan | Apr 16, 2020 | Blog, Company Insights
In today’s competitive talent market, attracting and retaining top performers is a crucial challenge for staffing agencies and businesses alike. Simply offering a decent salary is no longer enough. Discerning candidates are looking for a comprehensive work environment that fosters growth, purpose, and well-being. Understanding these deeper desires is key to crafting a compelling employer brand and attracting the best talent.
This blog delves into the evolving landscape of employee expectations, going beyond the traditional focus on salary to explore the factors that truly resonate with modern jobseekers. We’ll explore the rising importance of company culture, employee benefits, and a sense of purpose, all backed by data and actionable insights for staffing professionals.
The Evolving Landscape of Employee Expectations
A 2023 LinkedIn survey [Source: LinkedIn 2023 Global Talent Trends Report] revealed a significant shift in employee priorities. While competitive compensation remains important (72%), it’s no longer the sole deciding factor. Work-life balance (63%), career development opportunities (59%), and a company culture that aligns with personal values (58%) are all major considerations for today’s talent pool.
This shift is driven by several factors, including:
- Millennial and Gen Z dominance: These generations value purpose and personal growth alongside financial security.
- The rise of the remote work revolution: Location independence empowers employees to prioritize flexibility and well-being.
- The “Great Resignation”: Witnessing colleagues leave for better opportunities has emboldened employees to seek more fulfilling work experiences.
Company Culture: The Unsung Hero of Talent Acquisition
A strong company culture is no longer a perk; it’s a necessity. It defines the work environment, fostering collaboration, innovation, and employee engagement. A 2022 Deloitte report [Source: Deloitte Culture Deloitte 2022 Global Human Capital Trends report] found that companies with strong cultures experience 4x the average revenue growth. Here’s how to cultivate a winning culture:
- Core Values: Clearly define your company’s core values and ensure they permeate every aspect of the organization, from recruitment to leadership behaviors.
- Transparency and Communication: Foster open communication channels where employees feel heard and valued.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Create a welcoming and inclusive environment that celebrates differences and empowers all employees to thrive.
- Employee Recognition: Acknowledge and reward accomplishments to boost morale and promote a culture of appreciation.
Employee Benefits: Beyond the Basics
While competitive salaries are important, a comprehensive benefits package can significantly enhance your employer value proposition. Today’s candidates seek benefits that go beyond traditional health insurance, such as:
- Work-life balance initiatives: Offer flexible work arrangements, generous paid time off, and parental leave policies.
- Wellness programs: Invest in employee well-being with on-site fitness facilities, mental health resources, and financial wellness programs.
- Professional development opportunities: Provide opportunities for skill development through training programs, conferences, and tuition reimbursement.
- Social responsibility initiatives: Align with causes your employees care about to create a sense of purpose and social impact.
Aligning with Purpose: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle
Modern jobseekers crave a sense of purpose and meaning in their work. They want to feel like their contributions are making a difference. Here’s how to tap into this desire:
- Clearly articulate your company’s mission and vision: Showcase how your work contributes to a larger purpose.
- Empower employees to make a difference: Provide opportunities for employees to contribute their ideas and see the impact of their work.
- Volunteer opportunities: Partner with charitable organizations and encourage employee participation.
Conclusion: Building a Winning Employer Brand
By understanding the evolving needs of candidates and prioritizing company culture, employee benefits, and a sense of purpose, staffing agencies and businesses can position themselves as employer brands of choice. This comprehensive approach will attract top talent, boost employee engagement, and drive long-term success.
Staffing Agencies: Partnering for Success
Staffing agencies play a crucial role in helping businesses navigate this evolving landscape. Here’s how you can leverage these insights:
- Partner with companies: Collaborate with businesses to understand their unique culture and employee value proposition.
- Candidate screening: Go beyond skills to assess cultural fit and alignment with company values.
- Employer branding expertise: Help businesses develop a compelling employer brand that resonates with target candidates.
Remember, in today’s talent war, the companies that prioritize employee well-being, purpose, and a positive work environment will emerge victorious. By understanding these deeper desires, staffing agencies can position themselves as strategic partners, helping businesses attract and retain top talent in the long run.
For More information, follow or RPO Trends and Blogs. Contact Pragna Solutions for your RPO Recruiting needs.
by Raghu Nandhan | Apr 14, 2020 | Blog, Offshore recruiter, Recruitment Technology
The Internet along with other technologies has made remote working a reality for employees and has completely revised the way businesses operate in the today’s modern world. But this change is also one of our greatest competitive strength. We can hire talented people from any part of the world.
We live in a connected world so, connected that we don’t even need to leave our comfort zones and still get the work done on fingertips. Modern day jobseekers and businesses all over the world are adopting the same in the form of virtual teams.
So, before learning how to manage remote teams, let’s first understand what it is?
Virtual teams are teams entirely consist of remote workers. A virtual team is a group of individuals or employees who are geographically scattered across different locations locally or globally and different time zones sharing information and cooperating in real-time using various technology tools like online communication, cloud applications etc. Managing virtual teams has its own set of challenges and benefits, but overall the benefits outweigh the difficulties.
Here are 7 strategies on how you can manage your Remote Teams
Choose right communication tools for Remote Teams
Communication is one of the top challenges for remote teams. It requires a plan to drive it. Since teams aren’t together in a co-located office, everyone needs to be dynamic in creating a communication schedule. Discussion that takes place in an office can sometimes be immensely helpful and productive, generating new ideas that might not have come to light in another context. Email, in particular, is a solid tool for conversation, Skype or Google Hangouts are great for quick instant messaging.
Virtual phone systems centered on cloud technology can be used for quick calling and task management. Also, project management tools can help you keep your communication in a lot more organized manner and you can refer to it whenever you want. It also helps new people when they join, as they can refer to the previously discussed points. Also, using screen sharing tools like TeamViewer, join.me etc. comes handy when you want multiple people to see the same screen in real time.
Promote remote team building
Remote team building won’t happen naturally and it’s not an overnight process, it requires constant efforts on your part as a virtual team manager, also from your team members. Some easy ideas for team building are a daily video standup, a weekly meeting where the team can share about their personal life along with professional thoughts like what they did over the vacation or weekend. Additionally, setting professional goals contributes to being systematic and puts people in the right mindset.
Track working hours
In a flexible environment, it’s becomes difficult for a manager to actually find out how many hours team members are working or even if they are working at all. In this case you need to track work hours by using software to make sure that your team members are working on the tasks at hand, little software can help you see what projects are being working on, which websites team members are visiting, applications being used, and even time spent working and time on breaks in real time.
Make expectations clear
Simply telling verbally someone to do a task is usually not the best way to go about managing teams. Put your expectations into writing exactly what you expect from your virtual employees including work deadlines, work hours, availability, and response times. Also include small details that are specific to your business, which can cause trouble when working with virtual employees.
Build Trust
It is important for the executive team to cultivate and encourage an environment of trust and give team members the benefit of the doubt. This should go without saying. Leaders are still bringing the idea that remote work does not mean less work. Build trust in your colleague’s by giving them space to speak openly to discuss individual ideas without ridicule or judgment.
Employees should feel comfortable while having conversations where they can be honest and frank with each other as this will help build strong relationships, not matter which part of the globe they are located.
Over Communicate
More communication means more trust-building, fewer confusions and misunderstanding and better teamwork. Also, not to mention, it is one of the key components which adds to the broader success of the organization in long run. Effective communication can to solve the problem of many employees who feel isolated working outside the office.
The individual may overthink about the quality of their work judged or just feel out of the loop. While communication is essential for remote teams, overloaded information can quickly become a problem where no one understands anything.
Rewards & Recognition
Have you heard of the saying “no good deed should go unrewarded” Make sure you set up a reward system to keep your team motivated and it’s better to pinpoint the team members that can take on more responsibility. You do get up personally and praise your employees and probably pat on their back when they do something good. Remote employees work just as hard as employees based out at an office. And they need the occasional praises to stay motivated just as much, if not more.
With time, teams are becoming more and more spry and less constricted to a physical location. Managing a remote team is fun and challenging at the same time. Ultimately, it has proved to be rewarding for many companies across the globe. If you want to remember anything from this post, it is to bump in with your remote teams frequently, and make sure everyone gets the time they require. If you’re planning to build a virtual team, then keep the above tips in mind and arm the tools you need to be successful.
For more info, Contact Pragna Solutions for your RPO Recruiting needs.
by Raghu Nandhan | Apr 10, 2020 | Blog, Recruitment Technology
In today’s competitive talent landscape, social media sourcing has become an indispensable tool for staffing professionals. Beyond the traditional job boards, social media platforms offer a rich pool of passive candidates – highly skilled individuals who may not be actively searching for new opportunities but are open to the right fit. However, effectively navigating the vast social media landscape and identifying top talent can be a daunting task.
This blog post dives deep into the world of unique tools designed to supercharge your social media sourcing efforts. We’ll explore the five most transformative tools currently available, each offering distinct functionalities to help you find, connect with, and attract the perfect candidates. By incorporating these tools into your recruitment strategy, you’ll gain a significant edge in the race for top talent.
The Power of Social Media Sourcing: Numbers Don’t Lie
Before we delve into the toolbox, let’s solidify the importance of social media sourcing with some compelling statistics:
- LinkedIn alone boasts over 830 million professionals across the globe, representing a massive talent pool for recruiters [Source: LinkedIn].
- A 2023 study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) revealed that 87% of recruiters leverage social media for talent acquisition [Source: SHRM].
- Social media hires tend to be happier and stay longer with companies, with a retention rate that’s 50% higher than those sourced through traditional methods [Source: Business News Daily].
These figures paint a clear picture: social media sourcing is not a fad; it’s a cornerstone of modern recruitment. But with so much information scattered across various platforms, how do you find the needles in the haystack – the truly exceptional candidates who align perfectly with your needs?
Unlocking Hidden Gems: The Top 5 Social Media Sourcing Tools
Here’s where our arsenal of unique tools comes into play. Each offering a distinct advantage, these solutions will empower you to streamline your sourcing process, identify high-potential candidates, and build a robust talent pipeline.
1. Sourcing.io: The All-in-One Social Media Prospecting Platform
Sourcing.io goes beyond basic social media searches. This comprehensive platform empowers you to leverage advanced Boolean search queries across various social media channels and professional networks, including LinkedIn, GitHub, Twitter, and Stack Overflow.
Key Features:
- Multi-platform Search: Efficiently search across a vast social media landscape, saving you time and effort.
- Boolean Search Mastery: Craft powerful Boolean queries to pinpoint candidates with the exact skills and experience you require.
- Contact Enrichment: Uncover valuable contact information, such as email addresses, increasing your outreach opportunities.
- Candidate Engagement Tools: Streamline communication with potential hires through built-in messaging functionalities.
2. Hiretual: AI-Powered Candidate Matching for Hyper-Precision
Hiretual takes social media sourcing to the next level with the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This innovative platform utilizes machine learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of candidate data and identify individuals with a high degree of fit for your open positions.
Key Features:
- AI-Driven Matching: Leverage AI to pinpoint passive candidates who possess the specific skills and experience you seek.
- Automated Sourcing: Free yourself from tedious manual searches. Hiretual automates the process, suggesting relevant candidates based on your defined criteria.
- Data-Driven Insights: Gain valuable insights into candidate pools, allowing you to refine your recruitment strategies.
- Streamlined Workflow: Optimize your workflow by managing all candidate interactions within the Hiretual platform.
3. Crystal: Personality-Based Communication for Building Rapport
Crystal takes a unique approach to social media sourcing by focusing on building strong connections with potential candidates. This innovative tool analyzes publicly available online data to predict a person’s communication style and personality traits.
Key Features:
- Personality Insights: Gain insights into a candidate’s personality, enabling you to tailor your communication approach for greater engagement.
- Effective Communication: Craft personalized messages that resonate with each candidate, increasing your chances of building rapport.
- Improved Conversion Rates: By understanding communication preferences, you can personalize your outreach, leading to higher interview conversion rates.
- Building Relationships: Foster stronger connections with potential hires, leading to a more positive candidate experience.
4. Enlyft: Social Listening for Identifying Industry Influencers
Enlyft goes beyond traditional candidate sourcing. This powerful tool allows you to monitor social media conversations surrounding your industry, competitors, and relevant skills. By identifying key influencers and subject-matter experts, you can tap into a valuable network of potential candidates who are highly engaged in their field.
Key Features of Enlyft:
- Social Listening: Track industry trends, brand mentions, and conversations about specific skills and expertise.
- Influencer Identification: Discover key influencers and thought leaders within your industry who may be connected to top talent.
- Competitive Intelligence: Gain insights into your competitors’ recruitment strategies and the types of candidates they target.
- Community Building: Engage with industry influencers and participate in relevant conversations to build brand awareness and attract passive candidates.
Conclusion: Empowering Your Recruitment Strategy with Social Media Sourcing
The five tools explored in this blog post represent a powerful arsenal for staffing professionals. By incorporating these solutions into your recruitment strategy, you’ll gain a significant edge in attracting top talent within the vast social media landscape.
- Targeted Sourcing: Move beyond generic searches and pinpoint highly qualified candidates who possess the exact skills and experience you require.
- Streamlined Workflow: Automate tedious tasks and free up valuable time to focus on building relationships with potential hires.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Gain valuable insights into candidate pools and industry trends, allowing you to refine your recruitment strategies for maximum effectiveness.
- Building Relationships: Personalize your outreach and communication to foster stronger connections with potential candidates, leading to a more positive candidate experience.
At Pragna Solutions, we understand the power of social media sourcing in today’s competitive recruitment landscape. Our team of experienced recruiters leverages a combination of proven strategies and cutting-edge tools to identify top talent across various social media platforms. We partner with you to develop a comprehensive social media sourcing strategy that aligns with your specific needs and target audience.
Ready to unlock the hidden potential of social media sourcing? Contact Pragna Solutions today and let us help you build a robust talent pipeline filled with exceptional candidates.
by Raghu Nandhan | Apr 7, 2020 | Ace the Interview
Remote Interviews
With growing global health concerns regarding COVID-19, hundreds of companies have stopped their standard recruitment processes and opted for remote interviewing, sourcing, and screening. While this transition to remote interviews may not affect all stages of the candidate funnel, it does impact the candidate experience directly. It shows that you as company care for employee’s health and is top of game with the changes happening due to viral spread of coronavirus.
Not every role can be performed remotely, likewise not every candidate is suited for a remote work career. Conducting remote interviews may seem a bit stressful or scary if you’re new to it. Transitioning to an entirely virtual hiring process is not easy, also decision-making becomes critical as finding candidate’s interest levels in-person through signals like body language is tricky. These are few internal aspects to consider, but there are many other factors to check for like the candidate’s internet connection stability or candidate being familiar to tools which you will be utilizing to conduct interview.
If you have vigorous hiring targets to achieve this quarter, then don’t let this new trend-switch to remote work hold back your hiring efforts. Follow the below steps to stay on track and deliver the best candidate experience remote interviewing process.
Get hang of basic technical interviewing best practices
In today’s aggressive tech talent market, one blow or error during the process is enough to turn away interested candidates. While conducting remote interviews, it’s important that you are technically sound with basic technical interviewing practices. Being prepared for the remote interview not only guarantees the success of the interview, but it also ensures your candidate that you’re prioritizing their interest in working as a remote member of your company. Remember, the key to conducting remote interviews is your tech choices.
Use a skill’s assessment test before connecting
You don’t want to waste your time connecting to everyone and conducting interview for all the applicants. Especially for high volume roles, conducting a skills assessment test will filter the number of applicants and help you quickly choose applicants that should move on to the video interview stage.
Connect with the candidate
After filtering it time to connect with candidates, first thing to communicate them clearly whether the interview will be a phone or video interview. Make sure the candidate understands this because no one would like to log into the interview and find that it’s a video interview, when they thought it was only by phone. While interviewing remotely, you won’t get the opportunity to create an in-person connection with the candidate so, it’s crucial that you stay connected to the candidate throughout the interview process.
This is why it is so important to value remote communication tools, not only with your active remote employees but also during the interview process as well. Don’t just stick to one communication tools, be adapted with different tools. Also, make sure to send across any software needed, along with instructions on how to download and set up the program. Some common programs which can be used are Google Hangouts, Skype, and GoToMeeting.
Create a distraction free remote interviewing environment
During remote interviewing, don’t leave any space for interruptions. To prevent Wi-Fi failure, get an Ethernet cord and use a hardwired internet connection during interviews. To prevent any other online interruptions, put notifications from other apps on mute. Also, make sure that there is no source of bright light behind you, as it makes it difficult for you to be seen on camera. Even though you cannot control the candidate’s interview environment, it is considered best to email them prior, advising them on how to take the interview in a distraction-free environment with stable internet connection.
Practice makes man perfect
This is just not a saying, if you don’t have expertise hiring remote workers, there is a possibility of some bug fixing in your remote hiring. Make sure your interviewing program is working properly. Also test your microphone level to ensure you are heard. Prepare a few necessary interview question lists and run through them and practice it a few times.
Wrap it up
Working remote is exploding in popularity and now with the pandemic era it has become a necessity until things become normal. It is a proven fact that remote working boosts the flexibility and freedom of employees and employers alike. But learning how to steer through this new business model is difficult. Particularly, interviewing and hiring remote employees requires learning a new skill-set. Practicing the above discussed tips can help take your interviewing skills to the next level and put your best professional foot forward, and ultimately find the best candidate for your open position.
For more info, Contact Pragna Solutions for your all RPO Recruiting needs.
by Raghu Nandhan | Apr 7, 2020 | Blog, Company Insights
Most of the small business and start-ups don’t have time to focus their time and energy on employer branding. It is one of the most ignored and challenged that small businesses and start up face, as their journey of growth become competitive when they look out for high quality employees. Many of these small businesses and start-ups are struggling and competing to find the same talent as much larger and well established organizations.
Taking the time to build a solid employer branding and recruitment strategy can play a significant role in a start-up’s success. Did you know that 23% of start-ups fail due to not having the right team? With a strong employer brand, it will be much easier to attract and hire the best candidates, which substantially improve your business outcomes. Below are some reasons why you should build out your employer brand.
Define a clear mission
Before you’ll build an employer brand, you would like to understand what your company represents. This indicates that what you would like to convey to people looking for job and the stakeholders.
Creating a mission statement will connect your team and working toward one common goal also to attract jobseekers who believe in your objective or purpose. The core values of the company facilitate your team, understand the way to prioritize efforts and accomplish your mission. They’ll also additionally assist your team vet prospective candidates to envision if their values align with those of your team.
Both mission and core values are going to be guiding forces for your employer brand, thus it’s necessary to determine them early. Collect feedback from each one of your employee to make sure you’ve gained a majority of agreement on how each is defined. Share your finalized versions together with your entire team so they’re on board and well-prepared to support your efforts.
Define Your Company Culture
Company culture may be a bit harder to outline than your mission and values because there are many elements that make up culture. According to the study, 46% of candidates say that a company’s culture plays a very crucial role in their decision to even apply for a position; it’s in employer interest to refine and communicate culture in branding efforts.
Additionally, startup culture in and of itself is completely different from that of larger organizations. There are only a few hurdles between the C-suite and individual contributors, as a result of many of us are juggling multiple roles. Together, everybody plays an important role in creating the kind of company culture. For loads of jobseekers, the conventional startup mentality of work hard, play hard is what attracts them to younger, unsystematic companies.
There’s no right or wrong culture, however take the time to outline and define it. This might strengthen your company in the long term and assist you in creating an employer brand that draws precisely the sorts of people you would like to on board.
By communicating your company culture through your employer branding efforts, leads to attract candidates which will increase your company culture.
Promote Your Vision
People wish to be a part of the next great success of the company; but when you’re in the early stages, brand awareness will be an issue. It’s up to you to convey who you’re and how do you inspire jobseekers to apply for open roles.
Roll out your short term and long-term goals in your employer branding and make candidates to get thrilled joining the company and keep candidates in the loop once your team hits milestones and as new candidates are part of.
Remain Transparent
For many of the people, stepping into a startup is a daunting task. Because there may not be a guarantee of job security, also there could be expectations to spend long hours or the requirement to handle multiple projects.
Be honest and showcase this in branding materials and job descriptions on specifically what you would like and expect from the future staff. In this way, new hires won’t experience culture shock because of miscommunication during hiring process and eventually you’ll retain the good candidates that you put great efforts to attract.
Bring a light on the fun and wacky side of your culture and value proposition of employees by showcasing through photos of your team outings, workplace area and celebrations. Get folks excited once you reach milestones that bring you closer to achieving your mission.
Establish Your Employer Value Proposition
The employer value proposition (EVP), is analogous to the distinctive value proposition you utilize while pitching to customers and investors. The difference is that with an EVP you’re in fact that you concentrate on the employee experience, instead of the value of the product or service. Some startups will overpromise, which ends up in new hires leaving or quitting early, therefore try to avoid that.
Your value proposition could be different and that’s totally fine, just confirm that you’ve got one that’s well aligned together with your company.
Create a Strong Career Page
Potential candidates can review the website to make their decisions/choices; therefore, the startup has to make sure that it includes a solid career page. For example if we look at Slack’s career page is so great, however there are other examples from smaller, less popular firms you must look into it.
Building a better employer brand for startup takes time, however, if you focus to work on it.
At the beginning stage and when the cash flow starts, the company will be in a better position to attract right candidates who will help you to take your company to new heights.
These entire recommendations and suggestions are just the beginning as you begin to establish your employer branding. Creating a better environment that has potential to attract high level talent is an ongoing process, that needs a commitment throughout the organization.
