Attracting Candidates by Design
National Public Radio recently published an article regarding what makes a workplace innovative. The author detailed what sets a Google or a Facebook apart from their competitors. It is not just the open atmosphere of their campus headquarters where games of volleyball, soccer, or Frisbee can break out over lunch, but a specific design of their offices to ensure interaction with employees across divisions and functions. This “serendipitous interaction” allows Google employees to learn by “interactions, collaborations, and fun,” and directly impacts the bottom line with Google being named the best place to work according to Fortune magazine for the past 2 years. Google “attracts some of the brightest minds and earns close to $1 million in revenue for every single person it employs.”
The talent market for IT professionals is in heavy demand coming out of the global recession and with the looming STEM talent gap, attracting and retaining IT talent can prove to be a significant challenge. Some larger players have even turned to purchasing entire start ups to gain access to their founders, engineers, and IT workers, a process referred to as acqui-hiring.
Small to mid size firms who do not possess the funds to acqui-hire will have to be strategic with their resources to remain competitive in this talent economy and must find ways not just to retain their top talent but also to continue to attract future talent. To be successful, firms will need to develop innovative and pragmatic strategies. Leaders can work to create and sustain their employer brand. While a business may not have the large funds of a Google or Facebook, a firm can position itself in the marketplace as different than its peers with some creativity. Firms can also use social media to their advantage to distinguish themselves from the competition. Resourceful leaders can tap into their own internal talent network and leverage the relationships and connections of their current employees.
Join HCI March 27, 2013 for the webcast Building Pipelines in a Competitive Talent Pool to learn which strategies have proven the most useful and hear some of the challenges and successes from thought leaders and practitioners in the field on this topic.