Talent is the backbone of most companies today. Even with the surge in automation and AI, finding and retaining qualified people to help scale your business is more critical than ever, especially as professionals take on new and challenging roles.

Yet, almost half (46 percent) of HR leaders say recruiting is their top priority this year, and 36 percent say they don’t have the right resources.

Another reality is that Human Resources teams should never be the sole source of qualified candidates. Often start-ups don’t even yet have a dedicated HR professional. Additionally, VCs with skin in the game are vested in finding the right leadership and candidates to help scale their portfolio companies.

In other words, recruiting is now the responsibility of everyone involved as hiring allows companies to succeed.

But defining the “best” candidates for a role and ensuring you are sourcing, onboarding, and (most important) retaining them is challenging.

Five strategies are more critical now than ever before.

1. Refine Job Descriptions and Requirements

Although this may seem obvious, many hiring managers must spend more time on it. Crafting clear and compelling job descriptions helps leaders think about who they need to help scale a business, and the correct language can either attract or repel the best candidates.

Strike a balance between the must-haves and nice-to-haves. Reflect on what qualities your highest-performing employees have had in the past and apply that thinking to developing job descriptions. Solicit feedback from members of your team and trusted advisors.

Hard skills and soft skills are equally important. In other words, if someone is proficient in coding but doesn’t get along with other team members, that could present long-term challenges, especially in smaller companies. Start-ups often require a high level of flexibility and on-the-fly problem-solving with minimal resources. Make sure those attributes are factored into your job descriptions and are part of what you consider as you screen candidates.

Your job descriptions must attract a diverse applicant base. When you’re composing a job ad that the public will view, think about the words you’re using that may be a turn-off to specific age groups or types of people.

2. Build (and Communicate) a Strong Employer Brand

A whopping 88 percent of employees believe that company culture is critical to business success. Defining and showcasing that culture in your recruitment efforts is essential.

Poll your current employees about what makes your company great to work for and pay close attention to the comments you get on external employee review sites. Employee testimonials and success stories will always be more credible than the ad copy you generate yourself.

Study the companies heralded for having great cultures and learn from their brands. Look too at your competitors and craft a USP (unique selling proposition) that differentiates your company from others. Ensure your claims are credible and can be backed up by your leadership team's ongoing actions and behaviors.

3. Embrace Technology and Automation

Hiring and retaining talent is a very human process. But it can absolutely be accelerated and improved with the help of technology and automation.

Innovative companies are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) for candidate sourcing and screening. But beware of biases that may exclude qualified candidates.

When you create job descriptions, ensure they contain the specific skills you need for a particular role. If appropriately used, those keywords will open up a world of candidates you may have yet to find through traditional analog means.

Consider’s Generative AI content options for your email sequences can now include a concise job summary based on skills and qualifications that you include as a prompt. Simply copy-paste the important bullet points from your job description, such as skills and qualifications, as a prompt. With Gen AI, based on the input from your job description you can offer alternative variations for your talent outreach efforts.

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) will significantly simplify hiring because you won’t have to rely on your memory and records to review qualified job seekers.

Automation can also expedite interview scheduling and onboarding. The speed with which you can hire and onboard talent increases, resulting in faster contributions to your company’s growth.

And although technology can help you cast a vast net when hiring, some of the best referrals still come from people you know and people who may currently work for and with your company. That’s where Consider comes in.

4. Implement and Accelerate Employee Referral Programs

Asking current employees for recommendations has long been a great source of new hires that fit with your culture and already know something about your company. Innovative companies incentivize employees, vendors, and other strategic alliance partners for word-of-mouth referrals.

Consider has taken that concept and used the power of today’s technology to create a system that’s easy to use, integrated with other automation tools that your company may already use, and convenient for users.

• Slack integration means team members can use existing communication channels to refer qualified candidates.
• Aggregate your entire company's professional network into one search interface. Instantly find introduction paths to candidates through your colleagues. Automatically personalize your outreach by mentioning connected colleagues. Let the slack app collect referrals automatically for open positions.
• The people seeking talent get immediate notices via Slack about new referrals. You simply add high-potential candidates to the hiring workflow and track them through the process.
• Consider analyzes colleagues' connections, suggests good fits, and helps facilitate introductions. That means you get the best possible qualified candidates for consideration.
• As we’ve noted, hiring is a very human process. Consider’s system enables referring professionals to add personal notes for hiring managers and recruiters. 
• The more you know about a candidate, the faster and more accurate screening becomes. Consider profiles are compiled through multiple sources, including resumes, publications, and other public records. You can gain deep insights into each candidate’s skills, experiences, and achievements allowing a company to fill important roles quickly using your talent network. 
• Reaching out to potential candidates is a one-click process. You can create introduction and communication sequences for potential candidates. Potential employees look negatively at companies that “ghost” them through the hiring process, but you can use automation to preserve your business’ reputation by getting back to every candidate quickly.
• In the fast-paced world of talent acquisition, the ability to effectively reach potential candidates and engage them is crucial. However, the process of building compelling email sequences can often be repetitive, manual, and time-consuming. Consider's Gen AI Email Sequences and Personalization is a game-changing solution that not only streamlines the creation of email sequences but also enhances email effectiveness. 

Communication throughout the hiring process is critical to not only finding the right candidates but also to establishing your business as one that cares about prospective employees.

5. Tap Into a Network That Already Knows Your Company

Involving current employees in the referral process can lead to more highly-rated and diverse candidates. Stress the importance of creating a culture with a wide range of backgrounds and skills and enlist your team in creating that ecosystem. 

Employees who become a part of the referral and hiring process may be more welcoming to new team members. They feel a sense of empowerment and involvement. 

Recruiting becomes time- and resource-efficient when employees are involved. Rather than relying exclusively on external sourcing, you can drive costs down using an internal network expedited by technology. You can use some freed-up dollars for bigger salaries and/or bonuses for the people who refer ideal candidates.

Other Benefits to Consider 

Many qualified candidates may not be actively job hunting, or they may not want to put the time and energy into complex applications. 

The Consider system enables you to tap into this robust candidate pool. 

Industry associations and organizations can be another great source of candidates. Our system streamlines the communications with these groups and enables you to engage them in your search. It’s a win-win because these groups can add access to jobs as a benefit they offer members.

Additionally, the data you get via Consider helps you track and evaluate your entire candidate workflow.

Streamline and Automate YOUR Hiring Process

If you have an attractive and inclusive company culture and have mapped out clear job descriptions, automating and expanding your search process and engaging your current community in the search can help you make faster and better hires, unearthing talent you may not have found via traditional means.

Plus, when employees, industry associations, vendors, VCs, and other professionals are involved in the hiring process, they are more likely to be invested in your company’s success. And that, in turn, will help build a better culture!

Schedule your demo of Consider and efficiently and rapidly tap into tomorrow’s talent today.