The recruiting landscape is tough right now. Employees are still leaving in droves, and uncertainty is rising in the HR community. Attracting and retaining new talent is more important now than ever before — but to get candidates you need to think outside the box.

Thinking like a potential employee is the key to recruiting and retaining the best. What are the perks of working for your company? How does your company look to outsiders? Where will a job with your organization take you? All of these thoughts and more will cross the minds of your candidates, and it’s up to you to answer them.

Here are 8 ways to attract top talent, and keep them around for the long haul.

Showcase your Brand

Your employer brand is the face you present to applicants and candidates. It’s your reputation, passed through the internet and word-of-mouth to the public, and it’s your organization in the minds of your current employees.

How your current workforce, especially those with the most experience, views you will in turn shape how new talent sees you. With that in mind, keeping your employees satisfied now will lead to high retention and hire rates. Once you’ve solidified that positive brand, be sure to advertise it and use it in your talent acquisition strategy.

Improve Your Benefits Package

If you want a stable and growing workforce, your employees need to feel stable themselves. A consistent, flexible benefits package can make employees feel safe and cared for. The costs of good benefits can seem high, but the resulting retention rates and large internal talent pool make it a good investment.

There are plenty of ways that you can improve your standing benefits. Here are a few of the most popular:

• Alter your PTO plan to be more flexible, or include more hours.
• Improve healthcare coverage, or reduce costs.
• Provide mental health support.
• Match retirement contribution

These are just a few of the employee perks that can not only attract top talent but also boost retention rates. Conducting research within your industry or asking for employee feedback can also help guide which benefits you should offer.

Create a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace

A diverse and inclusive workplace provides so many benefits—including enhanced productivity, increased revenue, and improved talent acquisition and retention. 

Candidates are looking for companies that value diversity and inclusion. This is a signifier of a compassionate, caring culture in which all employees can thrive. This also leads to better retention, as employees who feel respected, listened to, and cared for are far more likely to stay.

Provide Clear Growth Pathways

Feeling stuck in a position can be debilitating. Without an opportunity for a significant raise or a promotion, your workers are more likely to leave for greener pastures. In a ConsumerAffairs survey, the top reason employees left their position (49% of responders) was to seek better pay. 

Outlining exactly what warrants a promotion, and what steps need to be taken. Track the progress of individuals, and let them know when they’re doing a good job. These practices will nip that trapped feeling in the bud and give your employees a sense of purpose.

Reduce Hiring Restrictions

Struggling to bring in applicants? Review your job description. When looking to bring in top talent, employers will often push for job ads to ask for extra experience and proficiencies. For certain higher-level positions this might be necessary, but for the most part, delete those extra requirements. Doing so can reduce the risk of quality candidates not applying due to a lack of a few non-essential factors.

Adopt a Hybrid/Remote Workstyle

Flexibility is by far the most desired benefit among younger generations. According to an Apollo survey, 72% of IT and tech workers want to have the option to work from home. In industries where remote work is possible, this desire is quickly becoming the new norm. 

For positions that are able to be worked remotely, giving your workers the option to work from home can save you countless resources as well. Office costs will decrease, retention will increase, and productivity will get a notable boost. 

Connect with Passive Candidates

Employers that source entirely via job ads are missing out on a profitable resource — passive candidates. Reaching talent that isn’t actively seeking work can be difficult. They’re often not looking at job aggregators, nor are they sending out resumes. 

Oftentimes if your employer brand is strong enough, passive candidates may engage you on their own. If your reputation is still growing, looking on social media outlets and professional blogs can help you pin down top talent. Employee referral programs can also be an excellent source of passive talent.

Support Your Hiring Plan with AI Recruiting Tools

An applicant’s hiring experience can shape their opinion of your company. Receiving them gracefully and efficiently can make the difference between a new hire and a candidate ghosting you. AI recruitment tools can make the process clearer and more efficient for both candidates and your HR team. 

A good chatbot can take the strain off of your call centers while providing information in a clear manner. Top quality chatbots, like our own Wendy, can carry out conversations at a near-human level, while providing data and suggestions to your recruitment team. 

Job ad placement software finds the right job aggregators for your new ad and can help draw in candidates that meet your exact specifications. PandoExchange gives you access to a unique cluster of sites designed to drive candidate traffic to your listing. 

Attracting top talent using AI recruitment software should be quick and easy. PandoLogic’s toolbox is simple to use, yet complex in what it can accomplish. With a program for every stage of recruitment, our artificial intelligence will steer your recruitment process to success — all while staying within your budget.