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January 25, 2018

How to Improve Your Acquisition Efficiency in 3 Simple Steps

improve acquisition efficiency

It seems like everyone has the best new idea for talent acquisition.

And while we’re big believers in getting creative with your TA strategy, even the shiniest coat of paint can’t repair a broken foundation. Before you rush into the next big thing, follow these 3 simple steps to make sure your acquisition process is as productive as can be.

Step 1: Do More of What Works

Host a webinar, then advertise it on Facebook! Set up your brand new Snapchat account! Get your interns posting to Insta 3x per day!

Sound familiar?

Of course, talent acquisition on social networks is important. But these channels should never replace your existing best sources of talent (unless your existing best sources of talent aren’t actually all that great).

For example, if you’re already bringing in great talent via your website, focus on strengthening your brand message and improving the applicant experience there first. Start by improving your web content and use a chat tool to ask and answer key applicant questions. Later you can use that info to engage in a more relevant conversation with the lead.

(Already a Breezy user? Use our Hello 👋 Messenger to spark a conversation with potential candidates, even when you’re not around.)

Don’t get us wrong, we love social recruiting. But the truth is, you don’t have to be in all the places at once. First, get your best acquisition channels ticking like a Swiss 🕑, then start experimenting with social to see which networks work best for your company and the kind of talent you want to attract.

Step 2: Get Your People in the Game

We know you’ve heard this one before, but your current employees really are your best recruiters. Even if you’re not getting a ton of referrals at your doorstep, involving your people in the acquisition process can go a long way in making it better and faster. 👌

Join forces with your team leaders and hiring managers to get on the same page about what it is that really brings in the talent. What factors can make a ho-hum job description stellar? What did your new hires love (or not love) about their experience with the company? How and where did your star performers find you?

The median tenure for workers age 25 to 34 is only 3.2 years and employee engagement is at an all-time low. Why not hit two birds by engaging your current top performers in the process of bringing in your future top performers? You might just end up with happier employees who stick around longer.

Step 3: Smash the Bottlenecks

Is there anything worse than a stalled project?

A truly efficient recruitment strategy means you’ll never have to press pause on your business. But take note, the operative word there is efficient.

By its very nature, talent acquisition is a process that requires multiple cooks in the kitchen. 😬

But that doesn’t mean you have to be stepping on each other’s toes or letting applications go cold. Gather all your HR peeps, hiring managers, recruiters, payroll, and anyone else with a stake in the process, and get clear on who does what in talent acquisition.

Who should spend the most time reviewing applications? Who shouldn’t? What exactly do you need from each person at each stage of the process? Make sure no step is being duplicated or overlooked. ✔

Find places where you can easily remove the constraints and get back to hiring. For example, instead of using multiple meetings or emails (which are sometimes worse) to discuss an applicant, set up a dedicated Slack channel to share feedback in one central location. (Of course, if you’re a Breezy user, you already have your very own channel built in 🙌).

Most of the time, any holdup — however big or small — can be eliminated with a simple 2mm change in the process. 🎉

Want to see how a great recruiting tool can save you days in time lost on internal meetings?