Nontraditional approaches help reach new talent and employees

As we settle into the new year and start planning for the springtime, many businesses may look to start recruiting new talent - especially upcoming college graduates. We all have the traditional go-tos: career fairs, job boards and hoping somebody finds the posting hidden on your company’s website.

With unemployment being so low in our state - at about 4.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - it may be difficult for companies looking to recruit to find the candidates they need.

Which means it’s time for employers to get creative. Need ideas? Here are some nontraditional ways to reach new talent and employees in the greater Lasing region.

One way to reach new talent is to leverage your organization’s social media presence. Do this by utilizing your organization’s Facebook and LinkedIn accounts to share positions that may be listed on your website, or consider even posting them directly to these social media sites. To learn more, check out my previous column from last fall on how social media can help your company in its recruiting process.

Pure Michigan Talent Connect is another digital tool many employers may not be using… yet. It’s a free job posting site, located at mitalent.org, which is great in and of itself. But one of the lesser known and used aspects of PMTC is the job seeker search function. According to Business Services Manager Teri Sand, many employers post, but don’t use the search function to seek out candidates of all levels.

Another method to search for talent, is to utilize your current employees network with an employee referral program. According to CareerBuilder, 82% of employers claimed employee referrals have the best return on investment during a talent search, compared to other recruitment tactics. And it makes sense — who’s better to find new talent, than the ones who are on the ground, immersed in the culture and doing the work every day? One such successful and local example of this is Dart Container, which has a formal program by which current employees can refer (and be rewarded for retention of) potential new employees. Additionally, Dart encourages current employee retention by making internal positions well known and easy to apply.

While a formal referral program is powerful, you can also make it less formal. Often, one of the reasons people don’t share their passion and excitement about their jobs on social media is simply because they don’t want to say the wrong thing. Make it known that employees are encouraged to share job postings and openings, especially from the company social media channels. Take away the fear, and encourage them to help expand your reach.

At Capital Area Michigan Works!, our Business Services Team works to customize and implement a recruitment strategy to attract top talent. We utilize our network of partners and resources to make sure your job openings are reaching the right talent to help your company succeed.

One of the resources at CAMW! that’ll help reach new talent in Lansing, are our employer of the day events. These events allow representatives from a company to come to one or more of our American Job Centers and share their open positions with job seekers. You can use this time and exposure however you like, but many employers have been known to conduct on-site interviews or join us for several days in a row to reach more candidates.

As we continue on further into the new year and closer to the spring, consider a few nontraditional ways to reach new candidates. It might just land you your next star team member.

Reach out to Sand at tsand@camw.net or 517-492-5516 today if you’re interested in trying out something new to reach qualified candidates.

Edythe Copeland is the CEO of Capital Area Michigan Works! Visit www.camw.org to connect with the Capital Area Michigan Works! team for assistance with career exploration or staffing needs. Capital Area Michigan Works!, a proud partner of the American Job Center Network, offers services in Ingham, Clinton and Eaton counties at our Lansing, St. Johns and Charlotte American Job Centers.