In the race to attract the best staff and accumulate a talent pool ready to fill any immediate gaps at short notice, more and more employers are turning to non-traditional recruitment channels. The fastest growing and most effective of these channels is social media.

Social media recruitment is an example of agile HR management. Maximising social media engagement and staff referrals will let you continuously seek new talent. Managed well, it can help you create a more powerful brand presence as an employer and a smooth onboarding experience for employees.

With 1.3 billion active users, Facebook is still the world’s largest social network, but Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are all growing faster.

69% of Australians use social media on a regular basis and if you’re looking to attract new recruits under the age of 30 you’ll probably find most of them on Facebook or Twitter.

This is especially important for industries with high turnover or peak seasonal demand – such as hospitality and retail. Using social media to promote your job listings gives you access to the ‘passive market’ – those already in employment , who aren’t likely to stumble across your ad or get in touch with a recruitment agency, but are regularly engaging with social media.

Build your social presence and be part of the conversation

Before you first meet a good candidate, it’s likely they will have done some homework. They will research your culture, work environment, benefits and look for stories about the people within your business.

If you use social channels to create a consistent and attractive story about your business, you’re more likely to attract the best people and they’ll be better prepared for their new role.

Encourage your current employees to share their stories and experiences on your company Facebook page, for example, post videos, blogs, photos and other content that will attract and engage both customers and staff.

Create a social referral network

When your staff share your job posts with their personal networks, you’ll have a much better chance of attracting the right people, with the best cultural fit.

Data from the US job market indicates employee referrals have the highest applicant to hire conversional rate, and will begin work quicker – saving you valuable time.

They also have greater job satisfaction – 46% stay for more than a year. Given the average number of friends or followers Australians aged 20 to 29 have is 489, you’re likely to be able to reach large numbers of prospective staff quickly.

It’s also a much less expensive to recruit this way, you can create incentives to reward staff for taking the initiative. That’s a win-win formula for everyone. Everyone in your business can play a recruitment role, you just need to empower them to do so.

Simplify your talent ‘supply chain’

One of the biggest business benefits of social media recruitment compared with traditional recruitment, using agencies and paid online job listings, is how cost-effective it can be.

Use a free jobs board such as Employment Hero and you can easily share new vacancies through your company social channels and with your staff.

By always having your recruitment switched on through social media, you can be more responsive and resilient, no matter what opportunities or challenges your business faces.

In conclusion, below are the top four tips for smarter recruitment:

1. Be authentic

To build your network and your social brand presence, you need to have genuine conversations and share interesting stories.

2. Be consistent

Social recruitment doesn’t need to end when the candidate accepts the job offer. Think about how you can use social channels to improve on-boarding and communication.

3. Turn your staff into brand ambassadors

Improve the speed to start date and the success of hiring by encouraging your staff to put the word out through their own networks. And make sure you reward their efforts with a ‘finders fee’ or bonus. By eliminating recruitment overheads such as agency fees and advertising costs, you’ll find the cost-per-hire rate is dramatically reduced.

4. Get Help

If you are not social media savvy, do not simply neglect to engage in that medium. With the help of an experienced HR consultant you can outsource the stress and difficulty of the entire requirement process.

At Brainbox HR we offer comprehensive and customised workshops and coaching programs to help you through the entire recruiting process. From selection to appointment we provide targeted packages including interview skills and techniques to ensure you find the right people.

Contact Brainbox today to start receiving first class support and workable solutions for all business challenges.