How to Engage Passive Candidates:Practical Tips

Finding and recruiting top talent in today’s competitive job market can be challenging. Passive candidates, i.e., those not actively pursuing new employment opportunities, can be a valuable resource for companies seeking to hire the most qualified candidates. So how to engage passive candidates?

Below are practical steps to engage passive candidates and increase your chances of attracting top talent:

Step 1: Define your Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

How to find passive candidates? To answer this, first, you may define your employer’s value proposition and value. Your EVP represents the unique benefits and values your organization offers to its employees, setting you apart from your competitors. To effectively define your EVP, consider these practical tips:

• Identify and highlight your organization’s strengths
• Highlight your organization’s mission and core values
• Emphasize possibilities for professional development
• Showcase inclusion and diversity

Remember, an effective EVP resonates with potential candidates and convinces them that your organization is the ideal place for their professional growth.

Step 2: Showcase your Company Culture

Finding an excellent passive candidate is essential, but getting them to connect with your company’s values and understand who you are is equally important. This is where your employment branding plays its role. Candidates want to work in an environment that shares their values and offers a positive and welcoming workplace culture. To do this, take advantage of whatever resources your business has available: current employees, social media channels, engagement programs, etc.

So how to recruit passive candidates by showing your company culture? Here’s a starter list for you to consider:

• Encourage staff members to share and spread the message
• Utilize the endorsements and success stories of employees
• Make sure to improve your business’s online presence
• Highlight your values and mission statements
• Deploy employee engagement programs
• Display a culture of open and transparent communication

By effectively showcasing your company culture, you can develop a captivating story that appeals to passive prospects and establishes your firm as a desirable workplace.

Step 3: Encourage Employees to be Brand’s Ambassadors

It’s incredible how many businesses don’t leverage networks that are already available to them. Encouraging employees to be brand ambassadors is a powerful strategy to engage passive candidates and enhance your employer’s brand. The more people vote for you, the more you validate your brand.

Here’s how to attract passive candidates via your brand:

Employee awards and recognition

Recognize and honor staff members who actively uphold the company’s principles and brand. To recognize their contributions, utilize staff recognition programs, rewards, or a dedicated “Brand Ambassador of the Month” award.

Employee referral programs

According to research by FirstBird, The average retention rate for companies implementing an employee referral program is 46%, much higher than 33% for those relying solely on online employment boards. So don’t hesitate to create a robust program that rewards staff for referring qualified prospects. Also, offer attractive rewards for successful referrals, such as cash bonuses, additional vacation days, or exclusive company perks.

If you’re still new to an employee referral program, it’s essential to start learning about the Pros & Cons of Employee Referral right away.

Provide shareable contents

Make it simple for workers to share information connected to your business by giving them pre-approved, shareable resources like articles, videos, and infographics. Encourage them to distribute this content on their social media accounts.

You can expand the influence and reach of your passive employers by cultivating a workplace culture where staff members feel inspired and equipped to serve as brand ambassadors. Remember that motivated employees are more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth and attract talented passive candidates to your organization.

Step 4: Create Compelling Employer Branding Content

Creating compelling employer branding content is a potent recruitment marketing tactic for interacting with passive job searchers. According to studies, 92% of customers appreciate business advertisements that seem like stories.

For instance, a day-in-the-life story from one of your employees may emphasize your workplace culture. Recognizing deserving employees on social media can demonstrate your dedication to your staff. These kinds of storytelling techniques pique the interest of unresponsive or passive applicants and persuade them to learn more about your business.

When creating employer branding content, consider these aspects:

• Recognize your target market: Shape your materials to meet their interests and desires.
• Tell authentic stories: Share real experiences from your staff to give readers a true sense of who you are as a company.
• Utilize various content types: Try out several content types, including podcasts, blog articles, videos, infographics, and social media postings.
• Include visuals and multimedia: To improve the visual appeal of your material, include eye-catching images, graphics, and videos.

Step 5: Engage in Thought Leadership

Since passive prospects are less likely to reach out to you about job openings, developing innovative strategies to draw them in is crucial. Making a solid impression by delivering thought leadership may help people find your business. Instead of simply advertising jobs, show candidates that your business can provide them with profound professional and educational value.

The best candidates may be considering a career transition but not actively searching for work. Your thought leadership peaks their interest enough that they get moving. Here’s how to reach out to passive candidates by using thought leadership:

Produce helpful content

Create enlightening and educational material that discusses business problems, gives sound advice, and suggests original solutions. Engaging candidates with helpful expertise and showing them some long-term career appeal.

Participate in industry conversations

Engage in dialogues about your sector on social media, business forums, and professional networks. Actively participate in conversations about your expertise to showcase your thought leadership and gain visibility among passive candidates.

Collaborate with industry influencers

Identify these people and look for ways to collaborate. Participate in collaborative webinars or podcasts, guest blog on their platforms, or support their thought leadership programs. In partnering with influencers, show candidates that your business is an ideal place for them to develop their professional careers.

Step 6: Optimize your Online Presence

The use of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to engage with passive applicants is highly recommended. According to a Pew Research study, more than 70% of Americans are engaged on at least one social media network, including both active and passive job searchers. The more people that see your job ad, the more probable it is that you’ll find, attract, and recruit the best candidate.

Among numerous rising social networks, choosing the right recruitment platform is crucial. Explore  Post A Job to get the talent you need!

Also, here are some practical tips to optimize your online presence:

• Ensure your company website is visually appealing, user-friendly, and provides comprehensive information about your organization.
• Engage with online communities.
• Pay attention to online reviews and feedback about your organization on platforms such as Glassdoor.

Step 7: Prioritize Candidate Experience

Prioritizing positive candidate experience is essential to engage passive candidates and attract top talent. Here are several tips you may consider:

• Clear and transparent communication: Provide the job title, goals, salary and deadlines, so prospects know what to expect from the start.
• Streamline the application process: Make the process of applying simple and easy to use.
• Offer a positive interview experience: Interview candidates respectfully and be punctual. Give them a chance to show off their skills and ask questions about the job and the company.
• Provide timely feedback: Give prospects fast and helpful feedback after interviews or tests.
• Gather candidate feedback: Use polls or ask for feedback during the interview to learn more about their experience applying for a job at your company. Use this feedback to improve your hiring process. 

Step 8: Encourage Employee Testimonials and Reviews

When you create a culture that values and celebrates employee feedback, you can collect real, exciting stories that will connect with potential candidates.

Give your workers channels and incentives to talk about their experiences, and then share them on your website and social media. Stress how important it is that the recommendations are genuine and honest and encourage workers to talk about both the good things and the areas of improvement. These recommendations are helpful for idle candidates because they give them factual information about your company’s culture, work environment, and job prospects.

Using employee reviews and recommendations, you can draw top talent and show that your company is a good workplace.

The Final Words

Engaging passive candidates requires a planned and proactive strategy centered on establishing powerful employer branding and forging deep relationships.

Remember, effective communication is a journey that calls for constant work and dedication. If you want to find expert assistance in optimizing the candidate pipeline, Boulo Solutions can help. We provide a distinctive approach by supplying experienced candidates with over 10 years of experience.

Post a job now and let Boulo guide you to a successful hiring experience.