Hiring in today's extremely tight labor market requires creativity. Companies are offering new benefits, focusing on those who aren't looking for work, emphasizing diversity and rewarding their own employees for helping bring in new workers.
One lesson is clear: Recruiting the way companies have done in the past no longer works when businesses are competing for and seemingly swapping the same talent, according to Tracy Bruckschen, director of talent acquisition at Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America.
"How do you differentiate yourself as an employer of choice to recruit passive talent into your organization? The keys are going to be successful networking, creative sourcing and doing some creative things such as enhanced employee-referral bonuses for hard-to-fill or key roles," Bruckschen said.
Allianz Life has added a dedicated "sourcer" role that focuses on finding diverse hires, Bruckschen said. It has enhanced mental health and family-planning benefits. And it has instituted increased referral bonuses.
"Every employee in the organization should be constantly recruiting," Bruckschen said.
Stressful events of the last two years — from a global pandemic and a racial reckoning to remote working and disrupted schedules — have changed what employees want. While many seek a more flexible schedule with at least some time out of the office, few workers want a job with no "face time," said John Kammeyer-Mueller, an industrial relations professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.
"They want a mix of the two, and employers seem to be adapting to that," Kammeyer-Mueller said. "They're working to provide that kind of flexibility because that's the only way they're able to hold onto people."
Doherty, the Employment Experts, a three-time Top Workplace, has doubled referral bonuses in recent years, added an on-demand virtual-fitness application for employees, and begun helping workers pay down student loan principal, according to CEO Valerie Doherty.
