Five creative ways to attract the best talent

Updated 13th November 2020

When recruiting a new permanent role, it goes without saying that if you’re looking for the best, you’ll probably need to go above and beyond to find them, let alone secure their interest and employ them. It’s also likely they already have a job, so what can you do to stand out? Where can you reach candidates who aren’t actively looking for a role? How does your employer branding stand out from the crowd, without costing the earth in marketing or advertising fees?

We reveal our five picks of our favourite creative recruitment strategies, and how looking beyond the realms of a traditional job ad might just pay off to attract the best candidates.

1. Use video

Rather than paying to develop recruitment videos, consider setting up an internal competition where employees compete to put together short, engaging films about why they love working for the business. It’s also quite likely you’ll see a number of surprising reasons as to why they enjoy working for you that you didn’t realise! Video can be an incredibly successful recruitment tool when used well. Post the best films on your own website and YouTube, and encourage your staff to share them on social media among their own networks.

2. Be honest

It pays to be transparent from the start. Test out some job ads that portray a genuine picture of what it’s like to work for you and, most importantly, what prospective employees will get out of working with you. Sir Ernest Shackleton made history when he led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. But he didn’t do it by promising candidates a great ride! By explaining honestly what was in store for his fellow explorers, he was able to successfully recruit candidates that were in it purely for the ‘honor and recognition in case of success’.

3. Ask for referrals immediately

If you have great people working with you already, there’s a high likelihood they also know great people. And there’s no better time to pique their interest with an incentivised referral scheme than at the start of their career with you. Ask new hires at the onboarding stage who they might know generally, as well as at their previous place of employment. Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) is an insurance company that boasts sourcing between 40 – 60 % of its employees via referral. This incredible figure is down to them asking for referrals within 30 days of hiring.

4. Go the extra mile

Sometimes it can take a great deal of persistence to get the right person. This was the case for Australian company Atlassian who, when faced with a shortage of Australian engineers, launched a campaign to ‘steal European geeks’ and relocate 15 developers to Sydney. Accompanied by a decked out bus, they hosted meetings and interviews across Europe, engaging candidates by encouraging them to track the bus’s progress and apply for a chance to move to Australia’s ‘Silicon Beach’.

5. Engage candidates in a different way

The element of surprise can be incredibly effective. The Swedish Army, as an example, launched a ‘Who cares?’ campaign by streaming an unusual social experiment to raise awareness of their brand and hire new recruits.

They placed a mysterious container in central Stockholm and asked a person inside every hour through a controlled airlock. With just a solitary chair in the room and no other information, this person could only leave the box if a total stranger was willing to exchange places with them for another hour.

The campaign was streamed online and picked up by social media. The result? With an initial target of 4300 applicants for 1430 positions, they were overwhelmed with 9930 applications!

While for some, the creativity of your recruitment campaigns might be bound by the willingness of your management teams, we’d encourage you to be bold. Take the time to think creatively!

Looking to recruit a new role? Get in touch with Tiger today. If you’re looking for top tips for hiring, our complete interview and selection guide for employers will help!

Author David Morel Tiger Recruitment Team