Inbound Recruiting, the methodology that attracts talent

Nowadays, things move more quickly than ever, people are better prepared, and competitiveness between companies is intense. In the current landscape, the traditional way of recruiting employees – contacting them one by one or publishing general job offers – is no longer enough.

Apart from the time and resources they consume, traditional hiring processes do not guarantee that the ideal candidate will answer your call. It is therefore hardly surprising that many companies struggle to find qualified employees.

This is where Inbound Recruiting as a methodology to attract talent emerges. One of any company’s main goals is to integrate the most qualified candidates in their work teams, and this revolutionary approach makes it easier to continuously attract the perfect candidates; candidates who will make the difference in a company’s business.

After this introduction, you may be wondering what Inbound Recruiting is exactly. This advanced recruiting methodology starts by placing the focus on the candidate and adapting the strategy to the status quo.

The Inbound Recruiting technique focuses on attracting the most suitable talent for your company by arousing the candidates’ interest in the company in order to hire them at the right time.

Wages and working conditions are no longer the most important thing to employees. People who are really involved in their jobs also want to feel motivated and that they are part of something they believe in – and this is what will provide more value to your business. It’s not only about the titles and qualifications your candidates possess, but about their true involvement in what you do together.

The main features of the Inbound Recruiting methodology, which will allow you to capture the ideal staff for your company, are very specific and guarantee positive results. Here is an overview of these features:

The techniques of the Inbound Recruiting methodology are completely focused on the candidate applying for the job. The company takes care of generating empathy and creating the most attractive environment possible, thus arousing the interest of possible candidates.

During the process, the candidate must always feel comfortable, motivated, and valued, so that their desire to get the job goes beyond simply being hired; they are choosing your company because it is your company, and because they really want to be involved with it.

That is the key of the Inbound Recruiting methodology: being interested in the candidate so that the candidate is interested in you.

Nowadays, sitting and waiting for the ideal candidate to knock on your door is a pipe dream. There are a huge amount of offers and people have many options to choose from.

It is paramount to use social networks and to create a job portal on the company website, where visitors and potential candidates can register. In short, it is important to consider the online brand. In order to get the people you are looking for to register – and to filter out uninteresting candidates – everything must be designed with your ideal candidate in mind: the registration page, the forms, the promo videos, etc.

But first, we must define the ideal candidate’s features and skills. This is what we call the “candidate persona”. It involves developing an outline of the perfect candidate for each recruitment process, and it is extremely effective. During this exercise, we must bear in mind that diversity boosts innovation. For example, if we recruit clones (a very common mistake), we will end up with working teams in which all members think the same. For this reason, we recommend recruiting people with their skills and potential in mind, and not just their experience.

Implementing the Inbound Recruiting strategy attracts the appropriate talent and engages the most suitable candidates according to what each company needs at the time.

This allows companies to hire people in a smart way and makes it easier to hire and subsequently onboard the ideal candidate in their job.

Once a company applies and uses the Inbound Recruiting system, expenses can be reduced by up to 85% compared to traditional recruiting systems. And the result also maximizes the ability to hire the right people.

As we have already mentioned, social networks are an endless source of possible candidates. Not only do they enable you to find people who know your company through what you share, but they also allow you to track their profiles.

Inbound Recruiting uses channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram in the most efficient way and, thanks to candidate segmentation, the process is far more satisfactory for both parties.

Stages of Inbound Recruiting

All these features unleash all their potential during the four stages of Inbound Recruiting:

After this, you should ask yourself the following questions: What makes your company different from the rest? What growth opportunities are you offering your employees? What makes the ideal candidate want to work with you and not with the competition?

Giving these questions your best answer is also important for arousing the genuine interest of that ideal candidate you are looking for.

You don’t know where to start? It’s very easy.

Have a look at our recruitment software and devote your time to continued growth while we help you find the ideal candidate.

Five examples of effective Inbound Recruiting

The Inbound Recruiting methodology has been being developed for many years in countries such as USA and some European countries, primarily Germany and France.

Large companies’ success stories confirm the effectiveness of this recruiting system, which will undoubtedly be one of the key things that will make companies stand out.

US giant Google is known for its innovative techniques, also with regard to its employees. Inbound Recruiting is one of the secrets of its exceptionally astonishing growth.

Google creates empathy and has developed an image that leads employees to contact the HR department without prompting. Also, employees have their own voice, contributing what they think needs to be implemented (with regard to working hours, atmosphere, activities, etc.).

This case is a great example of keeping the employees’ interest by focusing on their comfort and motivation.

French chain Decathlon provides an example of how a company grow when it recognizes the limitations of the traditional system in time and switches to the Inbound Recruiting methodology.

Every time there was a job opening in the past, the HR team had to perform a slow and costly selection of every CV they received, which did not always come from candidates who were suitable for the positions.

By digitalizing and automating a large part of the process using the Inbound Recruiting techniques, Decathlon created a segmented database with the best possible candidates, which they could access when needed.

Apple is another good example proving the effectiveness of creating an extremely attractive brand image and applying Inbound Recruiting to attract qualified staff.

They obviously get the best talent. They offer an attractive job website and forms, as well as motivating each employee and helping them progress in their career.

A few years ago, this well-known fast food chain decided to change both its image and its strategy. They changed their corporate colour from red to green and started focusing on offering a very positive image of the company as a workplace where employees can grow professionally, by implementing the Inbound Recruiting strategy.

Through their “three F’s” (Family/Friendly, Flexibility and Future) McDonald’s presents itself as a company worth applying for a job in, with internal promotion possibilities, flexible working hours and a focus on each candidate’s personal motivation.

Not only does this latest generation of car brand invest in the most advanced technologies, but it also applies this to all areas in the company. They have, of course, also applied the Inbound Recruiting methodology in HR.

With well-established and very well-advertised corporate values, working for Tesla is a dream for many people. This fact allows the company to capture and onboard the best talent.

Through the “Working at Tesla” section on their website, they openly share with their candidates how the company works and what they can expect working at Tesla. That enables them to generate a great deal of empathy and conversions.

These big corporations can serve as an example to any company. Regardless of size, a company that uses traditional recruiting methods is using human, financial and time resources that are not adapted to the current situation and increasingly show their shortfall.

The Inbound Recruiting methodology is therefore suitable for any company that wants to grow, as it can be used to attract, involve, and hire ideal candidates. This provides undeniable value in building the company’s success.

If you would like to learn more about recruitment processes based on this and other ground-breaking methodologies, visit our recruiting portal. Here you will find interesting resources, such as a guide to boost resilience or a comprehensive checklist for recruiting technology buyers. Always learning with Cornerstone.

This blog was orgininally published in the Cornerstone Spanish blog.