Why the human element is priority when hiring top talent

Staying human in an increasingly digital world should come first when recruiting talent

CEO of Ph.Creative, Bryan Adams, has reviewed the current digital trend of attracting top talent and highlights a few key factors in his article for Inc.com

Don’t ignore experience

Adams speaks about his business partner, Dave Hazlehurst, who is an employer-brand thought leader. He speaks at employer brand events around the world and so has some great insight on this subject.  The pair chat a lot about technology in the recruitment world, and, as Hazlehurst points out, “Technology, and big data, in particular, has hugely impacted the way we do business in the 21st Century, but what about the art? We can’t just ignore the subconscious know-how we’ve spent years refining through experience”.

Embrace the human algorithm

Of course, recruitment is ultimately about people and in todays world, technology must play its part. However, it shouldn’t overshadow the crucial part that culture fit and personality have to play in the talent attraction process.

A great read is the brilliant book by former Ferrari Formula One motor racing team boss Ross Brawn. Adams says in his review, those teams have incredible real-time analytics, not just at the race venue, but also real-time, big data beamed from a car driving at up to 200mph on a race track on one side of the globe to the race team’s headquarters in England. They have hundreds of incredibly smart people monitoring the data in real time. They provide insight and information for the team and the driver to adapt their strategy as the race unfolds.

But, as Dave pointed out, “That technology cannot feel, hear and see; you need all the senses of the driver. The driver feels first and thinks second. In the talent space, more and more digital analysis and analytics are being utilized, but we need to make sure the decisions we take around technology help us get closer to the candidate. Poor automation and execution make communication impersonal. It’s the ‘human algorithm’ that provides marginal gains. It gives a competitive advantage to business and talent attraction”.

Live your candidate’s journey

At Ph.Creative, they embrace technology and have a thirst for it. But they also have a passion for people first. This is why, more than ever before in recruitment marketing, we should be investing in understanding what makes people tick. This is where candidate experience and business strategy meet.

Having decided they needed to recruit for new team members, Ph.Creative treated themselves the way they treat their clients. They looked at the journey they ask candidates to take from the moment they first touch the brand; online or offline. By doing this, they gained invaluable insight into what they are feeling and thinking as they go through the process.

Work hard to find the best people for your business

The new Ph.Creative website has one message aimed clearly at attracting prospective talent. The delivery of that message includes a full interactive campaign. Visitors view a seven-minute film which showcases their creativity and brand values. They then take a cinematic culture quiz to help the firm to learn more about their personality and motivations. Plus, they’ve created an Instagram collage that shows glimpses of the film and their vision, as well as Facebook Live Photo and video ads targeted at the talent they want to find. This is what it takes to find the best people.

Staying human organically grows a fantastic, approachable culture with both the customers and employees always at its heart.

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The British Institute of Recruiters is the Professional Body operating The Recruitment Certification Scheme

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