4 Strategies for Recruiting Top Talent and Creating a Desirable Workplace

Scott Wall, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at NTT DATA, unpacks four strategies that businesses should implement to increase their appeal to a talented and broader pool of candidates, underpinned by the importance of establishing an inclusive and diverse workplace.

In today’s competitive job market, appealing to top talent requires a holistic and multifaceted approach that prioritizes creating and promoting a desirable workplace. By promising continuous learning and professional development, embracing diversity and leveraging technology, businesses can foster an attractive working environment and build a thriving workforce around it.

Commitment to training and development

One of the most attractive qualities of a workplace is its commitment to the growth and development of its employees. In fact, 88% of Indian workers see upskilling as integral to career growth, highlighting how the need for continuous learning opportunities is deemed crucial by prospective employees.

Training and development schemes come in various shapes and sizes, from mentorship and online courses to skills workshops and sessions by subject matter experts. These initiatives go a long way in reassuring potential hires that a company wants to play a proactive role in fostering their career and preparing them for future advancement opportunities.

Organizations that invest in well-designed and individually tailored training programs demonstrate their dedication to equip their employees with the skills needed to handle their responsibilities and perform well within their role. More importantly, these commitments set businesses apart in the eyes of prospective employees, demonstrating that their potential future employers value them and are willing to invest in their professional growth.

Not only does a comprehensive training and development program make a business more appealing during the recruitment process, it also enhances the financial health and productivity of a business. Offering employees upskilling opportunities allows companies to attract top talent into the organization and create a more industrious environment, boosting retention and driving business growth.

Inclusivity: Making work flexible

In a post-pandemic world, the modern workforce values flexibility and work-life integration more than ever. 77% of recruiting professionals state that adopting a hybrid working model, which allows employees to choose whether to work in office or remotely, has had a positive impact on their organization, allowing them to appeal to more applicants, diversify the talent pool and improve their overall brand image.

Inclusivity and flexible working go hand-in-hand as offering flexibility demonstrates a business’ understanding of employees’ personal needs and their willingness to accommodate it. For example, flexible working removes certain barriers that persons with disabilities often face when securing and retaining jobs. Creating an environment where individuals can choose their own working hours and locations allows persons with disabilities to manage symptomatic periods of the day or schedule a doctor’s appointment without having to take time out of the working day. For those who use a wheelchair or experience some level of immobility, it also gives them the option to commute in less busy periods of the day.

Flexible working arrangements are also incredibly beneficial for women. 80% of working women in India take career breaks, usually due to childcare and other caring responsibilities. Offering flexible working to female candidates, who either have families or wish to in the future, reassures them that they will be able to balance childcare obligations with their career commitments.

By valuing everyone’s unique needs, organizations create a more desirable workplace that epitomizes higher job satisfaction, increased productivity and stronger employee loyalty.

Diversify your team: Skills-based hiring

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plays a crucial role in an organization’s success in creating a working environment that appeals to top talent.

80% of recruiting professionals said that their organizations are committed to creating a more diverse workforce in a 2024 survey. Businesses should be looking towards adopting a skills-based approach to hiring, in turn, embedding DEI into their recruitment processes. Skills-based hiring assesses and selects future employees based on their skillset rather than their experience. Alongside exemplifying an inclusive recruitment strategy, this approach can expand talent pools tenfold and subsequently increase diversity. For instance, in jobs where women are underrepresented, a skills-based approach to recruitment can boost the proportion of women in candidate pools by 24% more than it would for men.

Businesses that take proactive steps to embed DEI into their recruitment practises attract a diverse talent pool and create a workplace built on varied perspectives, resulting in better decision-making and innovative solutions.

Leveraging technology in recruitment

Digital transformation championed by artificial intelligence also presents an invaluable opportunity for organizations to cultivate an inclusive hiring process.

The integration of AI into recruitment not only speeds up the process, but also makes it more inclusive for a broader pool of candidates. This is because AI-driven tools can mitigate human bias by focusing on a candidate’s competencies rather than identifiers such as education, gender or name.

AI can also help organizations streamline workflows and increase efficiency, with 57% of recruiters claiming that AI makes it faster and easier to write job descriptions. However, while advances in technology offer many benefits, it is important not to not let it displace personal engagement with candidates. 45% recruiters report that generative AI allows them to automate certain tasks, giving them more time to spend time on more fulfilling work, such as initiating meaningful interactions with potential hires.

Recruitment best practices

Implementing an effective set of recruitment strategies and DEI policies enables businesses to cultivate work environments that maximize the skills and capabilities of every employee.

From offering tailored training and flexible working to mitigating bias during the recruitment process, organizations that truly value their employees can successfully position themselves as an attractive workplace for their current and prospective employees.

Stay tuned, to PropleManager.co.in for further updates on the evolving workplace paradigm.