Recruiting the best people for your organisation can be a tough gig. The landscape has never been more competitive, so it makes sense to tap into all the potential resources you can to find that next great employee. Well, your best recruitment asset might the one that you hadn't even considered or aren’t leveraging to full capacity – your employees.

It makes sense when you think about it.  Your employees know your organisation better than anyone, between them they have access to an expansive network of like-minded individuals, and by involving them you can foster a more collaborative team environment. Plus, according to these stats compiled by Glassdoor they may be the most trusted source of information about your company for potential new recruits:

●      Around 70% of Millennials say they hear about companies through friends and job boards

●      Employees rank as the most trusted influencers when communicating about their company's engagement and integrity

●      Content provided by employees is trusted by 52% of people

Here’s how you can involve your current employees in attracting staff that are a great fit for your organisation, creating a collaborative culture in the process!

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Social media

Your company may already have a presence on social media but collectively your employees have access to many more potential employees than you likely have following your company pages. When you’re looking for new staff, ask your existing employees to share your posts and mention your organisation on social media. It’s essentially “online word of mouth” and word of mouth is the best form of marketing.

Employee stories

Content that is created by or centred around your employees can also be an effective tool in attracting new talent to your organisation. Create blogs and videos that tell authentic stories about your culture. Your employees will become your best brand advocates.

Personal interests

A great way to target candidates is to research your current employees, bringing the insight you’ve gained about their habits and interests together with your recruiting strategy. For example, Facebook has lots of niche groups that you can tap into, or you can use demographics and interests as a way to target your online job ads to the right audience.

Events and conferences

Your staff likely often attend industry events and conferences so task them with keeping a lookout for individuals who might be a good fit for your organisation. It helps if your employees are also across your current vacancies, so make sure your current opportunities are visible internally too.

Incentives

Incentives, like a referral bonus program, can also help motivate employees to refer their peers. Seems like a fair reward for the time and resources they’re saving you.

Shereen Mathew, Director at Digital Affair believes in the power of your employees as a recruitment tool.

“We sometimes forget that we’ve got a huge resource in our people to help us find new talent. So leverage your employees – make them brand advocates and encourage them to share content on social media. Remember, these are the people your future recruits want to hear from.”

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