Running a successful recruitment campaign involves building a talent pool and wording the job advert to reflect the company culture and attract diverse candidates. To get more applicants, consider tapping into an underutilized resource: Employee resource groups (ERGs).
ERGs exist primarily to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace by addressing cultural challenges within the organization. Many employers and HR teams miss seeing how the groups can also advance recruiting efforts.
The key is not to overwhelm group leaders with your HR requests but instead to draw on their knowledge, connections, and suggestions without monopolizing their time. That way, they can still carry out their important main function while still providing value to your recruiting campaign.
There are three main ways to tap into ERGs to benefit your recruiting strategies. They are:
When you think of where to source talent, employee resource groups might be low on the list or not even on the list. But this community has existed longer than social media networks and has many connections that can help recruiters.
It could be as simple as asking ERG leaders to share a job posting with their relevant communities. That could increase the number of referrals, as well as the quality of them.
Partnering with employee resource groups can also provide insights into existing employees at the organization that might surprise you. For example, you could uncover workers whose talents have been underused up until now.
This knowledge can help you fill open positions with those who already work for the organization. Internal recruiting rather than external hiring has many benefits, including increasing employee morale and performance.
Another advantage is not having to post the vacancy externally on job boards and other places. That can reduce hiring costs, helping you stay within budget, without sacrificing the quality of the hire.
Introducing candidates to members of the employee resource group during the interview stage can also be helpful for recruiters. The interactions with employees of diverse ages, genders, and ethnicities can help candidates get a feel for the company culture and climate.
That extra step in the interview process could help you receive a “yes” when extending an offer of employment to a top candidate. ERGs can also recommend different people to sit on the interview panel as part of efforts to minimize hiring biases.
