We have been working closely with a number of our clients to provide an effective solution to the high costs and increasing time demands facing those who experience high staff turnover and regular recruitment drives. By encouraging these clients to adopt an ‘always on’ approach, we have found that costs have been driven down and significant time savings made.

With an ‘always on’ approach, employers maintain a continuous online presence through on-going attraction methods directing candidates to register interest on a Talent Pool. Subsequently, once vacancies become live they can get in touch with the right candidate straight away and the relationship built will act as encouragement for swift applications. This whole process can significantly reduce both cost and time to hire.

An example of an area where this approach has been particularly effective is social work; employers in this area are continuously battling against a shrinking pool of experienced active candidates. With numbers lessening it becomes essential that organisations are always visible to job seekers. The ‘always on’ approach is perfect in ensuring employers maintain this presence.

A shortage of permanent social workers can quickly lead to high caseloads and a thin workforce, which can be detrimental to the level of support available. This subsequently leads to resorting to agency workers as a ‘temporary’ measure and can quickly lead to an over-reliance. This can have a significant impact as not only do agency fees make this a costly approach but also it has been questioned as to whether agency workers could ever demonstrate sufficient commitment to the role.

A challenge faced in fields such as social work, is the need for skilled practitioners as mistakes are not only highly scrutinised but also harmful to service users, In the current candidate-driven market, competition for experienced and skilled candidates is fierce. It becomes essential for employers to differentiate themselves from their competition. The opportunity to communicate their employee value proposition (EVP) can be crucial in coming out on top.

The use of Talent Pool technology is key to an ‘always on’ approach. Talent Pool technology is designed for candidates to register interest in a particular organisation rather than a specific vacancy. Candidates complete of a short set of questions rather than completing a full application and relevant vacancies that match candidates’ experience and ambitions are communicated once they arise.

A simple registration of interest allows a quick data capture through which communication can be maintained. The ability to do this without live vacancies is a huge advantage as it information that employers would have otherwise not had access to. Using a set of criteria also allows candidates to be filtered in order to ensure that communications are consistently relevant.

The ability to communicate subtle messages and distinct aspects of your employer brand can go a long way to helping you stand out. This can include sending news stories, employee profiles and service updates that provide an insight into your organisation and create a sense of familiarity.

A Jobsgopublic study found that 90% of candidates will research an organisation before applying for a vacancy. Providing the opportunity for this to take place before relevant vacancies have gone live can go a long way to securing prompt applications once they do.

Following its successes in social work, an ‘always on’ approach has the flexibility to be adapted and applied to a wide range of sectors and industries. At Jobsgopublic, we are beginning to see equal success rates in areas such as education, housing as well as the recruitment of graduates and apprentices.

In the world of recruitment, we are seeing a wide range of innovative and dynamic techniques applied. The rise of social media and mobile technology demand a great deal from employers in order for them to stay relevant and maintain competitive. An ‘always on’ approach provides the opportunity to not only distinguish yourself in a crowded market and demonstrate innovation but also do so at a saving in time and money.