4 technologies to help you impress (and win over) passive job candidates
6 mins, 24 secs read time
It’s no secret in the recruiting world that passive candidates are often the best candidates to go after: you know they are likely a valuable asset at their current company, chances are they aren’t looking for another role so there’s less competition, and because there isn’t the pressure related to finding a new job, they are more likely to accurately reflect their skills and goals during a potential interview.
At 75% of the U.S. workforce, passive candidates may be satisfied in their current roles, but many are still willing to listen to what you have to say when you reach out to them. (We are all curious by nature!).
So to attract passive candidates, it’s crucial for you to craft a message that will hook them onto your opportunity and drive them to your interview process. Besides weaving your company mission and values and employer value proposition into your messaging, you also need to insert something fun, memorable, and tangible into the mix in order to really stick in their minds and make them think twice about dismissing your message. As such, recruiters will often go the route of inserting company perks like “free snacks & beer” or “unlimited vacation policy” into the message. But, these are typically not enough to make a difference. It has become more and more the norm for companies to have perks like these, so candidates aren’t going to be necessarily surprised or intrigued by them.
Instead, something you can mention to entice passive candidates in our forward-thinking, tech-dominate world are the cool, modern technologies that your company uses. This is how you can stand out among all the “free lunch Wednesday” recruiter messages. These technologies can be those that help to streamline processes, enrich the culture, or just make your company a more enjoyable and efficient place to work.
But which technologies in particular are the most unique and effective in impressing and winning over candidates? Check out my list of the top 4 you’ll want to consider:
1. Project management technology
What it is:
A project management technology enables teams to seamlessly establish clear and achievable objectives, update key stakeholders on the status of a project, and ensure that an end goal is always kept in mind. Founders and executives at companies like Slack, Twitter, and The New York Times have invested in project management technologies like WorkFlowy to manage their work, ideas, and notes related to projects in one secure, organized platform.
Why you need it:
Comprehensive project management can be the deciding factor in the success or failure of a project. When done thoroughly, project management can help reduce risks, cut costs, and improve success rates—three things that will certainly matter to candidates who are going to own budgets, manage teams, and lead initiatives. But, as we’ve all experienced, coordinating on projects via email can be a nightmare. We’re often left with long email chains full of valuable information like due dates, tactics, and follow-ups that are hard to find and organize.
For a passive candidate, knowing that big projects will be kept organized, on time, and on budget is a benefit guaranteed to save them from some major headaches. By implementing a project management technology, your company is showing that it prioritizes increased efficiencies, smoother operations, and an overall stronger collaborative experience among employees.
2. Professional growth technology
What it is:
When candidates are considering roles at your company, not only will they care about their career path within the organization, but they’ll also care about how they can grow their skillset as a professional. Technologies such as Udemy provide engaging services that include recorded presentations, quizzes, and live seminars on topics ranging from leadership to organization to niche skills, ensuring that all employees at your organization have the ability to develop and grow professionally at their own pace.
Why you need it:
Before our lives became heavily digitalized, promoting professional growth within an organization consisted of leadership paying an outside expert to present to a team on a relevant and valuable skillset, oftentimes in a long presentation or seminar format. Because talented professionals (like the candidates you’re trying to attract) naturally want to advance and grow their careers, a professional development technology is sure to pique their interest and solidify that there is a place for them to cultivate their careers within your organization.
3. Employee experience technology
What is it:
Employee experience has definitely become a hot topic recently, especially with the rise of young tech startups that pride themselves on having unparalleled perks, benefits, and office culture.
There’s quite a diverse mix of employee experience technologies available today, and it’s important to find the technology that best fits your company’s culture and atmosphere. Some technologies you may want to consider are those which help you create and organize volunteer opportunities, wellness programs, sponsored outings, and remote work spaces. Other employee experience softwares like Quantum Workplace allow you to leverage employee feedback tools to understand employee analytics that give leadership insight into exactly what it takes for employees to be happy and successful within their organization.
Why you need it:
A good employee experience can have a significant effect on your level of employee engagement by encouraging employees to participate in team events, give back to their communities, and find ways to grow and develop as a professional—all things that are great for an employee’s morale. Why does this matter? Companies that prioritize employee engagement typically outperform competitors by nearly 150%, and their employees are 9 times more likely to stay with their organization.
By investing in an employee experience technology, you’re showing passive candidates that you’re invested in your employees for the long-haul and that you care about making their lives simpler, happier, more efficient, and more fun. Every candidate wants to sense this about their prospective company, as everyone knows that you form your impressions not based on what people do or what they say, but instead, on how they make you feel.
4. Office organization technology
What it is:
Every company’s operational needs are different, but common office organizational tools are used to improve communication, schedules, traveling, meetings, inventory, office security, and more.
Why you need it:
Office organization isn’t simply about making sure your employees know where everything is in your space—it’s about streamlining all areas of your business. Ensuring that your employees are equipped with technologies that enable them to communicate their needs with relevant stakeholders, seamlessly schedule meetings and book conference rooms, and easily submit receipts for reimbursement lets your employees quickly take care of small, menial tasks, giving them more time to focus on revenue-generating activities.
Other office organization technologies like Kisi, which serves to digitally lock and unlock doors and entryways, help take the concept of organization one step further by actually keeping the office and your employees safe. Just think—if a company has thought to optimize something as elemental as a door with technology, it will spark some curiosity in your candidate to find out which other areas of your business are as technologically-enabled, too.
Final thoughts
In our tech-driven world, many are intrigued by technologies that can streamline processes and enhance experiences. Your passive candidates are no exception. So by using your initial message to passive candidates to highlight the cool technologies your organization has implemented, you can not only give a glimpse into life at your company, but more importantly, show how your organization has taken deliberate effort to ensure employee satisfaction, production, and growth—something every candidate will definitely want to hear.
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