I recently listened to a great podcast, titled ”Trends in Employee Selection,” with Learn.com‘s Senior Professional in Human Resources, Michael Sabbag, and Senior Vice President of Marketing, Don Cook, in which they discuss what I think a lot of us are forgetting in this economy:  Despite today’s high unemployment rate – and supposedly bigger pool of available talent – many organizations are still having a tough time recruiting right people to fill specific positions.

For these organizations – as well as those that will soon need to fill their talent pool again – Sabbag talks about some surprisingly simple measures companies can take to engage both job seekers and employees, which I’ve listed below:

1. Develop Relationships. Specifically, with people who can help you find specific talent, such as university placement officers. “There’s often a pool of candidates ready and willing to work within your organizations that are coming out of the university systems,” says Sabbag. And many of these candidates have previous experience working within organizations. Recruiters and executive search firms also serve as invaluable resources when you have hard to fill positions.
2. Enable Your Staff to Participate in Professional Organizations. For example, your HR staff should belong to SHRM, your marketing staff should belong to the AMA, etc. These associations enable your employees to network among like-minded professionals – as well as potential future employees – and give them access to free learning resources that will enhance their skills.
3. Be Proactive About Recruiting. Even if you’re not hiring, it will save you time and money in the long run to plan ahead by looking for candidates on job boards and creating a bank of professional candidates should a position become available.
4. Look Inside First. When hiring for a new position, consider promoting your own employees first. The talents, skills and abilities of the people within your workforce is a great asset, Sabbag says. And not only do you have greater knowledge of internal candidates’ skills and strengths, they have a greater knowledge of your company, the culture, the business and how to get things done. Not to mention that making it a habit to promote from within is also a great employee motivator.
5. Provide Opportunities to Improve Skills and Abilities. Employees want to work for a supervisor who’s participative and empowering – that is, someone who challenges them, but also recognizes their strengths and the contribution they make. When employees find this type of employer, they become advocates for the brand.
6. Respond to Every Job Applicant. So many companies simply file applications away and never even respond to applicants. Differentiate yourself by responding to every applicant. These people, who took the time to apply to your company, will take notice of and appreciate these gestures – and they’ll speak highly of your company even if you don’t have a position for them.
7. Think Beyond the Standard Benefits. “When you can list the standard benefits, and then go beyond that, you really separate yourself from other employers,” says Sabbag. It’s not enough to simply tell employees you offer healthcare benefits – after all, most companies do – so talk about differentiators like better co-pays or a bigger network of doctors in order to stand out. Another thing that sets companies apart is employee recognition programs, which Sabbag says very few companies mention. The same goes for things like company gatherings, holiday parties, summer bashes and sales kick-off meetings – anything you do for your employees should be highlighted. These types of benefits show that you really value your employees and differentiate you from the competition.

(To download the entire podcast, go here.)