Hiring the wrong person is a major risk for small business owners because a single bad hire can hurt productivity, damage your reputation, and negatively impact team morale. A hiring error can cost your organization resources that you simply can’t spare.

A recent survey by LinkedIn found 66% of small businesses in the U.S. were planning to hire more in 2025 than they did in 2024. So, with the U.S. celebrating National Small Business Week (May 4 – 10), it’s a good time to review some best practices that can help you mitigate the risks and maximize your chances of making a successful hire — who will stay long-term.

1. Take the time to plan

It may be tempting to begin finding and interviewing candidates once you identify a hiring need, but that’s a mistake. Upfront planning can help you build a more focused and effective hiring process, potentially saving you time and money while helping you identify your most qualified candidate.

Spend time to consider:

• Your ideal candidate profile. Build a clear understanding of what the person in this role will be responsible for and what qualifications they should have to be successful. Use this to build a clear, compelling job description. And keep in mind that LinkedIn is launching an AI-assistant within LinkedIn Jobs that can help with drafting job descriptions and other repetitive hiring tasks.
• How you’ll evaluate candidates. Determine how you’ll assess required skills and qualifications during your hiring process. This may include resume screening, application screening questions, interviews, skill assessments, reference checks, and background checks. Consider the specific goals for each stage of your hiring process and who will conduct each stage to build out your hiring timeline.
• What would entice candidates to join your team. Consider what makes your company a good place to work and why a candidate would choose your opportunity above all others. Asking your team members why they like working on your team is a great place to start.
• Your compensation range. Know your compensation range up front so you can communicate it with candidates and help ensure a smoother job offer process.

2. Streamline your hiring process

There’s no need to start from scratch each time a new role opens on your team, even if you don’t have a centralized recruiting function. Gather and update assets from previous hiring processes to save time and learn from past successes and failures.

For example, maintain a repository of:

• Job application templates
• Job description templates
• Candidate communication templates
• Interview questions
• Reference check questions
• Offer letter templates
• Employee onboarding templates

Take note of which assets are performing well and where there’s room for improvement so you can continually improve your hiring efficiency and effectiveness.

3. Leverage your team members

Recruiting is a team sport. You all win when you add a skilled employee to your team — and you all lose when you make a bad hire. Get your team members more involved in the recruitment process to lighten your workload and improve your hiring outcomes.

Ask your team members to help with:

• Employee referrals. Enable and encourage your team members to refer candidates by communicating about open roles, creating a simple candidate submission process, and offering recognition and rewards for referrals.
• Employer branding. Empower your team members to create employer branding content, such as LinkedIn posts that show firsthand what it’s like to work at your organization. Sharing content examples and helpful tips can encourage more of your team members to participate.
• Recruiting materials. Gathering different perspectives on your recruiting materials, such as job descriptions, candidate email templates, and interview questions, can help you improve them. Ask your team members to review these materials for accuracy and to help you make them more appealing.

Team member involvement works best when it comes from the top down. Your company leaders should talk about the importance of hiring in your all-hands meetings, share open roles, and encourage everyone to participate in recruiting. It also helps if they’re actively making referrals, joining the interview process, and posting about your company on LinkedIn.

4. Provide a positive candidate experience

A positive candidate experience can help you keep candidates engaged so they’re less likely to drop out of your hiring process and more likely to accept a job offer. It can also contribute to a positive employer brand that helps you attract talent for future roles. (Another tool for enhancing your employer brand is LinkedIn’s new Premium Company Page offering, which helps small businesses grow their audience and credibility.)

Some basic tips to provide a positive candidate experience include:

• Communicate regularly. Candidates are typically eager to hear back from you at each stage of the hiring process. Make it a point to stay in contact, even if you have to send a blind carbon copy email to all of your candidates saying you don’t have an update yet.
• Offer transparency. Transparent hiring practices help you build stronger relationships that leave candidates with a favorable impression of your organization, even if they aren’t hired. Be transparent where you can, such as including salary ranges in job postings, sharing your interview process and timeline with candidates up front, and offering feedback.
• Put your candidates at ease. The hiring process can be stressful for job seekers. Helping your candidates feel comfortable and relaxed during the interview allows them to open up and showcase their true potential. Let interviewees know what to expect ahead of time: Who they’ll meet, what topics or specific interview questions they’ll discuss, and any other details they should know. On the day of the interview, greet them warmly, offer them a beverage, and make sure interviewers stay engaged in the conversation.

You can find additional ways to improve your hiring process by surveying candidates about their experience. These insights can help you make meaningful changes to level up your recruitment program.

5. Prepare your team members for internal mobility

Nearly two in three small businesses think that internal mobility will be an important topic shaping the future of recruiting — and for good reason. Offering your team members opportunities for career growth can help you reduce talent acquisition costs, close skill gaps, and retain employees.

While small businesses may have fewer opportunities for advancement compared to larger organizations, they may conversely ask employees to wear more hats, juggle more roles, and develop broader skill sets. And when a new position does open up, you may find that you have a strong internal candidate ready to step into the role.

Sync with your team members to understand their career goals and offer programs to help them get there, such as:

• Stretch assignments
• Online learning courses
• Mentoring
• Conferences
• Degree programs
• Professional bootcamps
• Peer-to-peer learning

6. Use the right tools

Almost half of small businesses (49%) think that new recruiting technology will be an important topic shaping the future of recruiting.

Modern technology can support many of your hiring processes to save you time and improve your hiring outcomes. Build a tech stack that makes sense for your company size and hiring volume.

For example:

• Small teams with sporadic hiring needs can use LinkedIn Jobs with AI-assistant to streamline applicant evaluation and invite passive candidates to apply for open jobs
• Organizations hiring for several roles concurrently may benefit from an applicant tracking system to better manage applications, candidate communications, and the interview process
• Rapidly growing teams may benefit from incorporating specialized software to support areas like sourcing, referrals, and assessments

Final thoughts: Take one step at a time

Following hiring best practices can require some upfront investment that pays off with a more efficient recruiting process and better hiring outcomes. But you don’t have to overhaul your process all at once. 

Identify the areas you’d most like to improve and start there. For example, invest in building out your referral program if you don’t have enough qualified candidates in your talent pipeline. Continue improving your recruitment process over time so you can build a team that helps you reach your business goals.

In three of the last four training programs we’ve run, someone has asked: “Is it OK to start the interview by asking the candidate to just tell me a bit about themselves or to give me a high-level run-through of their resume?”

Each individual had their own reason for starting interviews this way, but the gist was “it’s a nice way to get a high-level picture of the person and get the conversation flowing.”

I would advise strongly against this approach. Those first few minutes of the interview are critical — this is when the candidate is trying to figure out what kind of a conversation this will be and how they should behave.

When you start by asking the candidate to give you a little extemporaneous speech about themselves, they (naturally) assume this is what you expect from them throughout the interview — a bunch of monologues.

And, to be clear, that is not what you want. You are seeking an interactive dialogue in which you are asking follow-up questions frequently, to help steer to the data you need to get out of each story.

Instead of asking for the stump speech, I would recommend starting by setting fairly clear expectations about how you’d like to use the time. Specifically, tell the candidate you have a set of questions to ask them and the general theme of those questions. For example, you might start by saying, “I’ve prepared some questions for you and they generally involve the theme of team leadership” (or processes, or customer relationships, or metrics, or career transitions, etc.). 

Don’t broadcast the specific results, skills, or competencies you are testing, but feel free to let them know the theme of the questions. And, of course, use this opportunity to let them know that you’ll leave plenty of time for their questions (about the company, the role, etc.) at the end.

This approach to setting the agenda makes it way more natural and comfortable to just get straight into the content.

Once you have set the agenda, what should be the first “real” question on the list? I would choose a very simple, open-ended, nonleading question about a recent role. For our team leadership example above, consider something like, “To start with, I’d love to learn about the team you inherited at [company X]. What was that team like when you joined?”

And here’s the next critical point: As soon as they start answering your first question, make sure you stay enthusiastic, curious, and engaged. Nod and vocalize frequently. Jump in with lots of follow-ups. This essentially “trains” the candidate to expect a very involved and curious conversation partner.

Keep in mind that your warmth and curiosity are far more important than having the most artfully phrased first question. Don’t overthink that first question — just make sure it gets you to relevant content, and don’t pack it with too many filters or qualifiers. 

This post was originally published on LinkedIn.

Jordan Burton has 18 years of experience as an executive assessor and interviewing trainer, working with top VC/PE investors and high-growth startups to help them hire the best of the best. He has trained thousands of founders, leaders, and investors on hiring and interviewing skills. He leads Talgo’s business development initiatives, managing relationships with TPG, Sequoia Capital, TH Lee, Palantir, Scale AI, and over 50 venture-backed startups.
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Originally Posted on LinkedIn

The Department of Employment and Labour has officially introduced new Employment Equity (EE) Regulations for 2025, ushering in significant changes for businesses across South Africa.

These updated regulations, which replace the previous legislation, set out detailed race and gender-based targets that employers in 18 industry sectors must work toward over the next five years.

The goal? To accelerate workplace transformation and better reflect the country’s diverse population in all levels of employment. What You Need to Know:

What is the effective date?

The targets come into effect immediately as of 15 April 2025.

Who is Affected?

Only designated employers, those with more than 50 employees are required and mandated to comply.

What’s Expected?

Designated employers must develop and implement a comprehensive Employment Equity Plan for the period from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2030, aligning with the new demographic targets.

What are the key objectives?

The new targets aim to improve the representation of historically disadvantaged groups, namely black people (African, coloured, and Indian), women, and persons with disabilities, across all occupational levels.

What If You Can’t Comply?

While non-compliance could result in referral to the Labour Court and potential fines of up to R1.5 million or 2% of annual turnover, the department has clarified that employers will not face penalties if they can provide valid, documented reasons for falling short. Justifiable grounds include limited recruitment or promotion opportunities, lack of suitably qualified candidates, business mergers, economic downturns, or legal restrictions.

These changes form part of a broader push to align workplaces with South Africa’s transformation goals under the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) and Affirmative Action frameworks.

Stay Informed and Prepared

Understanding the impact of these new regulations is critical for your business. Early preparation of your Employment Equity plans, ahead of the September 2025 implementation date will ensure compliance and avoid last-minute challenges. It is also important to proactively inform and guide your clients on how these targets may influence their operational and hiring decisions.

The full list of sector-specific targets can be found below for your review.

I recently wrote about how important speed is to getting quality talent. We have to move quickly or we risk missing out on the best talent, as the best talent is often impatient.

But we also have to be sure we’re investing time up front in aiming before we fire. We should only move quickly if we’re sure we’ve aimed at the right target.

AI is amazing. It can generate hundreds of tailored outreach messages in minutes. It can find untapped talent based on explicit keywords and patterns and inferred skills. It can move candidates through a process quickly. And it can do most of it — all of it? — faster than an average recruiter.

But — and I say this all the time — just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

I’m worried. Worried that we’re starting to turn on tech that allows candidates to mass apply with no aiming and allows recruiters to conduct mass outreach without aiming. Worried that we’re sourcing way more candidates than we need just because we can.

We need Ready, Aim, Fire!

Execution in recruiting is getting automated. The admin and process pieces of our jobs are shrinking, leaving us more time to do the ready/aim part, while the tech does the fire part. But that means it’s even more important than ever that we’re great at the aiming part. Why? Here are a few reasons:

• So much time is wasted when the recruiter and hiring manager — or hiring manager and interviewing team — aren’t aligned. Misalignment is a top-three reason that reqs exceed average time-to-fill benchmarks.
• So much time is wasted sourcing more candidates than we need — and it creates a bad candidate experience for all of those folks who are never seriously considered.
• So much time is wasted moving candidates to interview that we can’t afford (or refuse to pay market wages for) — the targeted candidate pool is unaffordable from the start and the recruiter isn’t educating and pushing back on unrealistic hiring managers.
• Candidate fraud is a real and growing problem, causing CEOs at companies like Google to suggest a return to in-person, live interviews may be the “back to basics” we need, which means inexpensive Zoom-based interviews and asynchronous video interviews may be replaced with more costly in-person interviews at HQs, with candidate travel popping its head up in a big way like it’s the olden days of 2019.
  • I was talking to Elaine Orler, the chief strategy and product officer at Match2, about the challenges of finding the needle in a haystack. She said, “Yeah, John, it’s like there are big trucks dumping more and more hay on top of the needle.” I replied, “And it may evolve to trying to find a needle in a stack of needles because candidate-apply tech is going to tailor resumes and interview responses to exactly what it thinks employers want.” Identity and skills verification is going to be a big deal in 2025 and 2026.

Enter the Talent Advisor recruiter

I was working with a client who has over 100,000 employees, and their head of TA said the headline in the executive offices was “Recruiting is Broken.” 

Except it wasn’t. 

In fact, almost every metric that measured the part that TA owned was better than before. The real challenge? Attrition was out of control. So, the net “butts in seats” was pretty awful, and those vacancies were costing the business in lost revenue and overtime and more turnover.

The head of TA moved the conversation to focus more on the actual root issues. High turnover was expensive and the symptom of all kinds of root issues. But rather than pausing and “aiming” better at the right problem, the org initially reacted to high turnover with requests for TA to keep on hiring. And only after all the mass hiring was barely adding any net new capacity and the TA leader brought receipts (metrics and facts), the org was ready to invest in better aiming. 

Ready, fire, aim became ready, aim, fire.

This was a large-scale example of poor aiming, but it happens at the recruiter/hiring manager req-level, as well. Outside of work, how much time is wasted shopping for homes in neighborhoods we can’t afford? At work, how much time is wasted bringing in candidates when the hiring manager doesn’t even know what he’s really looking for? 

How many candidates are interviewed before we realize the interview team has different definitions of “senior” or “leadership” or “A-player” or 1,000 other bias-filled, poorly defined hiring criteria? How much time is wasted because the recruiter is a people-pleasing, customer-focused order taker, lacking the skills and confidence to push back on unrealistic hiring managers or to influence and educate the hiring manager to slow down and define what good looks like before we start posting jobs and sourcing and screening candidates? Poor aiming leads to lots of waste and expensive internal “taxes.”

The business needs us more than ever

I talk to executives in tech, sales, ops, and corporate functions almost every week and they want more from us in TA. They want us leading more, which includes helping them aim better. 

Yes, of course, they still want us to execute well — we can’t just be good talkers; we have to make hires. But more than ever, they need us to be asking better questions, aligning our work to their business goals, guiding their hiring managers, and improving speed and quality without introducing all kinds of complexity.

Stephen Covey famously talked about the sharpening of the saw in his “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” book years ago. He uses the metaphor of a lumberjack who is so focused on cutting trees that he neglects to sharpen his saw, making his work even harder and less efficient. 

Today, the tools and tech (the “saws”) we have are better than any time in my 25+ years in TA. They’re capable of doubling the output of a single recruiter. They’re also capable of creating a lot of waste and exacerbating the problems of too many candidates engaged per open req, leading to poor candidate experience, slower time to fill, and fatter funnels.

We need to sharpen our saws! And we need to aim better!

Now is the time to demonstrate to the business we support that our guidance — our aiming skill — is heat-mapped to their talent needs and priorities. That we will adapt our recruiting plans to their needs, not just push a one-size-fits-all set of best practices.
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Originally published on LinkedIn

If you’re a talent professional, you know how frustrating it is when a promising hire falls short.

With global hiring still sluggish and companies becoming increasingly strategic about headcount, quality of hire has never been more critical. It’s no surprise, then, that 89% of talent acquisition pros in LinkedIn’s newly released 2025 Future of Recruiting report agree that measuring quality of hire will only become more important moving forward.

Yet, despite its significance, measuring and tracking this elusive metric remains a major challenge. In fact, only 25% of recruiters say they are highly confident in their organization’s ability to measure quality of hire effectively.

So, how can organizations effectively measure and improve quality of hire? Here are the key takeaways from LinkedIn’s latest report.

1. AI will improve how we measure and track quality of hire

Much like it’s transforming nearly every other aspect of recruiting, AI is revolutionizing how talent teams measure the quality-of-hire metric. According to LinkedIn’s report, 61% of talent acquisition professionals believe AI will help them measure quality of hire more effectively. By analyzing employee performance data, spotting trends, and predicting long-term success, AI-powered tools are making it easier to assess the true impact of new hires.

Organizations are already seeing the benefits. Siemens, for example, is using AI tools to gain deeper, more accurate insights into candidates’ skills and potential. “AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts of data to identify candidates with the highest likelihood of success, offering predictive insights that go beyond resumes and conventional interviews,” says Salma Rashad, global executive vice president of talent acquisition at Siemens.

The report also shows that companies whose recruiters use LinkedIn’s AI-assisted messaging are 9% more likely to make a quality hire compared to those who use it the least. The platform’s insights define quality of hire as a combination of demand, retention, and mobility — but as we’ll explore next, there's no exact formula.

2. Decide which quality of hire metrics matter most 

There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for measuring quality of hire. While it’s a crucial metric that reflects the value a new employee brings to an organization, each company defines that value differently. Some may prioritize performance and productivity, while others may focus on retention or cultural fit.

So, how do you quantify that value? To effectively measure and improve quality of hire, you’ll need to identify the metrics that matter most to your company — and track them consistently.

According to the Future of Recruiting, talent acquisition pros are using a variety of metrics to assess quality of hire. You’ll likely need a combination of these to capture the full picture at your organization:

• 66% measure job performance (the extent to which new hires meet or exceed their goals)
• 60% track retention/turnover (how long new employees stay with your organization)
• 44% use hiring manager satisfaction as a key indicator
• 44% assess skills match (how well candidates’ abilities align with the job requirements)
• 37% consider peer, team, or client feedback
• 36% measure new hire satisfaction
• 35% evaluate team fit (whether the new hire enhances team performance)
• 32% look at culture add (how well new employees align with organizational values)
• 27% factor in candidate credentials (experience and education)
• 26% track time to productivity (how quickly new hires ramp up)
• 15% measure candidate diversity
• 9% assess promotion rates 

While there’s no single, perfect formula, focusing on the right mix of metrics will give you a clearer, more actionable picture of your organization’s quality of hire — and how to improve it.

3. Strong employer branding drives quality hires

LinkedIn’s latest report reveals a significant finding: Strong employer branding directly influences the quality of hires. Companies that are known for delivering on key candidate priorities, such as offering opportunities to work with top-tier talent or on impactful projects, don’t just attract more candidates — they attract better candidates.

A well-defined employer brand helps you connect with the right talent by showcasing your organization’s core values and the overall employee experience. Candidates who align with your company’s mission and culture are more likely to perform well, stay longer, and contribute meaningfully.

The report highlights several employer value propositions that are strongly associated with quality hires. For example, companies known for offering opportunities to work on innovative projects are 11% more likely to make a quality hire. Other EVPs that significantly impact quality of hire include:

• Opportunities to learn in-demand skills (+9%)
• Flexible work arrangements (+9%)
• Opportunities to work with highly talented employees (+9%)
• Challenging and impactful work (+8%)
• Excellent compensation and benefits (+8%)

These factors play a key role in building an attractive employer brand, ensuring that the talent you hire is motivated, skilled, and aligned with your organization’s goals. The takeaway? Investing in employer branding isn’t just a marketing strategy, it’s a strategic move that can significantly enhance the quality of your hires.

Final thoughts: Quality of hire will be a top priority in 2025

As organizations prioritize hiring the best candidates, they’re also becoming more intentional about measuring their success. AI, metrics-driven strategies, and a strong employer brand all play critical roles in optimizing hiring outcomes. 

By leveraging the right tools, defining the right metrics, and ensuring your company offers what top candidates want, you can significantly improve the quality of your hires — ultimately boosting your organization’s success.
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Originally published on LinkedIn

For most companies, employer branding is straightforward — it’s how an organization shapes its image to attract and retain top talent.

But for staffing firms, the playbook is different. Unlike many other types of business, staffing agencies must appeal to three distinct audiences: the talent they place, the clients they represent, and the recruiters and staff they hire internally. Balancing all sides of the brand equation requires a unique and nuanced employer branding strategy.

As Maegan Toups, vice president of marketing and bids at Airswift, a Houston-based global staffing agency specializing in engineering and technology sectors, puts it: “About five years ago, we realized we had a ‘cobbler’s children have no shoes’ situation. While we were finding amazing candidates for our clients, we recognized we needed to do a better job of doing that for ourselves — so we started working on our employer branding.”

If your staffing firm’s employer brand hasn’t been refreshed in a while, it might be time for a tune-up. Here’s a step-by-step guide to building a standout employer brand that resonates with candidates, clients, and employees alike.

1. Identify your value propositions and tailor your messaging

Staffing agencies need to appeal to multiple audiences — candidates, clients, and internal employees — making it essential to develop distinct messaging pillars for each group.

“Building a strong employer brand starts with trust,” says Alicia Ghannad, growth marketing manager at ALKU, a staffing firm specializing in deploying highly skilled niche business consulting services in technology, healthcare IT, life sciences, and government. “At ALKU, we value authenticity and connection. By being transparent, we earn the trust of our clients, candidates, and employees — helping us build lasting relationships that drive shared success. Understanding their unique needs allows us to craft messages and experiences that truly resonate.”

A clear understanding of each audience is the foundation of an effective employer brand. Start by assembling a cross-functional team for a collaborative brainstorming session. Involve individuals from recruiting, leadership, and client services to capture diverse perspectives. Use this time to openly discuss the unique value your agency offers to clients, candidates, and internal employees. What sets your firm apart? What experiences or outcomes make people want to work with — and for — you?

As Maegan at Airswift explains: “Sometimes staffing firms can get a bad reputation — you place them in a job and never hear from them again. We don’t want to be like that. We provide a high-touch, white-glove service to our contractors.” This commitment to ongoing support and care is a core pillar of Airswift’s employer brand — and it’s the message they consistently communicate to their candidates.

Data is also a powerful tool to refine your messaging. Alicia at ALKU highlights the importance of using analytics to understand how different audiences discover your agency. “Let’s pull data on who these audiences are and how we found them,” she says. Analyzing traffic sources, search terms, and referral patterns can provide valuable insights — such as which platforms are driving candidate visits or where potential clients are learning about your firm. With this knowledge, you can adjust your messaging and outreach strategies to better resonate with each group.

When defining your own messaging pillars, consider:

• For candidates: Emphasize career growth, personalized support, networking opportunities, and your track record of placing talent with reputable clients.
• For clients: Highlight your expertise in sourcing and delivering top talent efficiently, along with your ability to meet their specific business needs.
• For internal employees: Showcase your workplace culture, career development opportunities, and the values that make your agency a great place to work.

By clearly defining your value propositions for each audience — and using data to continuously refine your messaging — you’ll create a cohesive and compelling employer brand that resonates with the right people and sets you apart.

2. Optimize your online presence

Your website, social media, and review sites are often the first touchpoints for candidates and clients, making them crucial components of your employer branding strategy. To stand out, focus on creating a clear, compelling website and maintaining a strong, authentic presence across social and review platforms.

Enhance your website

Your website should effectively communicate your value propositions and build trust through real stories and experiences.

• Create dedicated pages for clients, candidates, and internal staff that highlight the unique value you offer each audience.
• Showcase success stories of talent you’ve placed to give candidates a glimpse into their potential career growth.
• Feature testimonials from clients, candidates, and employees prominently to build credibility.
• Share content such as blog posts, white papers, case studies, and industry insights to position your agency as a thought leader in your field.
• Ensure easy navigation by making your “Apply” and “Contact Us” buttons highly visible and accessible for both candidates and clients.

Strengthen your social media and review site presence

Each platform attracts different audiences, so it’s essential to tailor your content and approach for each one.

• LinkedIn: Leverage LinkedIn Career Pages to showcase your company culture and attract prospective clients. Add a “What We Do” tab featuring photos, videos, employee testimonials, and an introduction to your leadership team. Use targeted audience pages to create personalized experiences for potential clients, candidates, and internal employees based on their LinkedIn profiles.
  • For example, Airswift customizes their What We Do tab to speak directly to different audiences. The “What We Do at Airswift” section is client-facing, outlining the firm’s services and expertise, while the “Careers at Airswift” section is designed for candidates and internal employees, featuring trending content from current team members to showcase company culture, their global presence, and employee experiences.
  • ALKU tailors their What We Do tab by industry sector, ensuring that visitors see content relevant to their needs. For example, a potential pharmaceutical client is presented with resources specifically curated for the life sciences sector. “Having our LinkedIn pages built by audience allows users to get to the content and resources they are seeking,” Alicia says.
• TikTok, Instagram, and Handshake: Since many Gen Z job seekers research employers on social media, use these platforms to showcase your company culture through short-form, visual content. Share behind-the-scenes videos, employee takeovers, career fairs, and day-in-the-life stories to give potential candidates an authentic glimpse into your agency.
  • “For internal hiring, we rely heavily on Instagram — both organic and paid — as well as Handshake to showcase our values and employee experiences,” Alicia says. ALKU manages three distinct Instagram accounts, each designed for a specific audience: @alkuofficial for overall brand presence, @lifeatalku for internal hiring, and @alkuoncampus for campus recruiting. Each account features tailored content that speaks directly to its target audience, ensuring a more engaging and relevant experience.

3. Invest in candidate and employee experience

Your reputation as a staffing agency is shaped by the experiences of both the talent you place and your internal employees. Prioritizing clear communication, ongoing support, and meaningful engagement with both groups is key to building a strong employer brand.

For candidates: 

The experience you provide to the talent you place is just as important as the jobs themselves. Ensure clear, timely communication throughout the recruitment process — and don’t leave candidates in the dark, even if they aren’t selected. When possible, offer constructive feedback to show respect for their time and help them grow, building goodwill even if they don’t land the role.

And the relationship shouldn’t end once they’re placed. As Maegan explains: “We are proud of how many ‘boomerang hires’ we have — candidates we’ve placed, then placed again once they’ve completed their contract.” That kind of long-term working relationship is only possible when you stay engaged with your talent. Offering ongoing support, checking in periodically, and keeping them in mind for future opportunities strengthens your employer brand and fosters loyalty.

For internal employees:

Your in-house team plays a major role in delivering a positive candidate and client experience, so their satisfaction is equally important. By fostering a strong, supportive culture, you empower employees to become natural brand advocates — sharing their experiences and attracting like-minded talent. “Our employees are our biggest advocates,” Alicia says. “I don’t even have to ask them to post about working at ALKU — we’re getting tagged on social media probably a hundred times a week, and it’s been key to our growth.”

Prioritize employee engagement and retention by: 

• Offering professional development opportunities to help them grow their skills and advance their careers. 
• Celebrating wins and recognizing contributions, which boosts morale and strengthens retention.
• Cultivating a collaborative, values-driven culture where employees feel supported and motivated.
• Encouraging employees to share their experiences on social platforms. When employees post about their day-to-day work or share testimonials, it strengthens both your employer brand and their personal brand — increasing visibility and credibility for your staffing firm.

4. Define clear ownership of employer branding

One of the most common challenges staffing agencies face with employer branding is unclear ownership. Without clear accountability, messaging can become inconsistent or outdated, diluting the impact of your efforts.

At smaller agencies, leadership or HR teams often take the reins, while larger firms may rely on dedicated recruitment marketing teams to drive employer branding initiatives. In many cases, it’s a collaborative effort between marketing and HR, where:

• Marketing takes ownership of storytelling, creative assets, social media, and external brand positioning, ensuring messaging is clear, compelling, and aligned with the agency’s overarching brand.
• HR and talent acquisition focus on candidate and employee experience, driving internal engagement, and gathering feedback to refine the brand.

Clarify roles and responsibilities

No matter the structure, clear lines of delegation are essential for success. Be sure to define who will:

• Develop and refine messaging: Who ensures your value propositions are clear, consistent, and compelling across all touchpoints?
• Manage content creation and distribution: Who oversees the website, social platforms, and review sites to ensure content is updated and engaging?
• Gather and act on feedback: Who monitors candidate and employee reviews to spot opportunities for improvement and adjust the brand strategy accordingly?

5. Regularly update, measure, and evolve

Employer branding isn’t a “set it and forget it” strategy — it requires ongoing monitoring, refinement, and adaptation to remain fresh and relevant. Here’s how to do it:

Keep your content current

• Review your website and LinkedIn Career Pages quarterly to refresh testimonials, update leadership profiles, add new success stories, and ensure your value propositions are aligned with current trends.
• Maintain a steady posting cadence with a content calendar that includes regular social media posts, blog content, and employer brand updates to keep your agency top-of-mind.
• Align your content with recruitment goals by ramping up efforts during peak hiring seasons to ensure you’re attracting the right talent when you need it most.

Track and analyze performance

Monitor key metrics, including:

• Candidate satisfaction scores and employee engagement surveys to assess the effectiveness of your efforts.
• Net Promoter Scores (NPS) from clients to gauge client satisfaction and pinpoint areas for improvement.
• LinkedIn Career Pages analytics to evaluate the performance of your employer brand posts, identify trends, and adjust strategies based on engagement.
• Brand sentiment on review platforms and social media, responding thoughtfully to feedback to demonstrate transparency and a commitment to growth.
• Post-placement surveys and employee feedback tools to measure satisfaction and identify areas for further enhancement.

By regularly updating your content and tracking performance, you ensure that your employer brand remains dynamic, impactful, and aligned with your organizational goals.

Final thoughts: Build an employer brand that resonates 

Building a standout employer brand for your staffing agency requires a thoughtful, strategic approach that appeals to candidates, clients, and internal employees alike. By clearly defining your value propositions, tailoring your messaging, and maintaining a strong online presence, you can differentiate your agency in a competitive market. Ultimately, a compelling employer brand is a reflection of the experiences you create for everyone you work with — and it’s these positive experiences that will keep talent, clients, and employees coming back for more.
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Originally published on LinkedIn

Let’s start with a very simple question: What makes a great hiring team?

Most people would say: “Great recruiters.”

And, sure, that’s definitely part of it. But the truth is, recruiting excellence isn’t just about individual skill — it’s about the collective capabilities of your entire hiring operation.

Think about it this way:

A world-class football (soccer to the U.S. and Canadian audiences) team isn’t just made up of elite strikers. You need defenders, goalkeepers, coaches, and strategists – all working together, specialized in their own areas, building skills but aligned under a single game plan.

Hiring is no different.

At the basic level of capability acumen, a hiring team is like a group of amateurs playing a casual Sunday league match. No structure, no strategy – just a team of people trying their best.

But when capabilities are optimized, hiring becomes a true competitive advantage. Talent professionals are no longer just “recruiters.” They’re business strategists, workforce planners, and talent advisors, embedded deeply in the company’s long-term success.

So, let’s map capabilities across the entire spectrum of the Hiring Excellence Maturity Model, examining how capabilities evolve across the five levels of hiring maturity. And, more importantly, let’s look at what’s holding your team back from leveling up.

Let’s break it down.

Level 1: Basic hiring skills – the survival stage

At this stage, the only hiring capabilities that exist are all centered on handling applicants.

Core capabilities at Level 1

• Posting jobs and managing inbound applications
• Basic resume screening (manual, subjective)
• Unstructured interviewing (hiring managers making ad hoc decisions)
• Basic offer and onboarding process
• Compliance with legal hiring requirements

Hiring capabilities present at Level 1 are completely reactive in nature. Hiring essentially only functions as long as there’s a steady flow of applicants. But the second that pipeline dries up, there’s no muscle for proactive sourcing, talent attraction, or competitive hiring.

Why this holds companies back:

• No ability to find talent: If good candidates don’t apply, hiring stalls.
• Poor candidate experience: Hiring managers make decisions on the fly, often leading to slow and inconsistent hiring.
• No competitive advantage: The company is just another name on a job board, with no real strategy for attracting top talent.

At Level 1, hiring isn’t a discipline. It’s a function that exists because it has to.

Level 2: Expanding capabilities – moving beyond “post and pray”

At this stage, companies realize that hiring is getting harder — competition for talent is increasing and job postings alone aren’t cutting it. So they begin building specialized skills within the HR team or they set up a recruiting team.

Core capabilities at Level 2

• Sourcing and outreach: Basic proactive sourcing (LinkedIn, job boards, networking)
• Candidate engagement: Crafting compelling outreach messages and employer branding
• Structured hiring process: Implementing a standardized interview process
• Recruiter training: Foundational training in candidate screening and hiring best practices
• Offer and negotiation: More structured approach to salary offers and closing candidates

Sourcing capabilities emerge as recruiters start learning how to proactively find and engage talent. Recruiters also become better at selling opportunities — crafting compelling outreach messages and candidate pitches. And a structured hiring process is introduced, ensuring consistency in interviewing, assessment, and offer stages.

Why this is a big step forward:

• Hiring teams can now compete for talent. They’re no longer just screening whoever applies; they’re actively attracting and engaging candidates.
• Standardization means fewer hiring mistakes. At this level, companies introduce recruiter training, ensuring that there is a consistent standard and no one is just “winging it.”

But here’s the issue at Level 2: The focus is still all on recruiters. There’s no real involvement from the broader business in talent acquisition. And that’s a problem because as we well know, hiring isn’t an individual sport — it’s a team sport.

Level 3: Hiring as a team sport – scaling beyond the recruiter

At Level 3, the penny drops:

You don’t just need better recruiters — you need better hiring managers, better interviewers, and a hiring process that actually works across the business.

Core capabilities at Level 3

• Hiring manager enablement: Training for hiring managers on interviewing and candidate experience
• Talent advisory: Recruiters influence hiring managers rather than just taking job orders
• TA operations: Introduction of hiring tools, structured workflows, and process optimization (renowned talent leader Allyn Bailey argues that 1 in every 10 people on your team should be TA ops)
• Hiring process ownership: Clear accountability across the hiring team (not just recruiters)
• Internal collaboration: Cross-functional hiring strategies involving key stakeholders

This is the big turning point where capability development itself becomes an actual job!

And instead of treating recruiters like a “service desk” that hiring managers use when they need a role filled, recruiters become trusted business partners, influencing workforce planning and hiring decisions.

At this level, recruiters aren’t just good at hiring, they’re good at influencing others to hire better.

Level 4: Data-driven hiring – when insight becomes your competitive edge

At Level 4, hiring shifts from an operational process to a strategic function — and the best recruiters are no longer just good at executing hiring processes, they’re business consultants armed with data.

Core capabilities at Level 4

• Data-driven hiring: Using hiring analytics, market insights, and predictive forecasting
• Strategic workforce planning: Aligning hiring strategies with business goals
• Role-based hiring strategies: Customizing hiring processes based on function, level, or market conditions
• Recruiting as a business function: TA leaders are embedded in workforce planning discussions
• Performance measurement: Tracking time to fill, quality of hire, and sourcing effectiveness

At this level, recruiters are thinking strategically, asking questions like:

Should we be assessing first or selling first? Should we hire this role externally or promote internally? What’s the best interview process based on historical hiring data?

Hiring capabilities are no longer just aimed at filling jobs — it’s about making smarter workforce decisions.

Level 5: The talent partner model – beyond hiring and into workforce strategy

At Level 5, recruiter capabilities don’t just make them hiring experts. They make them talent strategists. And they become experts in people.

Core capabilities at Level 5

• Talent and workforce planning: TA teams own long-term workforce strategy, internal mobility, and upskilling
• Strategic talent consulting: Recruiters challenge whether hiring is the right solution or if reskilling, automation, or restructuring is better
• Full business integration: Talent decisions are deeply linked to business strategy, org structure, and L&D
• Hiring as a competitive advantage: The company’s ability to attract and develop talent is a key driver of business success

This is where recruiting transcends the traditional model.

A recruiter at Level 5 isn’t just saying: “What role do you need filled?” They’re saying: “Do we even need to hire? Could we upskill someone? Could we automate this? Could we reorganize the team structure?”

Talent acquisition stops being a hiring function and starts being a true strategic lever for the business. They push back and their capabilities enable them to understand the nuances of the business to make the right decisions.

Final thoughts: So, where does your hiring team sit today?

Ask yourself:

• Do our recruiters and hiring managers have the right skills in sourcing, interviewing, and data analysis for our current needs?
• Are we investing in ongoing training or certifications to keep pace with emerging TA trends?
• Are we leveraging specialists or over-relying on generalists?
• Are our recruiters just filling jobs or are they influencing business decisions?
• Does our organizational culture encourage learning, innovation, and thought leadership in talent acquisition?

The best companies don’t just have good recruiters — they build great hiring capabilities across the entire business. Because at its very best, hiring isn’t about just getting people in seats. It’s about building a workforce that gives your company a competitive advantage.

This post was originally published in Johnny Campbell’s Talent Leader Insights Newsletter.

Johnny Campbell is a serial disrupter in the world of hiring and talent management. He is the founder and CEO of SocialTalent, the platform that enables organizations like Accenture, Cisco, Roblox, and Paramount Pictures to achieve hiring excellence. Johnny is one of the most followed recruiters in the world, writes extensively, and hosts the weekly podcast Hiring Excellence. He is also the proud father of four boys, an avid runner, and a struggling rugby coach.

Using video to attract job candidates is nothing new, but your options to create and distribute video content have expanded. Some organizations used to make one or two highly produced employer branding videos annually, which required a significant time commitment and financial investment. But with a smartphone and a personal LinkedIn account, you can create engaging content and reach hidden talent pools that otherwise wouldn’t be accessible to you. 

And it’s completely free.

By combining your talent acquisition team’s expertise, hiring manager insights, and authentic employee stories, you can create compelling video content that helps you attract more candidates on LinkedIn.

1. Share your expertise

You don’t have to directly sell candidates on your open roles to pique their interest in working at your company. Talent professionals may get better visibility — and attract more candidates — by sharing their expertise and perspectives on LinkedIn.

Bonnie Dilber, recruiting manager at Zapier, shares: “People love hearing about workplace trends like quiet quitting, layoffs, and equity in the workplace.” These broader topics often generate more engagement because they’re relatable to a larger audience. 

Job seekers often discover job opportunities at Zapier after watching Bonnie’s videos, and many of them mention these videos during the hiring process.

Bonnie shares a few tips for posting video content to LinkedIn:

• Focus on providing valuable content. Share expertise, insights, and advice you feel would genuinely benefit your audience. Experiment with different ideas to find what resonates, but don’t put too much focus on how individual videos perform. Your goal should simply be to provide useful content and perspectives.
• Be authentic. People are used to being sold to and may tune out if your video is too polished. Say what you want to say and don’t worry about producing a perfect video. A low production quality video comes off as more authentic.
• Keep your videos short. People are busy and you may have less than a minute to grab a candidate’s attention. Keep your video short and punchy with only one or two pieces of information.
• Post consistently. Bonnie posts content to her LinkedIn feed daily, aiming to post videos about once a week. This gives her plenty of opportunities to connect with her audience, test new content ideas, and increase the chances that some of her content will earn a spot in the LinkedIn immersive video feed.
• Use text strategically. The post copy that accompanies your video adds additional context and helps your audience absorb more information. Use a hook at the beginning to encourage candidates to keep watching through to the end.

2. Enable hiring managers to connect with candidates through video

Hiring managers can share authentic insights about their open roles and build meaningful connections in a way no other team member can — and video can help expand their reach.

John McCall, head of talent attraction at LinkedIn, shares a simple but effective framework for enabling hiring managers to produce videos. 

Here's how it works:

• Prep. Plan what you want to say and how you’ll grab your ideal candidate’s attention. Focus on things like role impact, key skills, and growth opportunities to help engage candidates.
• Pose. Film your video vertically in a quiet spot with natural lighting — and don’t forget to smile. It’s OK to record several takes, but keep in mind that your video doesn’t need to be perfect.
• Post. Write post copy to accompany your video and encourage your audience to take action. Don’t forget to include a call to action and a unique URL to track your video’s success.

John put this framework into practice when he was hiring a recruiting coordinator for his team. “I wanted to engage the market in a different way,” John says, “by speaking to them as a colleague and painting a picture of the opportunity.” John’s video on LinkedIn received 38,000 impressions and 18 reposts, doubled the number of job applications, and helped him find and engage the candidate he ultimately hired.

John had similar successes using video to drive registrations for a recruiting event — this time by partnering with business leaders. “We wanted to activate and engage customer-facing talent at scale,” John says, “so we mapped the total addressable market and invited every single one of them. The numbers started trickling in at a slow but steady pace, but we knew we needed to give things an extra push.” 

Once business leaders started posting videos promoting the event on LinkedIn, registrations jumped by 160% within 48 hours and the team successfully engaged 24% of their total addressable market.

3. Encourage employee advocates to create videos

Employee advocacy is a powerful way to expand your talent pool, engage skilled talent, and improve your quality of hire. As John says: “Talent knows talent.” Encouraging your team members to share their unique perspectives and insights can help you tap into their LinkedIn networks. Video, in particular, is an authentic way to grab job seekers’ attention because it allows for a more personal and human connection than text or images alone. 

Bonnie shares that she started posting content on LinkedIn three years ago, but the thought of posting videos was daunting at first. She suggests offering some guidance to help your team members get more comfortable creating video content. 

For example:

• Provide a framework. Share guidance around the topics your team members can post about so everyone feels empowered and encouraged to create content. Topics might include “day in the life” videos, updates about professional achievements, and personal stories about how company benefits or policies have positively impacted their lives.
• Share examples. Round up a few employee generated videos that your team members can use for inspiration. These can include videos from your own team or those you come across in your LinkedIn feed.
• Offer ongoing support. Identify the team members who are most excited about creating video content and continue to offer them best practices and inspiration. 
• Lead by example. A culture of hiring comes from the top down. Getting your talent acquisition team, hiring managers, and other company leaders involved in posting videos to LinkedIn can encourage the rest of your team to do the same.

Both Bonnie and John promote employee advocacy initiatives on their teams, with exciting plans for the near future. Zapier, for example, recently launched an employee advocacy program with about 10 people creating content about their work experience and John’s team is developing a series focused on women in sales careers across LinkedIn.

Final thoughts: Expand your talent pool by using video on LinkedIn

Employee-generated videos are one of the most authentic ways to connect with job seekers and give them a glimpse of what it might be like to work at your organization. Increase your reach and get in front of the right people by enabling your entire team to create and share videos on their LinkedIn feed. Your team members’ unique knowledge, experience, and perspectives may be the key to achieving better hiring outcomes.
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Originally posted on LinkedIn

Why do we do this in Agency recruitment?

Do we not believe in our value?

Do we not understand the value of a skilled temporary worker?

The client loves our temp or contractor so much they want to hire them permanently. (Temp-to-Perm, Buy-out. Conversion)

Yay, but you get it, right?

We have done our job so well that they want to make it permanent!

Then, many of us give away our Temps at discount rates.

And I mean massive discounts, not a little nod of the head

Sometimes the permanent fee after a year or 18 months is – nothing!!!

FFS!

Why, I have never understood. I know the market is demanding. I appreciate a $ is still a $. I am aware some clients are screwing us where they can.

But it happens in every market, all the time. Some agencies have it embedded in their terms of business!

A Temp or Contractor on your payroll is a precious asset.

I cannot fathom why anyone in our industry would give a substantial discount on the fee when a temporary employee goes permanent.

It’s just so illogical. A temp-to-perm fee is a once-off hit, which is nice when it happens, but we seem to forget that we have lost a tried, tested, and hard-to-replace revenue-earning asset- our Temp worker.

I have heard all the arguments on this from clients, and they don’t wash

Let’s start with the classic “But you really should discount the permanent conversion fee because you have already earned so much margin on the temp”. What hogwash. The temp margin is for the temporary service rendered. The perm fee is for the acquisition of a permanent staff member. There is no leveraging one against the other.

We need to be confident with the client. It is far from a celebration for us when a temp goes perm; in fact, the perm fee is scant compensation for the lost revenue that the temp could have earned on future assignments.

Some clients will even try to use the ‘hire purchase’ argument. “But can’t you see?” they say. “It’s like me renting a TV and then buying it. It’s always cheaper to buy a previously rented TV”.

Sounds neat, but it is fallacious. A TV is a depreciating asset.

In a contract assignment, a human being is trained, absorbing the company culture, and learning the systems, which means they are an appreciating asset.

The perm fee should be more, not less.

And one more thing…

Don’t pro-rata perm fees for long-term contract assignments. That’s dumb. We lose. Keep the distinction between temp and perm crisp and clear. (I know in some countries our hands are legally tied on this, but it’s just about negotiation in many countries.)

If it is a fixed-term assignment, it’s a contract role; therefore, it’s a timesheet hourly rate with our margins on top, or it’s a fixed weekly or monthly rate. Don’t think, “Well, it’s a six-month role, so we will divide our perm fee by two because it’s half a year”.

Do the arithmetic!

A perm fee at 20% for 75,000 placement is $15,000

If a client wants to pay half the perm fee because it’s a six-month gig, then you get $7,500

But the margin you will earn on a $75k level person on a temp basis for six months at a 55% markup is approximately $19,000

$7,500 vs $19,000

You can see why the client likes the idea!

Sure, if the client wants to pay a perm fee instead of a margin for a six-month gig, for example, that’s cool. But it’s the full perm fee. The client will still pay less than the equivalent margin, i.e. $15,000 vs. $19,000.

But you get a full fee, and that’s fair and proper.

(Of course, the client will get cold feet about this when they think about it. “So if I pay the perm fee, the person is on our payroll?” YES. “Aha, but that’s a hassle”. YES. “And then if they leave after 8 months, you will replace them?” NO. “But I want that reassurance?” COOL > PUT THEM ON TIMESHEETS. Bang. The value of Temp starts to become more evident!

If you are not convinced, think about this. If you owned an investment property and rented it for five years to a lovely young couple, and then they wanted to buy it from you, would you give them a 25% discount off the sale price because of the rent they had previously paid? I don’t think so. So why do you give your temps away cheap?

Believe me on this. We have NOTHING else to sell besides our service and talent skills.

Believe in the value you bring

Don’t give away the farm.

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Action Steps

Run an internal session on the cost of a Temp and our real value

Train your recruiters to push back on T2P fees

Revamp your terms of business with clear guidance on T2P

Walk away from clients who demand free or almost free conversions

Subscribe to the Savage Recruitment Academy, which has all this and much more.
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Source - Original Article by Greg Savage