A recruiting war is waging, and the victor will get your employees. Sounds dramatic, right? You might be surprised to find that it’s really not that far-fetched. After all, 71 percent of the U.S. labor force is in the job market. This means they are either actively seeking a job or are open to job opportunities that come their way.
Fifty-one percent of employees will seek new employment in 2015, and according to recent research from BambooHR, the majority of job 
seekers are looking for advancement and better work-life balance. Recruiters know how to find these candidates: 88 percent of these candidates have at least one social networking profile, and 89 percent of companies use social media in their recruiting efforts. Some of these job seekers may be employees you wouldn’t mind sending off, but some may be good employees who just like to be aware of the climate in the job market.
Other employees are content where they are, but would be open to a new job if the right offer came along, and 46 percent of recruiters are seeking out these candidates and know how to entice them. They’re finding your satisfied, loyal employees through social media and referrals. Recruiters are seeking out your committed and passionate employees and see them as the best candidates for their job openings.
With so many of your employees being vulnerable to recruiters, it’s important to have solid recruiting efforts all the way through the onboarding process. But that’s just not enough. You also need to actively recruit your own employees as much as you recruit outside talent, because your employees are someone else’s outside talent. You can either actively recruit your current employees or spend time and money recruiting and training new employees.
Here are five suggestions on how you can regularly recruit your own employees:
Develop a pipeline. Who are your top performers? Do you know their skills and career interests? Do you have internal positions that may be a good fit for them? Let these employees know they’re in your pipeline and prepare them for advancement.
Do an internal career fair. If your company is big enough, an internal career fair will resemble an actual career fair, with booths and representatives from different departments. In a smaller company, it can be a meeting about currently open positions with a representative or hiring manager assigned to present to a group of invited and self-selected attendees. You’ll learn who is motivated by the prospect of internal career advancement and have a chance to interact with them.
Recognize achievement. This sounds pretty standard, but it’s important and often overlooked. Are your employees doing work that deserves praise? Are they consistently pushing out great work or helping team members? If so, you should notice them, acknowledge them, and make sure executives know as well. Have management send emails, cards, gift baskets, gifts to spouses or family, or make personal visits to the employees’ workspaces. Ninety-three percent of recruiters keep tabs on potential candidates through social media; recruiters are going to notice your employees’ accomplishments and make similar gestures. You’d better do it first.
Know the pain points. You must understand the frustrations and roadblocks that prevent your employees from excelling in personal goals and being innovative. Be in constant communication and resolve issues when they arise so your top performers can progress as you intended when you brought them on.
Regularly update your offer. Did you think your job offer was indefinite when it was accepted? Your best employees need to know they’re still as valuable now as they were when you were recruiting them. This will require you to reexamine these employees’ roles, salaries, and benefits. Go to employees with upgraded offers paired with new responsibilities. Let them negotiate the terms and discuss their performance, then get them excited to be“re-hired” (a term coined by Dr. John Sullivan). Stay ahead of the competition.
Your employees are the beating heart of your company’s growth and success. Any retention efforts made to keep great talent is more than worth what you will spend recruiting, hiring, and training because of losing your people to competitors. Keep practicing your external recruiting activities on your internal workforce, and you will keep your company focused and driving toward a rewarding, successful future.
Steven Holiday is an industry research specialist for BambooHR. He regularly contributes to the website blog, which reports on issues that are of timely importance to the HR community.
For more insight on hiring and HR, see The Future of Human Resources.