Expand your recruitment channels

Don't just recruit through your own informal networks and channels. This usually draws on a pool of potential candidates who resemble the organisation's employees. Job seekers who are distanced from the organisation are not reached in this way. Try to appeal to a broader, more diverse pool of candidates.

Content

Challenge

Use more recruitment channels
Engage in social media
Make it personal
Open Hiring

Challenge: find out how broad your network is

Before looking for ways to broaden your recruitment field, take a look at your current recruitment and selection network. What is your current basis?

The questions below can help you take stock of the situation.

Which job platforms do you usually choose for your vacancy texts?
Which organisations do you contact to ask if they can distribute/publish the vacancy ad?
On which social media channels do you post vacancy ads?
Do you use influencers? If so, who?
Which colleagues post vacancy ads on their social media channels?
Organising an informal meetup?
How do you make contact with job seekers in an informal, low-threshold way?
Does the vacancy qualify for Open Hiring?

Use more recruitment channels

One of the first steps in the recruitment process is to find the appropriate channels to post the vacancy. Organisations immediately choose the most popular and well-known search channels such as VDAB, Indeed, LinkedIn and Stepstone. These channels promise a large pool of candidates, yet have a number of pitfalls:

The pool of candidates is sometimes too large, so it’s difficult to find a suitable candidate.
Not all candidates are active on these channels.

To recruit inclusively, you need to actively expand your reach and thus avoid a mismatch between job seeker and employer. Some tips:

Don't post your vacancy only on well-known job boards within your own sector. Check the options to share vacancies on the websites and social media pages of networks favouring inclusion, and try professional associations.
Send your message to municipalities that cooperate with refugee organisations at local level.
Make contact with local, grassroots initiatives.
Build and maintain a diverse and committed network and continue to pay attention to it. This way, you reach a broad target group.

Zet in op sociale media

Facebook, Instagram and YouTube can act as catalysts to reach a larger network. Interesting visuals and striking quotes on social media channels can be inspiring and attract different groups of candidates that are difficult to reach.

Social media have the power to speed up the process of sharing and re-posting and - if used intelligently - open new doors. Of course, you have to consider that not all potential candidates are active on social media and it should not therefore be your only recruitment platform.

Collaborating with influencers?

Make sure you follow more diverse channels and people in the first place. That is how you can get in touch with new worlds and other voices. You can learn whether there's is a match between your organisation and certain channels and influencers, and whether cooperation is possible.

Find people with influence on your target group. These are not necessarily famous vloggers or artists, but the right people within a targeted network. Share your vacancies with these people in a targeted way by approaching them personally and asking them to share a vacancy on their social media.
And use your own employees as influencers. Let them share company information, such as job openings, in their own social media. Provide ready-made posts in the form of visuals, text and links.

Organise informal meetups

Informal meetups at which employers and jobseekers meet informally are usually a success. Organisations make contact with potential candidates on a friendly basis. Face-to-face conversations can significantly weaken ideas about stereotypes, as well as prejudices.

Create opportunities by meeting your potential candidates in person through online and offline events. It’s very important to construct an accessible environment. So, plan an event for mixed online and in-person audiences. Prepare your event’s announcement in order to reach your target group.

Hassan Al Hilou, entrepreneur and founder of Capital

Capital - an example

Capital (in Dutch) by Hassan Al Hilou is a good example of how to organise meetups. Capital is an ecosystem of organisations and companies that helps young people in their search for jobs, careers and goals. Hassan moved his non-profit organisation into a 2,000 m² building in the centre of Brussels. 'We knew that young people had difficulty identifying their goals. They didn't always know what was on offer, or had no way of finding out whether a particular career would be right for them.'

Use Open Hiring

Open Hiring is an innovative recruiting technique that does not involve an interview, CV, resumé or reference check. Anyone who wants the job can apply as a candidate. Actually, doing the job is the way that the candidate's suitability is evaluated. This is how Open Hiring removes the barriers of a traditional job application.

Until recently, this technique was mainly used for the recruitment of early school leavers in semi-skilled positions such as cleaning staff, domestic help, logistics staff, gardeners and production staff. Open Hiring does not guarantee success, but it does have many interesting advantages:

It is an additional inflow channel.
It creates opportunities and excludes prejudice.
Employees are more motivated.
Candidates get a fair chance in a fair recruitment process.
Open Hiring has a positive effect on both employer and employee.

How do you start Open Hiring?

To apply Open Hiring you must observe 8 rules:

Application must be open to everyone, without any conditions.
You don’t ask potential candidates questions.
You welcome the new employee with open arms.
You strictly follow the order of applicants on the waiting list.
You offer new employees the prospect of a permanent contract.
As the employer, you provide job coaching.
You offer opportunities for personal development and growth.
New employees are treated equally.