The workforce is the greatest asset of any organization. Finding and retaining top talent can be a major headache, however, and it can cost a business dearly in terms of both time and money. If you’re a recruiter, you may have encountered one or more of these common issues when recruiting the right personnel for your company. Read on to learn how to overcome these challenges.

Challenge: Attracting the right people

Attracting the perfect fit for your company is often like trying to find a needle in a haystack. With hundreds of resumes to wade through, identifying the right candidate can be extremely challenging. In terms of streamlining the recruitment process, quality vastly outweighs quantity. After all, it is not about persuading hundreds of candidates to want to join your organization, but rather attracting people who are just the right fit. Hiring from a smaller, optimized talent pipeline is faster, easier, more cost effective, and more likely to connect you with qualified talent.

You should start by crafting job ads that give a concise description of the role you’re looking to fill. Using “knock-out” questions is an effective method of addressing key concerns. For example, organizations seeking candidates with a clean driving license can simply include a yes/no question in the ad asking candidates whether they have one. Essentially, it is important to be up front, which will save time for everyone involved and filter out candidates who are not right for the job.

Challenge: Engaging top-tier talent

Good candidates are highly sought after by recruiters, making them short in supply. Making your recruitment efforts stand out from the crowd can be a significant challenge.

Candidates with unique, in-demand skills often have a huge competitive advantage—they may be weighing up several employment offers at the same time. It is often necessary to go the extra mile to persuade these candidates to choose your organization over another.

Before reaching out to a passive candidate, it is prudent to research what motivates them. What assurance can you give them that they will be fulfilled working with your company?

Identifying a prospective employee’s motivation makes it is easier to personalize sourcing e-mails, meaning you can lay out what you can offer them rather than concentrating on what they can bring to your organization.

Great talent is scarce. Nearly a third of business leaders cite engaging talent as their most significant challenge. While a generous remuneration package may be enticing, job satisfaction is not solely about money. People are happiest working for an organization they identify with or that is working toward a cause they believe in.

In terms of job satisfaction, corporate social responsibility is key to attracting top talent. In today’s highly saturated job market, businesses that embrace corporate social responsibility as part of their brand to catch the attention of candidates and competitors alike.

In a recent poll, 50 percent of participants said that an organization’s corporate social responsibility policy impacted their decision to accept a job offer, and 32 percent agreed that they would consider leaving their current job if their employer gave too little to charity.

Challenge: Creating a good impression

Even if a candidate is not the right fit for an open position, it is vital to leave them with a positive impression of your organization. The way a company treats applicants throughout the recruitment process not only shows candidates what the company is like as an employer, but it leaves an indelible impression of the corporate brand.

In a recent poll:

• 70 percent of job seekers admit to turning down a job where they had a substandard first impression of the company.
• 35 percent said they would turn down a job if they were unimpressed by the reception area.
• 50 percent said they would be swayed by the dress sense of the interviewer.
• 60 percent said the handshake would be a factor in their decision-making process.
• 51 percent said they would turn down a job if they were left waiting around in reception too long.

Challenge: Fair recruitment

Many organizations struggle to attract and hire a diverse pool of candidates. While most recruiters would be loath to admit it, unconscious bias is often the reason.

In the world’s biggest tech companies, women account for just 30 percent of leadership roles and less than 27 percent of technical staff. In the United States, African Americans and Latinos make up a much smaller demographic in technology roles than they do in the general population. Conversely, although Asian Americans are underrepresented in leadership positions, they are overrepresented in technical roles.

Inclusiveness and diversity are not only good for society, but they are also good for business. Research shows that diverse leadership teams are up to 1.7 times more innovative and 35 percent more profitable.

Censia is a San Francisco-company that has developed a talent intelligence platform to help recruiters instantly triple their talent pool diversity while simultaneously cutting hiring costs by up to 60 percent. Driven by artificial intelligence, Censia’s platform helps companies access diverse talent, increasing inclusivity and ultimately improving profitability.