Recruitment Methods: Top Strategies for UK Employers

Knowing the right recruitment methods to use when hiring new staff can offer competitive advantage when searching and finding the best candidates for your business.

We explore some practical advice for employers on the benefits and pitfalls of various different recruitment techniques, and how these can add value to your wider recruitment strategy.

 

What are the different types of recruitment methods?

 

The recruitment landscape continues to change significantly in response to market shifts and the evolving demands and expectations of employers and workers.

While many traditional recruitment methods continue to offer some relevance and use, the proliferation of digital channels and the prevalence of online networking mean there is a much wider range of recruitment techniques and tools available. Faced with the reality of budget and time constraints, the challenge today for employers is often knowing where to focus efforts when recruiting.

Below we identify the key recruitment methods commonly used by employers and recruitment personnel, although this list is neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive, where a combination of these techniques can be tailored to fit the role:

 

• Internal recruiting: this is where an employer runs a job ad internally, for example, via the staff company intranet or message board, to source candidates to fill a role from within the existing workforce. This is in contrast to external recruitment where the employer attracts entirely new employees to work for the business.
• External advertising: this is where a job role is opened up to the wider public, where there are multiple options available here, including use of traditional print methods, advertising on recruitment websites or the company’s own corporate website, as well as professional networking sites or other social media platforms, such as LinkedIn or Twitter.
• Talent searching: this is where popular online recruitment websites hold databases of thousands of CVs, where an employer or internal recruiter can search this information using key search terms to identify potential candidates for a particular role within their company or organisation.
• Approaching passive candidates: this is where an employer or internal recruiter headhunts talented individuals across professional networking platforms, such as LinkedIn. These individuals will not have expressed an interest in job hunting, but with the right incentives or perks they may be persuaded to take on a new role with a different employer.
• Recruitment agencies: this is where the task of advertising a job role and identifying suitable candidates for interview is outsourced to an experienced external recruiter, often with
• Social Media and Digital Campaigns: Employers can leverage targeted digital advertising campaigns on social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, to attract specific audiences. Tools like Facebook Ads and LinkedIn Talent Insights provide detailed analytics to measure the effectiveness of campaigns.
• Virtual Career Fairs and Webinars: Hosting virtual career fairs or webinars helps attract candidates across different locations. These events provide a platform to showcase the company culture, engage with potential hires, and answer questions in real-time.
• Employee Referral Programmes: Tech-enhanced referral tools allow employees to recommend candidates for roles, often with rewards for successful hires.

 

Recruitment methods: pros and cons

 

There are various different pros and cons to each type of recruitment method. There is no right or wrong approach, as much will depend on the size of your company and organisation, your industry sector and the nature of the job role and the resources at your disposal when searching for candidates. Not every job has the same requirements, and each business has different needs. Factors such as time and expense will also weigh heavily in what recruitment methods are appropriate to adopt in the circumstances.

Below we briefly analyse the positives and negatives of recruiting internally, versus some of the different types of external recruitment methods available.

 

Recruiting internally

 

Recruiting internally is generally one of the cheaper and more straightforward hiring options available to employers. It can be more cost-effective than advertising externally and outsourcing the task to a professional recruitment agency. The recruitment and onboarding process as a whole is usually considerably shorter if you ‘hire’ an existing employee, since there will be no requirement to undertake a new onboarding process.

Hiring internally is also an extremely valuable recruitment strategy because it guarantees that you are filling vacant positions with people who already understand your business, its’ culture and what is expected of them.

By having a policy of regular internal recruitment, you can actively reward existing employees who have the skillset to match your requirements. This can show that you are committed to their career growth and progression, leading to higher staff retention rates and greater employee engagement.

Additionally, the use of internal recruitment can facilitate succession planning for your business in the long-term, where you will be looking for future leaders with a loyal track record and inside knowledge of how you operate.

That said, by restricting your selection pool to existing members of staff, you could significantly limit your options, and may not necessarily be able to find the right candidate for the job from your current workforce. It is therefore important to remain open to the benefits of external recruitment methods.

 

Recruiting externally

 

External recruitment can significantly increase your chances of finding the right candidate for a job, although it can be an extremely costly and time-consuming process where candidates have to be sourced, interviewed, assessed and verified before being able to make a hiring decision. That said, there are various options available to employers when considering recruiting externally.

 

Advertising

 

Print or press advertising is the most traditional of all external recruitment techniques, although a well-placed advert, for example, in a national or local newspaper, can still be a useful way of reaching a suitable pool of candidates.

When you advertise within specialist trade journals or industry publications, that are increasingly likely to have an online presence besides a printed edition, you can reach out to a well-defined sector of jobseekers with specific skills or experience to meet your job role requirements.

That said, press advertising should only ever really be used in combination with other recruitment methods, otherwise risk limiting your pool of candidates solely to the readers or subscribers of particular publications.

Advertising on a wide range of recruitment websites or online job boards promises a potentially wider reach than press advertising, where jobseekers can easily use a search engine to find specific types of jobs on the most popular sites. With online advertising you can even reach a global audience, where the resident talent may be limited, increasing your access to a wider pool of suitable candidates to further the growth and success of your business.

Online advertising is also one of the most cost-effective and quickest external recruitment methods, where it generally only takes a few minutes to set up an online advert. By posting your job specification online you can find talented candidates faster and you can manage multiple applications more effectively.

The biggest downside of this approach is that with multiple applications often comes a multitude of unacceptable candidates, where you may have to sift through all those individuals who do not have the requisite skills or experience.

One possible way of minimising the problem of too many unsuitable applications is by using an online advert on your company website under a dedicated vacancies section. This could be used either by way of alternative to other online advertising, especially where you have a strong employer brand so are likely to attract candidates directly to your site, or in conjunction with other methods.

Although online ads on corporate websites can often be less visible than those on major recruitment sites or online job boards, this can help to attract candidates who are specifically interested in working for your company or organisation.

 

Online talent searching

 

For those of you who have sufficient time or the internal resources to proactively undertake your own dedicated search for suitable candidates, the popularity of online recruitment has increased the use of talent search as an alternative to advertising a job role online.

The process of sifting through vast databases and thousands of CV’s can be time-consuming. However, with patience and perseverance, talent searches can often yield the right results for your business, allowing you to identify candidates that are the right fit for your business and the job role in question.

 

Online headhunting

 

The use of professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn, can help you refine your online talent search more time-efficiently, allowing you to headhunt potential candidates, even where they are not actively seeking a new job role. In this way, you can also build up contacts with qualified professionals in your industry that may be interested in switching employers at some point in the future.

 

Outsourcing to a professional

 

If time is of the essence and cost no issue for your business, the better alternative to online advertising or online searches is to delegate this task to an external recruitment agency. Many professional recruitment agencies are sector-specific and can offer specialised talent search services using their own existing database of suitably qualified and experienced jobseekers.

A good recruiter can access a large network of potential candidates, directing the most suitable people to apply for the role. Typically, these candidates will also be pre-screened and pre-referenced. Of course, the cost of using a reputable agency can be high, but recruitment can be extremely hard work and very time-consuming, so handing the task over to trained professionals can take much of the pressure off, freeing up your time to focus on more pressing matters.

 

How do these methods fit into wider recruitment strategies?

 

The recruitment process does not start and end with the placement of a job ad. This is just one step in the overall hiring cycle, where drawing up the job specification and deciding on what selection methods to use also play a vital role.

 

Drawing up the job specification

 

Prior to even advertising a vacancy you will need to consider the job specification, together with salary and any added incentives. To attract the right candidates, it is not always just about the wages, where the addition of perks, such as flexibility of working arrangements or other employee benefits for a prospective candidate, can be crucial in attracting top talent.

You should also be careful about the way in which a job advert is worded, where the way in which you phrase things can easily deter candidates who may feel they are unsuitable yet have the perfect credentials for a certain role.

By developing targeted job descriptions that speak to the type of person you are looking for, you can create the right candidate pool to choose from. In cases where you fail to adequately target the audience for your advert, you could easily attract unsuitable applicants or even get too few applications.

 

Deciding on your selection process

 

Once the job description has been drawn up, you will not only need to decide on the most suitable recruitment techniques to advertise a role, but also determine the type of selection methods you will use once applications have been received.

In many cases employers will use a structured interview process as one of their main selection methods, where CV’s are gathered and screened to create a shortlist of people to invite for interview. However, interviewing face-to-face can be very time-consuming, so you need to ensure that you shortlist carefully so as not to waste valuable time on unsuitable candidates.

The use of pre-screening techniques through, for example, telephone or video interviewing, can save you a great deal of time here. In this way you can conduct a first round of interviews to help you create a final shortlist.

 

Role of tech in recruitment

 

The adoption of technology in recruitment can help employers streamline processes, reduce costs, and attract the right talent more effectively. By integrating tech-driven tools into their recruitment strategy, businesses can enhance their ability to find, assess, and hire candidates in a competitive job market.

One key area of improvement is automation and artificial intelligence (AI). Employers can use AI-powered platforms to screen CVs, shortlist candidates, and match applicants to specific job roles based on skills and experience. Machine learning algorithms can analyse large volumes of applications quickly, ensuring recruiters focus their efforts on the most suitable candidates. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of unconscious bias.

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) offer another significant enhancement. These systems allow recruiters to manage the entire recruitment process efficiently, from job posting and application tracking to scheduling interviews and making offers. ATS software also provides analytics, enabling employers to identify areas for improvement and monitor key recruitment metrics.

Video interviewing platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or HireVue are becoming essential, particularly for remote or global hiring. These tools allow employers to conduct interviews with candidates regardless of location, while some platforms incorporate AI features like sentiment analysis to assess communication skills and engagement levels.

Employers can also leverage social media and digital advertising to expand their reach. Targeted campaigns on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram can attract specific demographics or candidates with niche skill sets. Analytics tools help monitor the success of campaigns and optimise strategies to reach the right audience.

Another innovative approach is the use of gamification and online assessments. Platforms such as Codility and HackerRank allow employers to test candidates’ technical and problem-solving skills in a practical, interactive format. This method is particularly valuable for hiring in tech-focused industries, where real-world demonstrations of skills are crucial.

Finally, virtual career fairs and webinars allow employers to connect with potential candidates online. These events offer a cost-effective and accessible way to showcase company culture, engage with talent, and answer questions in real time.

 

Gaining competitive advantage through your hiring process

 

As an employer, you may already have well-established recruitment and selection methods. However, you should always be willing to explore alternative hiring strategies, in some cases reforming your existing recruitment process to open up the available talent pool that you attract to your business.

There are various ways in which you can develop more innovative recruitment and selection methods, especially in the context of the digital revolution. By being active on professional networking and social media platforms, this will allow you to meet potential candidates through shared connections and shared discussion topics, and because it is easier for jobseekers to contact you directly.

It also has the added benefit of allowing you to build relationships with potential candidates for future roles. In this way you can expand your employer brand, boost your reputation and showcase your business to potential candidates.

 

Need assistance?

 

DavidsonMorris’ specialist HR consultants are experienced in advising employers on all aspects of workforce management, engagement and performance enhancement. This includes strategies and measures to improve productivity and morale while safeguarding employee wellbeing through the use of occupation health and other specialisms. For more information about how we can help your organisation, speak to us.

 

Recruitment methods FAQs

 

How can technology improve the recruitment process?

Technology streamlines recruitment by automating tasks such as CV screening, managing applications, and scheduling interviews, saving time and improving efficiency.

 

What is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?

An ATS is software that helps employers manage the recruitment process, from advertising roles to tracking applications, shortlisting candidates, and monitoring hiring progress.

 

How can AI help in recruitment?

AI can analyse large volumes of applications, match candidates to roles based on skills, and reduce unconscious bias by applying consistent screening criteria.

 

What are video interviewing tools, and how do they help?

Video interviewing tools, like Zoom or HireVue, allow employers to conduct remote interviews. Advanced platforms may use AI to assess candidate engagement and communication.

 

How can social media be used in recruitment?

Employers can use platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to run targeted recruitment campaigns, post job ads, and engage with passive candidates.

 

What is gamification in recruitment?

Gamification involves using interactive tools like coding tests or problem-solving challenges to assess a candidate’s skills and suitability in a real-world context.

 

How do virtual career fairs work?

Virtual career fairs enable employers to meet candidates online, showcase company culture, answer questions, and promote job opportunities to a wider audience.

 

Can technology help reduce recruitment bias?

Yes, AI and automated tools apply consistent criteria to screen candidates, reducing the risk of unconscious bias in shortlisting and decision-making.

 

What are the benefits of using online assessments?

Online assessments allow employers to evaluate candidates’ skills, knowledge, and problem-solving abilities effectively, ensuring they hire the best fit for the role.

 

How do recruitment analytics improve hiring decisions?

Analytics provide insights into key metrics, such as candidate sources, application rates, and hiring times, helping employers optimise their recruitment strategies.