Applying SWOT Analysis to Recruitment

Recently I invited LaTeisha Overton, who is an experienced recruitment professional and CEO of IndieRecruiter, to describe for us one of the approaches she takes to helping recruiting teams put together better recruiting strategies.

Put on your Recruiting gear and prepare for combat!

Ever thought about the strategy behind a successful recruiting team?

As a Recruiter, I find that I am most successful when I am strapped with as much information as possible about my employer as even more so, my employer’s competitor. As this information is vital to compiling an effective recruiting strategy, knowing what the candidates are looking for is equally important. One sure way to gather this information is to perform a S.W.O.T Analysis with your company or employer and their competition.

A S.W.O.T Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business.

This analysis proves to be very useful and effective within the Recruiting industry as well. Performing a SWOT analysis will assist the company or organization’s Recruiting team with valuable insight and information that will enhance your recruiting strategy and improve candidate sourcing efforts.

Competitive Strengths

In this area, you want to see just what you are up against by taking a look at your competitor’s stronger suits. Here are a couple of questions to research:

• What stands out about the competitor?
• What types of benefits are offered?
• Is there opportunity for work-life balance?
• What is the measure of growth per year?
• What is the rank or position in the industry?
• How long has the organization been in operation?
• Is there a specialty or unique focus?

Weakness Overview

When considering your competitors Weaknesses, we should focus on the following:

• Company Presence – Where is their biggest presence? What part of the country? (Is that an area that candidates would want to live or work?)
• Company Culture – What is it like to work for X company? This information can be gathered through Social and Professional Networking sites like “Facebook” and “Linkedin”. These sites host groups that are sometimes made up of employees from specific companies. Employees use these groups as an opportunity to connect with other employees around the world, use it as a forum to openly discuss new ideas or sometimes, just for fun. Typically these employees are very honest and open to sharing information about their experience working with that company. Just ask, “what do you like and dislike about working with xyz company”? You will be surprised!
• Attrition – What is the rate of attrition per year? What area do they tend to lose the most employees?
• Credibility – Look for information on the credibility of the company. Although you may not find any negative information, this is still a worthwhile area to check.

Exploring Opportunities.

As you continue to research and gather more information about your competitor, recognize the areas where there may be an opportunity for you to shine! In this area, you are comparing certain aspects of your organization with theirs. You are using a combination of the Weaknesses and Strengths, yet finding areas where there may be possible loopholes where your company or organization could have the advantage.

Here are some questions to consider:

• Are the benefits comparable?
• What does your organization offer that the competitor does not?
• How valuable is the competitor’s credibility?
• Who (what type of candidate) is the competitors primary target?
• What type of advancement opportunities are in place?

Considering the Threats.

In this area, we are to take a look at the road ahead! Recognizing and evaluating your competitors advantages and current status is a great way to determine potential Threats and provide clarity as to where the attention needs to be within your company or organization.

Some questions to consider would be:

• What is your competitor’s forecasted growth?
• What is your competitor’s niche or specialty?
• Are they in expansion mode?
• What was the revenue percentage for the previous year?
• What is their current industry ranking?

With the current state of the economy, the recruitment industry will surely need to restructure their approach to yield better overall results. As some companies are reducing their staff, other companies are hiring, yet becoming more detailed in the candidates they seek. When in similar industries, more than likely, the same candidates are being targeted. How well you are prepared and equipped with the right information will make all the difference in the direction the best candidate follows and which Recruiter wins!

Thank you LaTeisha.

Author

Lucy Nixon

Website

Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye