By Beth Gilbert
The labor shortage and shifting employee expectations across the real estate management industry continue to impact recruiting efforts for association management businesses. To help the industry address this challenge, we hosted a webinar where Nicole Tacktikos, Recruiting Manager at KW Property Management & Consulting shared ways businesses can shift their hiring and retention strategies to keep up with the changing landscape of the labor market. Here’s a recap of some of the innovative recruiting tips she shared:
1.) Adopt an Applicant Tracking System
With numerous applicants coming in from various channels, it can be difficult to maintain oversight during the hiring process, which can lead to slow response times and a loss of interest from candidates. An applicant tracking system can allow you to instantly increase visibility, speed up the recruiting process, and save time and resources. Applicant tracking systems generally house everything from applications and resumes to referrals and interview notes, so your team can be fully aligned with each candidate every step of the way.
2.) Move to Virtual Communications
If you’re still relying on only in-person interviews, then you could be missing out on some great candidates. By moving all of your hiring communications online, you can expand your candidate pool and increase flexibility. Many potential employees may be hesitant to travel due to the pandemic, traffic, and taking time off of work. By hosting a virtual interview, you can still ask all the necessary questions and get to know a candidate without having to have them come into the office. Moving to virtual interviews and communications also cuts back on recruiting costs and spending, since you no longer have to pay for travel or other expenses.
3.) Embrace Social Media
The majority of candidates today look online first when searching for a new job. You can increase job visibility and brand engagement by having a strong social media presence. While sites like LinkedIn are great for posting job openings, other channels like Instagram and Twitter are good for building brand awareness and credibility, which allows for organic, passive recruiting over time.
4.) Invest in Company Review Sites
In addition to social media channels, business review sites like Glassdoor and Indeed are other places candidates look when they want to know what it’s like to work at your company and if it would be a good fit for them. These sites are made up of current and past employee reviews and can provide insight into your work experience and culture. In addition, they also hold companies accountable with honest, real-life feedback. Many review sites allow companies to create their own branded page and highlight their offerings, all of which can help you differentiate your association management business. Just be sure to take any negative reviews you receive seriously and work to resolve them.
5.) Utilize Mobile Applications
Sifting through paper applications can take up a lot of your team’s time and slow down the hiring process. By automating and digitizing your application processes you can not only save time but provide a convenient and quick option for interested candidates to apply right from their phone or computer.
As Nicole shared, when you have a digital system in place, offer mobile, self-service tools, and have a strong online brand presence, you’ll be able to stand out from the crowd and attract top talent. To learn more about how you can overcome staffing challenges watch the full webinar on-demand here.
Beth Gilbert is the Sr. Director of the Community Association market at AppFolio. Beth brings over 15 years of product experience to AppFolio and is currently responsible for developing the vision and strategy for the community association market. She is passionate about building relationships with customers to learn about new ways to partner in the success of their businesses.
