Have you heard of the ‘Blue Ocean theory of talent acquisition’? The Blue Ocean theory of talent acquisition is based on a Four Actions Framework. In short, these are the helpful actions CML Recruitment has implemented in our Research and Process Optimization daily.

The Four Actions Framework

1. Reduce

Take a look at your organization’s traditional recruitment methods of talent attraction, and start experimenting with cuts to see what is actually working and what isn’t so you can be more efficient. If you use job boards, we recommend using them less in your recruitment process. If you tend to go the traditional marketing route, and printed ads are the standard, ask yourself – is this method helpful? If not, reduce your exposure. If contingency recruitment firms are the norm, use fewer. By incrementally reducing your reliance on these methods, you will not only save money but free your employee’s time so you can do unique things that work best for you.

2. Raise

Look at the things that absolutely can’t be cut from traditional recruitment processes and raise the bar. A perfect example is assessments and interviews. How long does it take you to interview, assess and give feedback to a candidate? How much can you reduce that by? The goal is to hire qualified candidates before your competitors can even schedule interviews. The same holds for any process you control. Drive your techniques forward, raise the bar, and make things better so that you get far ahead. After, you’re not even competing anymore!

3. Eliminate

Get organized. Be sure to eliminate waste, unhelpful traditions and legacy practices that represent no significance. You might remove cookie-cutter job descriptions and go for competency modelling. Perhaps you might realign HR teams so you don’t have a recruitment coordinator, and then have agency recruiters follow new processes. It might be possible to have half-day collegiate interviews using structured interview techniques – that means no more gut-feel hires. Furthermore, eliminating waste automatically pushes innovation and generates improvement opportunities.

4. Create

And lastly, CREATE. Find out what is really important to your candidates and your organization. What makes your business a great place to work? You can gain a more targeted answer by asking new joiners, ‘Why did you choose us?’ The answer to this question gives you direction on how to play to your strengths uniquely – to create processes that generate impactful pull factors in candidates.

Read Jason Warner’s article, the inspiration for our version of the Four Actions Framework.

For more information on building effective habits and the recruitment process, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the CML Recruitment or our HR Consulting teams at info@cml.ky. We look forward to hearing from you.