Attracting top talent in highly competitive job markets is one of the biggest challenges recruiters are facing today. No matter how creative your…

Attracting top talent in highly competitive job markets is one of the biggest challenges recruiters are facing today. No matter how creative your recruitment campaigns are, you’re competing with other businesses that have the same goal: hiring the best talent. However, your employees can help you stand out from the crowd and attract the best talent to your company.

Like all business leaders, you want to find the best and brightest talent to join your team. You’re always on the lookout for eager and experienced talent, people who are motivated, creative, skilled, and a good fit for your corporate culture. The trouble is, every other business wants to hire them too.

One thing’s for sure – you definitely want to avoid hiring the wrong talent. Whether you end up with someone who is not the right fit for your corporate culture or just not the right talent for your business, the costs of hiring the wrong talent can be huge.

Fortunately, you have a great advantage when it comes to talent attraction: your employees. But they’ll help you attract the right talent only if they buy into what you’re doing. When you have high employee engagement, your employees can help boost your employer brand, share your latest job openings, and attract like-minded talent.

Here are four ways your employees can help you attract the right talent:

1. Your Employees Add a Human Touch to Your Employer Brand

The best talent values your brand image, your company culture, and the employee experience you’re able to deliver. The importance of joining a company with a good reputation has risen dramatically in the past few years, with 86% of millennials thinking that business success should be measured in terms of more than just financial performance, and 75% of job seekers considering an employer’s brand before applying.

When your employees are excited about their jobs and feel connected with your mission statement, they will spontaneously share company news and behind-the-scene posts to their social networks. That way, they’ll start spreading the word about your company culture and your workplace on social media. Think about it: when your employees share behind-the-scene content, they add a human touch to your employer brand and help you attract great candidates.

Potential applicants see positive content that your employees share about your business and they trust it much more than your brand’s social feeds. The best talent notices your enthusiastic employees, recognizing that it’s a strong indication of a positive corporate culture, which adds to the attractiveness of your company.

2. Your Employees’ Combined Networks Are Larger than Your Brand’s

You already know that if you’re looking for anyone from sales prospects to old high school friends, you’ll find them on social media. It’s true for your next good hire as well.

Your engaged employees are well placed to share information about open positions on social media. Their combined networks are far larger than yours, helping to spread the net wider and catch better talent. Remember that when employees share brand-related content, their posts reach 561% further than corporate posts.

And it’s not just about getting your employees to share job openings on social media. Some of the best professionals you could hire come from your direct or indirect competitors. Your engaged employees have more – and more valuable – connections with top talent from other businesses, especially if you’ve used your employee advocacy program wisely to encourage them to become thought leaders in your industry. Your employees are likely to know which top talent is feeling unfulfilled at their current position and who is ready for a change.

3. Your Employees Communicate Your Distinctive Corporate Culture on Social Media

It’s important to remember that you don’t just want to attract a good talent, you want the talent that’s right for your company. You need someone who is a good culture fit, as well as someone who is motivated and highly qualified. However, it’s notoriously difficult to screen for a good fit.

That’s where high employee engagement proves its worth. Your engaged employees share posts and content that reflect your business’ corporate culture. They are extremely effective at communicating your company’s values, vision and mission in a way that helps attract applicants who’ll be a good culture fit and deter those who are not.

4. The Right Fits Attract More of the Right Fits

Just because it’s a cliché, it doesn’t mean it’s not true. Your engaged employees are the right fits that are already working for you, setting up a gravitational field for even more talented employees.

Everyone wants to make the right decision when it comes to choosing a career path. A recent survey conducted by Glassdoor highlights that 40% of candidates are more likely to apply for a job if they are familiar with the company brand. Your engaged employees will attract other thriving, vibrant workers, who’ll bring even more top talent through your doors.

Keep in mind that some of your employees’ connections and followers may not be actively looking for new job opportunities but that doesn’t mean they are not interested in your company. Your employees can help you stay at the top of your game by engaging with great professionals who are not looking for a new job job yet but would be interested in joining your team later on.

Your Engaged Employees Are Your Best Recruiters

Most people look at online reviews before purchasing a product or service and the same goes with job hunting: candidates research companies on social media. They want to know what it’s like to work at your company, what is your corporate culture, and what kind of employee experience you offer. But they may not trust your brand messaging. Instead, they believe in your employees’ reviews and testimonials. If you want to attract top talent to your company, invest in your employees and make employee experience one of your top priorities because happy and engaged employees are your best brand advocates and recruiters.