While posting an open position on an online job board like Indeed is common for hiring managers looking to attract hourly workers, employers need to take a far more comprehensive approach in a job market that has moved heavily in favor of workers.

“I hear from most people who are hiring hourly workers that they get most of their candidates from Indeed. We want to keep doing what works. Let’s stick to that, but we also should be diversifying and finding other ways to attract applicants that will be good options for you,” said Jackie Adams, a hiring specialist at Workstream, a mobile-based recruiting platform. Adams spoke in From Day One webinar focusing on how employers can attract hourly workers by diversifying their sourcing strategy. She distilled her advice into nine points:

Text-to-Apply

Posting QR codes at physical locations in the local community that permit applicants to apply through mobile devices has proven five times more effective at attracting applicants than job board postings.

“Farmer’s markets, gas stations–anywhere and everywhere,” Adams said. “A great place is your local schools and colleges. Pass out flyers at sporting events or concerts. Meet your community where they are.”

Referral Programs

Companies with solid referral programs are nearly nine times more likely to attract qualified job applicants than businesses that utilize only job boards. Adams suggests hiring managers take advantage of employees’ connections with others in the community by offering incentives for attracting new talent. “Your employees are the best ambassadors for your business,” she said. “They know how the company functions, and they know what personalities are the best fit for your company.”

Adams says high-performing employees are often acquainted with other valuable workers, and employers should work to create clearly defined referral programs to make use of those connections.

“The biggest mistake HR leaders make with referral programs is treating them as a ‘set it and forget it’ initiative. You must regularly monitor and optimize them,” she said.

Social Media

With most people spending up to 147 minutes on social media daily, it’s a no-brainer to utilize diverse platforms to promote open positions. “This is a massive way to capture an audience that could be applicants,” Adams said.

Sixty-nine percent of adults in the U.S. use Facebook, while 73% use YouTube. “These are awesome outlets if you’re looking for adults in the U.S.,” Adams said. “Do your own research and build social media content.” She stressed the importance of posting daily.

As an example, Adams says Disney has had a lot of success posting day-in-the-life videos of its employees, which has the dual benefit of attracting applicants and boosting morale among established employees. “McDonald’s does food prep videos–it makes it seem like an interesting place to work,” she said.

Job Boards

Considered the baseline for most hiring managers looking to fill positions, online job boards must be utilized in a creative, tech-savvy way for managers to see success. “Although you need to find other ways to diversify, we do need to spend more time on job boards,” Adams said. She says search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the keys to success, allowing for better visibility among thousands of job listings.

“Write job posts so the right people will feel qualified and will apply,” Adams said. ”You can have ChatGPT create job posts. I’ve seen many companies do this and it does a great job.”

Indeed recently changed its algorithm to emphasize employers interacting with prospective employees, leading Adams to recommend constant communication with applicants.

“Seventy-nine percent of internet users scan instead of reading something,“ she said. ”Put information in bullet points, not blocks of text.”

She also recommended that companies always highlight the pay range for open positions, whether or not the law requires it in the state the company is from.

Branded Career Pages

A staple of most mid- and large-sized businesses, career pages on business websites greatly influence how candidates view a prospective job. “One of the main places you can highlight culture is this,” Adams said, adding that polls suggest that 56% of applicants believe they can tell what it will be like to work for a company from its career page. “It should share the company story with genuine photos and videos. If you can get away from the stock imagery and photos, then do that,” she said.

Community-Based Organizations

Employees hired through local organizations have a retention rate 70% higher than the average employee, Adams said, sharing an example of using such an outlet in her job working for a hotel chain earlier in her career. “They were struggling to find chefs and cooks, so they created a mini culinary school and brought students in so the current chefs could mentor them.”

Upon graduation, the hotel chain’s staffing woes disappeared as many of the most valuable students from classes became full-time employees. “Get creative, build relationships, build programs, and everything you can sponsor goes a long way,” Adams said.

Underrepresented Groups

Another hiring technique that provides businesses multiple benefits is targeting underrepresented groups to hire employees. Adams says the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, a federal program,  could provide companies up to $10,000 per hired employee who may have a criminal history, receives government assistance, or qualities as a refugee, immigrant, or military veteran.

“Studies have found that 82% of managers think that employees with criminal records perform as well, or better, than employees with clean records,” she said, adding that those same employees are often less susceptible to turnover due to a sense of loyalty to the company.

“Many think sourcing applicants in this group can be hard,” Adams said. “Just do a quick Google search for someone who helps hire veterans or other groups. There are many job boards and agencies geared toward these underrepresented groups."

Applicant Pool

Sometimes it pays not to try to reinvent the wheel. If you have applicants from a previous job posting, contact them to see if their interest abides.

Career Fairs

One of the most old-fashioned approaches on the list, attending career fairs can be lucrative if the right people are staffing the company’s booth. At one experience at a career fair where she assessed the presentations of various employers, “there were some people that really stood out to me and then there were some I couldn’t tell you what the name of their company was,” Adams said.

She says businesses must send people who are passionate about the company and will reach out to potential applicants instead of waiting to be approached. Current employees should attend as well to talk about their experience working with the business.

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks its partner, Workstream, who sponsored this webinar. Workstream’s mobile-based recruiting software helps businesses hire smarter and faster. Through sourcing from many places, the program helps hiring managers to engage with candidates while they’re motivated to apply.

Tim Zyla is the managing editor of a community newspaper in Pennsylvania and has a strong interest in business and finance.

(Featured photo by Dusan Petkovic/iStock by Getty Images)