For this month’s edition of Recharge & Recover PHL, Adetoun Adeniji-Adele, Talent Acquisition Manager, Integral Molecular, a Chamber and Life Sciences Talent Collaborative member, offers insights into how technology-based organizations can innovate their talent recruiting practices to better pull from their surrounding communities. 

Adeniji-Adele’s perspective is timely, as Integral Molecular’s commitment to our community has been making headlines. It recently opened a new 32,000-square-foot headquarters and integrated research facilities, including its pandemic preparedness laboratories, at the new uCity Square in Philadelphia. With this expansion news and the Company’s focus on inclusive talent initiatives, the Recharge & Recover PHL aspirations to establish Greater Philadelphia as a top global cell and gene therapy hub; the new national model to learn, apprentice, and work in jobs of the future; and a digital community with increased digital literacy, technology, and internet use are at the forefront. 

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Integral Molecular on how technology-based companies can tap into Greater Philadelphia’s rich pool of talent

Successful recruiting begins with community engagement because it allows your organization to establish a strong presence in local communities and build meaningful relationships.  

Career fairs are an excellent platform to showcase your organization’s unique story, build brand awareness, and attract top talent, even if you don’t have currently open positions. You can highlight your organization’s mission, values, culture, and impact, enabling candidates to emotionally connect with your purpose and assess how it aligns with their own career aspirations. 

Go beyond career fairs

You need to implement a strategic approach to truly engage with a local, diverse talent pool. You must have multiple and varied touch points to engage talent. You must build a network that shows candidates why your organization is the ideal place for long-term career development. 

Do not reinvent the wheel

Partner with local workforce development programs. These programs have deep insight and outreach into the local talent pool. Your organization can then provide internships, apprenticeships, mentors, and sponsorship for students pursuing related fields. This allows students to gain real-world experience and develop relevant professional skills to ensure success in the workforce.

Up your social media game

Go where the current workforce finds information: online. You must create and maintain a strong presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It helps to regularly share updates about your organization, its culture, and career and professional development opportunities. Candidates trust employees, so create short videos with current employees as messengers. Engage with followers, respond to comments and messages, and participate in relevant discussions. This will enable you to establish a virtual community and create a two-way conversation with potential candidates. 

Add value to the local ecosystem

Host events where your current employees share their expertise in workshops and lectures at community events, from marketing best practices to resume writing to how to write the ideal college interest letter.  

By taking these actions, organizations can actively recruit talent from within their surrounding communities, leading to a more diverse workforce, increased representation of underrepresented groups, and contributing to the economic development of the local community. It is essential to approach these efforts with a long-term perspective and a genuine commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion to create a sustainable and inclusive talent pipeline.  

– Adetoun Adeniji-Adele, Talent Acquisition Manager, Integral Molecular 

Opportunities to engage

Invest in Philadelphia’s future leaders by hiring a young person for summer work experience through the WorkReady Summer Internship Program. For more information, visit workready.org/employers. 

To connect with the Chamber’s Talent team to learn more and get involved in this important work, contact Rennia Rodney, Coordinator, Talent Strategies, at rrodney@chamberphl.com. 

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Interested in promoting your business at an upcoming Chamber event? Sponsorship opportunities are available to fit a variety of goals and budgets. Contact sponsor@chamberphl.com for more information.