What is competitive research?

Competitive research, as the name implies, is when you conduct research on your business competitors. You analyze the strengths and weaknesses of current and future competitors in your industry. Then you can use this information to identify opportunities and threats for your business. 

What are the benefits of using competitive research when hiring?

Researching the market is an excellent strategy for your hiring process. You can analyze how your competitors are hiring to understand what they’re doing well and where they’re lacking. Based on the information you collect, you can adjust your hiring strategy as needed. 

Adjusting your hiring strategy in response to competitor weaknesses

Let’s say a candidate has a job offer from your organization and from one of your direct competitors. If you’ve done your competitive research correctly, you’ve probably altered your approach to offer what the competition lacks. This makes you look like the better option and increases the likelihood that candidates will accept your job offer. 

For example, if after an analysis of the competition, you realize no one is offering mental health benefits, such as a stipend for therapy. After a quick survey of your current workforce, you know that this is a benefit most employees would greatly appreciate. You can launch this benefit and promote it in job postings so future candidates see it and understand you have an advantage over other companies. 

Copying competitor strengths

As you analyze competitors’ hiring strategies, you’ll also want to pay close attention to their strengths. If you have a direct competitor who gets the best talent, try to understand what they’re doing to succeed. And, if possible, copy them so this advantage can start working for your business too. 

Since candidates have so many choices for employment, deciding where to apply or what company to work for can be about perception. How candidates perceive a brand is significant. Most candidates are looking to see:

• If the company seems successful and stable

• If the product or service is valuable

• If employees seem happy and are treated well

• If benefits, pay and culture are good

If your competitor has a strong brand image and their hiring process is benefiting from it, try to see how you can do the same. Review how they promote their benefits, what employees say about them and how they show off their culture online. 

Remember, your competitors’ strengths could easily become your strengths in the hiring process.  

Researching the market in seven steps

Here’s how to research the market when hiring:

1. Make a list of the competition

The first step is to make a list of all your existing competitors. If you know that a new competitor is about to enter the market, you can include them on this list. 

Remember that you don’t have to limit this list to competitors in your area. Including national and international competitors on the list can be beneficial because it gives you a more comprehensive data set. 

2. Collect any data about the competition’s hiring processes

Next, it’s time to collect all the information about how each competitor hires. You can conduct research on the competition by:

• Looking at their job postings to understand how they structure their posts

• Looking at where they post job openings 

• Reviewing any employee testimonials on their website or social media

• Looking at their employee reviews on external sites, like Indeed, to understand what past and current employees are saying about working for the organization—these sites are a great place to get an understanding of culture, how employees feel, what the interview process is like and salary ranges

3. Break down weaknesses vs. strengths

Now that you have collected the data, it’s time to break down the information into weaknesses and strengths for each competitor. For example, your largest competitor may have a considerable recruitment team, which is a clear advantage. At the same time, their overall company satisfaction rating on external review sites is low, which would be a deterrent when hiring. 

4. Assess where you can bridge gaps and build upon weaknesses

You’ve gathered and analyzed the data; now it’s time for an action plan. Review which of your competitors’ weaknesses you can capitalize on. For example, you may notice that you’re the only one to offer dental benefits. You should immediately start highlighting this benefit in all job postings and interviews so candidates can see what you bring to the table. 

Additionally, it’s time to discover your weaknesses and see what you can do to address them. You might realize that you’re paying salaries below market average and your competitors all pay higher, so it’s time to raise your pay rate. Understanding and fixing these weaknesses will make your organization more attractive to future candidates. 

5. Take inspiration from others

Looking at what your competitors are doing can go beyond identifying weaknesses and strengths. Try to discover which of your competitors has a unique approach to the hiring process that you resonate with. Can you copy or take inspiration from this approach to add to your hiring process? If you know a hiring tactic is working well for someone else, there’s no reason you can’t try it as well.

6. Look in new places

Lastly, looking beyond the competition in your industry can be a great idea. Ultimately, hiring has similarities across companies from different sectors. Look at how other organizations are hiring to see if you can learn anything new. You might get an idea that no one in your industry is currently using. 

7. Evaluate the changes

As you complete the competitive research and make changes to your hiring process based on the analysis, you’ll want to assess how those changes are going. This isn’t a do-it-and-leave-it approach. You’ll want to wait approximately three months and evaluate if the changes are successful. If you’re not getting results, it’s time to try something new. 

Even though a hiring approach works for your competition, it doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. Finding the right new tactic that suits your organization may take some time. Keep working on it until you see significant improvements. 

Continuous research is needed

It can be helpful to conduct a competitive research analysis annually. The hiring market changes dramatically and often, and you want to stay ahead of these changes by keeping up with your competitors. 

The good news is once you’ve created the template for the competitive research analysis, it should be easier to conduct next time. Remember, the benefit of doing this research can mean finding better candidates and hiring more quickly.