Competitive intelligence involves systematically gathering, analyzing, and utilizing information about other organizations in the effort to gain a competitive edge. When it comes to recruiting, competitive intelligence relies on understanding the labor market, researching industry and company trends, and gaining an in-depth knowledge of employee needs. While traditional competitive intelligence methods still carry significant weight, companies can also incorporate new tools in order to gather information as efficiently as possible while remaining cost effective.
- LinkedIn—Most professionals already use LinkedIn, but you may not be aware of the wealth of information that can be gleaned from its pages. Start by following competitor pages and discover key information about new hires, employees who have left, organizational charts, promotions and more. LinkedIn may be one of the most important tools you add to your competitive intelligence arsenal.
- The Free Library—Search by category, business name, or date to find information on what your competitors are doing. This is a great resource for discovering information about company restructuring or reorganization, often complete with names and positions.
- SocialMention—Follow your competitors and receive daily alerts when they are mentioned around the web. SocialMention helps you stay up to date on developing news as well as branding efforts and marketing campaigns.
- Google Alerts—An excellent resource for monitoring press releases, news stories, and other information about your competitors. Alerts can be customized by company, name, and endless other specific information that may be relevant to your industry. Set up an RSS feed or have the results delivered to your email.
- Facebook and Twitter—These twin pillars of the social media realm should also form the foundation for your competitive intelligence efforts. Follow not only your competitors and their employees, but also the people that they are following.
- Glassdoor—Research job openings, salaries, inside connections, employee reviews, and interviews to discover what your competitors are doing.
- Slideshare—Find out who is presenting, what they’re publishing, and much more with a few quick searches on Slideshare.
- Indeed—Search for competitor job availability, salaries, hiring trends and more.
Competitive intelligence plays a key role in discovering and attracting the right talent for your organization. Many of the tools above require minimal time investment and can deliver vital information directly to your inbox. As you become more familiar with your favorite tools, you can begin experimenting with less familiar resources in order to expand the effectiveness of your competitive intelligence efforts.
