December 15, 2021
It seems like you can’t turn on the news or have any type of business discussion these days without the conversation turning to how hard it is to recruit and hire talent right now.
If you have several spare hours on your hands, you could go down a rabbit hole reading theories and points of view about The Great Resignation and what is really driving the sweeping changes we’re seeing on the employment front, but that still doesn’t change the fact that recruiting talent is now harder than ever. And, while things like comp, opportunity for advancement and work/life balance certainly play a role in a candidate’s decision to apply for or accept a position, we also see that some companies are just not doing a great job of marketing themselves as an employer of choice.
Here are three things to think about from a communications and marketing perspective that might help your organization stand out from the rest:
- FOCUS ON BUILDING YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND. Seventy-five percent of hiring managers say it’s easier to attract a candidate who recognizes and is familiar with the organization beforehand. It’s likely your organization focuses on building its brand to gain market share and customers, but have you considered building your brand through the lens of a job candidate? Everything from how your website represents you as an employer of choice to whether you show up on a “best places to work” list can have an impact on how a candidate views your company. A first step could be to take a hard look at the Careers section of your website and ask yourself whether you’re putting out a compelling employer brand. But building a comprehensive employer brand is much more involved and should be a partnership between the HR and Comms/Marketing functions within your organization. Even your mission, vision and values need to be updated to reflect the “new world” we’re living in since the pandemic started.
- NAIL YOUR ONBOARDING PROCESS. Nearly 70 percent of employees will stay in an organization for at least three years if they had a great onboarding experience. But my guess is your marketing team probably has little – if anything – to do with your organization’s onboarding process. When was the last time you reviewed the materials your HR department distributes to a new employee during their first week? Or worked with the HR department on *any* aspect of the onboarding process? Even small touches like branded orientation schedules and smartly designed onboarding packets can have a subtle – yet meaningful – impact on a new hire. But there’s a lot more to a successful onboarding than that, and your marketing function could and should play a role in reimagining that process.
- PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS. Another way your marketing department can support your organization’s recruitment efforts is with an advertising campaign that proactively targets and reaches even passive candidates. Think of prospective candidates as a sub-set of your customer base, and build an advertising strategy and creative assets that specifically target them. We’re currently running a few advertising campaigns for clients designed to do just that – from digital initiatives to out-of-home bus programs. The point is, as a marketer, you know how to target and reach the right eyeballs using paid media, and your partnership with the HR department could help your company stand out from others who are competing for the same talent. Sure, there will be questions about whose budget these dollars come out of (marketing, HR or discretionary funds), but at the end of the day you could be a hero in your CEO’s eyes if you can use your marketing expertise to help support the HR function.
And these ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. We know, because we are having conversations with clients every day. That’s why we assembled our experts in employee communications, marketing communications and media relations to develop a comprehensive recruitment marketing offering geared at helping our client organizations win the war for talent.
Is recruitment marketing something your organization could benefit from? Drop us a line and let’s talk about how we can help you win that war.
