At The Frontier Group we are always looking out for authentic voices and opinions on topics that our HR audience will find interesting.
We have a great blog to share written by Alex Putman, Founder of Splice, a creative employer branding agency headquartered in Atlanta.
Alex presents an interesting point of view in this blog where he shows how the recruiting function can dramatically help promote the corporate brand and make the organization a magnet for top talent.
Recruiters contribute significantly to organizations employer branding efforts. These additions can be positive, providing a level enthusiasm or by contrast possess the relevance of a cursive writing course.
(1) Posting Vague “Job Leads” on Social
“We’re Hiring”
“New Opening”
“I Am Hiring…..long list of jobs”
No, you are not “letting your “network” know and your “community” isn’t anticipating posts lost in a digital stream of meme’s, bikini’s and motivational quotes. The “data scientist” post loses any relevance upon discovery of three data scientist in your LinkedIn network with a 00000001% chance of viewership. Even worse is the tweets shared to a network of 86 people.
(2) Remember Your Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
The top 3 hiring sources for organizations are career site, job boards and employee referrals. What do they have in common? Automated or manually, this data is stored in your (ATS). We are not endorsing a mass mail, email blast based on key words. Actually spend time mining the data and studying the material within your possession. If possible, hire an intern to search your system and reach out to people of interest (candidate “clean up”). Provide them with a key word list and have them reach out for updated information. Candidates love some type of call or message.
(3) Sharing meme’s as a “recruiting strategy”.
How is posting a meme “I always believe you hire character and train skill” remotely relevant to anything? Can one gauge character in a 30-60 minute interview about skill? Most companies will continue to do the same things they always do; look at resumes from certain competitors, hire people with 90% of the perceived skills that walk, talk and look like 98% of the organization. We digress, but sharing memes is not a strategy.
(4) See Candidates Through the Process
You did it, Candidate A is scheduled for the interview, everything is moving quickly and everyone felt great. Two short weeks (jk) later the candidate is presented an offer but did you;
Follow up at least 2-3 x during the offer sign off process with the candidate?
Respond to emails and calls from candidate?
Have a hiring manager reach out directly?
Then Candidate A arrives to the orientation which is either an energy boost or buzz kill. Did you follow-up with your new hire and find out how it went? Will they refer ex-coworkers because the process matched the brand? If you answered yes to the above then well done, it no you may not be representing the brand well (ok, you’re not repping the brand well).
(5) Real Social Profiles
No second profiles on Facebook or @Company+Name or @Recruiter+Name on twitter. People want to connect with real people, not a corporate persona of never-ending job postings. Authenticity in the recruiting department equates to a real employer brand, real experience and just doesn’t suck!
(6) Job Boards
Top 3 source of hire, but highly misused. Recruiters representing their employer brand take the time to write a job advertisement (not cut and paste) and also ensure links are provided (where possible) to pertinent information (departmental videos, LinkedIn profile of recruiter, or twitter handle of recruiters) within the ad. Job boards receive significant traffic, ensure you are attracting properly.
(7) Every Tool has a Recruiting Application
Whether it’s Google Alerts for sourcing, Quora for pipelining or Snapchat because it’s effective with certain segments, recruiters believe every tech has an application. However, they don’t use every technology to say the same thing. Messaging is key so understand HOW to use this tech is more important.
(8) Share
Great marketing (i.e. recruiters) share content and information about the company. They provide insight regarding why they love working for the organization and they actually love where they work. If you don’t love it, you can’t represent it!
Employer branding may seem a buzz word, but it is real. Recruiters, you are the front line and content is your pixie dust.
Use it appropriately.
About the Author:
Alex Putman is the Founder of SPLICE, a creative employer branding agency that pushes authenticity for building brands and cultivating raving fans. SPLICE provides innovative solutions to organizations around leveraging video and social media to help improve their talent acquisition. He is also an active member in the SHRM – Atlanta chapter and a widely sought after presenter.
