Regardless of industry, there is a matrix of corridors and obstacles to finding the people needed to get the job done. The prediction of this talent drain originally got on my radar at a 2009 breakfast workshop co-sponsored by recruiting and consulting firm, Harvey Hohauser and Associates and DMG. The “Leading” series outlined the essential mix of recruitment and marketing: Building your Brand, Attracting the Right Talent and Creating a Succession Plan. The speed of change discussed then has forced businesses to think differently when reaching out to prospective employees. How does a company stay ahead of the competition to attract the right talent and keep them engaged? Combining the recruiting expertise of Harvey Hohauser and Associates and the strategic marketing expertise of DMG, here’s a look at the top ten marketing foundations for recruitment marketing.
Creating a Recruitment Marketing Campaign that Works
- Start with your brand and corporate culture. Building your brand to reach intended target audiences must include messaging for your clients/customers as well as current/potential employees and the communities you serve. Make sure your brand speaks of who you are and the value it imparts to your specific audiences.
- Develop key messages to highlight your recruitment communications path and support a comprehensive plan. Write it, video it and say it out loud -what you say, where you say it, when you say it and how you say it are all important. Content needs to be regularly updated, fresh and engaging – a reflection of your company’s dynamic work environment.
- Online/offline strategy communications must integrate your targeted value proposition to the intended audience and link through all channels of contact, from online to public relations. Create a budget to support earned and purchased traditional and online branding and communications, then identify trackable indicators of success.
- Vision and promise are essential to position your company with clearly distinguishable deliverables and a culture that sets you apart from your competitors.
- More than an icon, your brand is a symbol of who you are and what you bring to the table in your employee relationships. Are you progressive, traditional, edgy, retro?
- Your look and feel must consistently communicate your employee brand promise at every touchpoint: work space, phone interactions, outreach, signage and messaging about your company’s own unique story and history.
- Create a recruiting plan that is trackable and can monitor and report ROI on a regular basis; adapt to current trends and use collected data to tighten or refine your message.
- Create external and internal recruitment programs. Your employees are often the best source of referrals; put programs together and support them with incentives.
- Cross promote with complementary businesses, educational institutions, associations, colleagues and strategic partners to broaden your individual and collective reach.
- Become the brand that people know, like and trust at every level of interaction, creating living examples of the value proposition inherent to being a part of the team.
Create and live the brand promise that people will want to be a part of. Say it clearly, often and out loud that you are the company to work for or work with!
Kay Douglas is founder and president of Douglas Marketing Group (DMG), celebrating more than a quarter century of providing art- and technology-infused, relationship-based marketing solutions. DMG is the visionary behind the marketing brand management software and visual roadmap, DMG Big Picture Landscape® and its companion software, ROIAlly®, the strategic marketing return on investment budget tracker. With offices in Detroit, Mich., and Windsor & Welland, Ontario, the full-service marketing and communications firm brings a global view to local, regional and national campaigns and cross-border partnerships. Learn more at https://www.experiencedmg.com
