Last week Clinch attended the TATech Leadership Summit on Recruitment Marketing in Boston. The summit provides a platform for talent leaders to come together to challenge ideas and drive innovation in the TATech industry. This year, the group’s focus turned to recruitment marketing: its evolution, and its impact on hiring success. My three key takeaways were:
- The prevalence of social mistrust among candidates today
- The importance of connecting with candidates where they are
- Employer branding needs to evolve
Let’s dive into each.
1. The prevalence of social mistrust among candidates today
Peter Weddle, CEO of TATech, started the day sharing the realities of what happened after the 1918 Spanish Flu. In short: post pandemic, people in general had a ‘social mistrust’. This meant people did not trust institutions, companies, or many other people. And, with many parallels between that pandemic and the social impacts of COVID-19, it makes sense that we’re experiencing a similar level of skepticism brewing today.
We can see this mistrust clearly in recruitment. Now, more than ever, polished corporate messaging isn’t cutting through. Employers must provide transparency and authenticity in the candidate experience in order to attract and retain talent. One way innovative teams are providing this authentic experience is through their employees’ stories. Clinch Employee Connections connects potential candidates to real employees via our AI-powered Q&A discussion platform. That way, candidates can find answers to their questions, form authentic connections and see what life at the company is really like.
Sandrine Halleux from Nokia says ‘Candidates use Clinch because they want to have a conversation with our employees: it’s a two way conversation vs a one way input. This enables them to ask specific questions that are on their mind and then allows us to re-leverage and repurpose that content.’
To build trust among jobseekers, revisit your career site and ask yourself: are you delivering the most transparent and authentic candidate experience possible?
2. The importance of connecting with candidates where they are
Ashley Nunes, PhD Fellow Labor & Worklife Program Harvard Law School, shared how technological innovation impacts the labor market. Specifically, how technology has an impact on workers and wages. Dr. Nunes shared there are 450 iPhones sold every minute. 97% of American adults have a cell phone but not everyone has a computer. If you’re trying to connect with jobseekers, particularly hourly workers, your talent strategy needs to meet them where they are: on their phones.
Scott Foster, VP of TA for GardaWorld Security Services shared how his team hires 65,000 employees annually. This includes a lot of seasonal security guards for sporting events. Foster and his team are creating innovative ways to connect with potential applicants through targeted channels. To attract young talent, the team found social media sites like TikTok were effective. Then they continue to nurture those connections via text, from application through to day one on the job. Foster and his team are committed to empowering their recruiters to prioritize a targeted approach: choosing the right channel for the target talent segment.
3. Employer branding needs to evolve
There were several discussions around what recruitment marketing changes need to be made to respond to the expectations and behaviors of today’s candidates. These largely centered around being self-aware of your employer brand, meeting candidates on the tools they use, and giving candidates transparent views into your company.
Employer brand is established not only by the employer intentionally, but also by the employees, the marketplace, and the reality of the employee experience.
Employer brand is branding and marketing the entirety of the employment experience. It describes an employer’s reputation as a place to work, and their employee value proposition, as opposed to the more general corporate brand reputation and value proposition to customers.
When building an employer brand, it’s essential to evaluate how your company is viewed both by current team members and the market. That way, you can ensure the picture you’re painting with your employer branding activities is both accurate and aligned to how you want your organization positioned. There are too many companies that aren’t self-aware of their employer brand. Their leadership may intend for a specific employer brand, but oftentimes their actions and behaviors don’t support their words or intent. Be realistic about your employer brand, own it, and then be sure to tell your story through your career site.
Jobseekers want transparency —across the entire hiring journey. As we discussed in #1 above, we live in a time of social mistrust. And the best way to find the candidates who are a good fit for your company and culture, is to be transparent about what it’s like to work at your company throughout your employer branding. Your career site is a great place to showcase your unique EVPs, and share employee stories to provide an insight into day to day life at your company. Remember, jobseekers are looking for authenticity, so it’s the real videos, shot on an employee’s iphone that resonate with candidates. Make sure that your career site really highlights why jobseekers should hit ‘apply’. Let the voice of your employee champion your EVPs.
Recruitment marketing is an evolving, and ever-important part of the recruiting process. If recruiting is a funnel, it’s right at the top — how you attract and engage candidates. The Clinch Recruitment Marketing Suite gives recruiters the tools they need to build a strong pipeline of talent. That way, you’ll never start from zero candidates. Looking to take your recruitment marketing to the next level? Check out the 2023 Recruitment Marketing Planning Kit to get a head start.
