Current State
Recruitment marketing has traditionally been the first step in eliciting interest in potential candidates for companies seeking to hire new employees. However, in the last year or so there has been an increased interest in using recruitment marketing to increase interest in possible employment and as a way to strengthen the employer brand through the tools and techniques used to reach out to candidates.
Complexities
Marketing as a whole has developed along with consumer expectations (or when performed well, set those expectations). Yet, there is a lag in recruitment marketing’s evolution. Advancement in technologies and processes created a new reality for candidates, such as:
Accessibility All recruitment activities were previously done on desktop PCs, but any device and location can now be used for round-the-clock, global recruitment marketing.
Experience Generalized recruitment marketing was necessary and ubiquitous, but highly personalized recruitment marketing can now be targeted to known preferences
Branding It now includes everything from logo and brand colors to immersive and interactive media, and the management of internal and external branding.
One of the other key challenges has to do with technology. Much of the modern options can only be achieved through up-to-date systems, yet Brandon Hall Group research found that just over one in 10 organizations has the technology to make that happen.
Which statement best describes the technology your organization uses for recruitment marketing/employer branding efforts?
Consequences
Regardless of location, industry or company size, more people will apply for a job than will get the job. That means any efforts to court candidates for a position should be seen as a branding effort by the company, since that will be an effect regardless of intent. Making the right impression in terms of employer brand has obvious consequences such as a higher percentage of candidates ascending through each stage of the pipeline, but it also has an effect on any potential customers or clients your organization may want to attract as well. All recruitment marketing efforts should be tied directly to the employer brand you are trying to convey.
Critical Question
Recruitment marketing is not just an opportunity to teach potential candidates about an organization. It is a chance to educate potential customers or referrals about your organization. Therefore, recruitment marketing must be tied to branding, but how? That question is one of several organizations should address, including:
• Which avenues of communication are used to reach potential candidates?
• How personalized is your recruitment marketing message and how customized is it to your organization’s brand?
• What constraints of time, budget or other resources does your recruitment marketing team work within?
• What metrics are used to determine if your recruitment marketing efforts have an effect on your employer brand?
• Who are the stakeholders most accountable for improving employer brand efforts through the use of recruitment marketing?
Brandon Hall Group POV
Personalized employer branding should be present across all channels of recruitment marketing. Technology that is being considered should be evaluated for being easily configurable for the employer brand, SEO-optimized, fully personalized and offer the candidate a chance to provide feedback. Overall, the candidate experience and interactivity, including social interactions and tools, are important.
Modern technology allows for two-way communication, but that is only useful if you are able to let the potential candidates know their voice is heard in a way that suits them — text, app notifications, even voice calls — but you have to find a way to allow potential candidates to let you know which they prefer.
Take every opportunity to reinforce your organization’s brand through the methods and approaches your organization uses to market to candidates. How you choose to present your organization’s recruitment efforts says as much as the actual marketing message itself, so pay close attention to interactivity points, feedback loops and ease-of-use for candidates and you will have successfully made an impression that will last, regardless of whether the candidate decides to follow up on the open position.
About
Brandon Hall Group Strategy Briefs answer the critical questions learning, talent, HR and business leaders must address to manage their human capital. To tackle these critical questions in more detail, we built tools, frameworks, research summaries and business builders based on up-to-date research and case studies for you to implement best and next Human Capital Management (HCM) practices. To gain access to these valuable resources, contact success@brandonhall.com.
Leading minds in HCM choose Brandon Hall Group to help them build future-proof employee-development plans for the new era. For more than 27 years, we have empowered, recognized and certified excellence in organizations around the world, influencing the development of over 10,000,000 associates and executives.
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