In most markets, those seeking jobs are also those buying your goods and services.   So how should companies engage with these candidate/consumers while navigating changes in shifting age demographics, new recruiting tools and the desire for a strong positive candidate centric recruiting experience?

Here are four tips to improving your company brand while recruiting for sales and management staff.

1. Enhance Your Brand

A logo, tagline, phone number and website are just the corner stones to creating a powerful brand when recruiting candidate.  It is important to remember that they might be a job seeker, but they are probably also a consumer or potential consumer of your products and services.  Therefore, your communications and engagement during the recruiting process may not only affect your recruiting efforts but also your sales volume.

Start with clearly communicating the job opportunity with descriptions of job duties, benefits, pay, company culture and what makes your company a desirable place to work to job-seekers before they apply.  Being vague means you can miss out on the type of talent you seek.   In addition, step into the shoes of the type of talent you wish to attract and optimize your processes to create a positive experience for those job seekers.  For example, not having a mobile accessible job board in today’s society is like using a carrier pigeon to send messages long distance.

2. Utilize Accountability Metrics

In general, recruiting campaigns have been designed on live in the moment actions that return short-term results.  Not a problem if you plan on having a short company lifespan.

Rumor has it that people will talk about their experience with your company.  In a recruiting campaign, candidate satisfaction becomes just as important as customer satisfaction when your brand image is at stake.  Therefore, take the extra step of creating metrics that hold your company accountable for candidate satisfaction.  For example, most job seekers expect that from the time they apply to offer of employment should not exceed two weeks.  If you time from apply to hire exceeds this number, then it is time to find ways to streamline your process.   Also, track the timing and frequency of candidate communications.  If it takes too long to respond to a candidate, then you are probably losing talent that you have worked so hard to find.  If your inbox is flooded with candidate questions, then maybe your job posting was too vague and needs updating.    Another option would be to create a FAQ page for job applicants and include a link in your job posting.

Ultimately, a more transparent and candidate friendly recruiting process will pay off in the long term.  With just the right candidate experience, finding talent becomes easier as your reputation becomes stronger.

3. Become a Talent Scout

Create your own talent network.  Talent pools allow you to nurture interested potential candidates until they have skill sets to match your job requirements.  With transparent and regular communication strategies, a company can keep candidates invested in their company and potential job, while building a pipeline of active and passive job seekers. This strategy is especially helpful for those hard to fill positions.

Take advantage of social events by creating networking opportunities.  Encourage your employees to invite a friend or two, as birds of a feather tend to flock together and this chance meeting might reveal additional talent sources.

4. Become Known as “The Best Place to Work”

The best company cultures provide environments that attract employees that want to work. Making a visible effort to treat all individuals with respect and consideration can accomplish this goal. Not only will this culture decrease turnover, but though the grapevine, it will also attract the best and brightest and job candidates.

Good employees do not grow on trees and are often hard to find.  If you have an employee that has a good work ethic but struggling in their current position, consider finding a new role based on their skills sets.

When implementing a recruiting campaign, interact with candidates carefully—they’re very likely your customers, too! Poor recruiting can quickly reflect on your overall market reputation.  A company is only as effective as its people and as strong as its weakest link.

About the Author

Stephanie Young is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for The Manus Group, where she is an active blogger, social media contributor and spokesperson for one of the nation’s leading automotive recruiting and training firms. Stephanie is also the current Ms. Florida Forestry Queen, promoting her platform encouraging young woman to pursue their interests in STEM field careers.

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Copyright © 2014, Stephanie Young All rights reserved.