One of the biggest challenges today’s employers face is the hiring process. Attracting good talent can be hard when today’s jobs are about the perks – exciting catered lunches, flexible work-from-home arrangements and more. However, you don’t have to be Google to develop a great hiring process that will help you both attract and retain talent. Here are a few ways you can brand your hiring process and put the personal touch back into the hiring process:
Focus on the candidate experience during the hiring process.
If you want to attract top talent, you’ll have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Let your actions speak for you and put time and energy into things like responding to candidates (even if you weren’t able to hire them). Remember – just because somebody isn’t right for you right now doesn’t mean they won’t work for you in the future. As Jon Chadiha, Senior Recruiter at Gild, explains, “Following up with a candidate — even if it is a rejection — is extremely important. It sends the message that you appreciated their time even though they were not a fit. Also, you don’t want candidates to spread a negative perception of your company in the marketplace. Following up is a simple action that pays intangible dividends.”
Could your customers be your best employees?
When you want to rebuild your brand during the hiring process, it can be helpful to start from within. Not your employees – your customers! The people who already love your product could make some of your best employees. When you build your talent pool from current customers, remember that following up becomes especially critical. Because they’re already your fans, you’ll want to make sure you keep ‘em. Just make sure you’re verifying anybody and everybody through a verified screening service, no matter where you recruit them from. Once you find job candidates, they should be treated the same.
Consider going social to find great employees.
You’ve probably already considered LinkedIn for finding new employee options. But what about using your company’s Facebook or Twitter profiles to find your next employee? Extending beyond “traditional” job posting places can help you broaden your pool of potential job candidates. Plus, you can easily brand your social hiring process using creative graphics and text – just think like the marketing staff for a day (or enlist their help). Just keep these stats in mind: 42% of companies find that candidate quality has improved when they used social media to hire, and 20% say it takes less time.
Just like an employee has a “personal brand,” you should consider branding your hiring process. Getting talented people in the door takes some time, as does keeping them, but it all starts with how your hiring process is managed. Whether you decide to be super-social or incredibly quick to follow up, consider implementing one or more of these hiring branding strategies into your processes.