Get top tips to help you implement creative approaches to your recruitment marketing activities. Apple, Google and Starbucks are businesses that have successfully positioned themselves as employers of choice. They don’t struggle to find top talent, and such is the love that is felt by their employees, they continuously rank as outstanding places to work. […]
Get top tips to help you implement creative approaches to your recruitment marketing activities.
Apple, Google and Starbucks are businesses that have successfully positioned themselves as employers of choice. They don’t struggle to find top talent, and such is the love that is felt by their employees, they continuously rank as outstanding places to work. Building a great brand doesn’t always have to be the domain of those with large pockets, however, and with some creativity and daring to be different, any business can catapult itself into popularity. Here are five great and unusual ways to do just that.
- Shout loud and proud
Start parading the great things you are doing on social media. Coffee chain, Starbucks has a @StarbucksJobs Instagram and Twitter account where they showcase their employer brand and spend time interacting with potential candidates.
Share the reasons your employees like working with you. Remember to address the negative comments too. It is just as important to deal with unfavourable comments diplomatically and with an intention to make changes, as it is to showcase all the positive stories and experiences.
If your business has won an award or recently been given an employer kite mark, this is the time to tell the world – tweets, blogs, case studies, Instagram posts, Facebook shares, videos, press releases – there are multiple channels to get your story out there and it’s important to use them all to ensure your story is shared far and wide.
- Promote your brand ambassadors
Candidates spend time researching what other people say about the business. Career sites including Glassdoor share employee testimonials alongside job search results as well as celebrating great places to work with their annual Best Place to Work Awards. Being aware that everyone has a story to tell about the business as an employer should shape the conversations you have with employees and those looking to join your organisation.
Within every company are those that live and breathe the business and its values too. They are the business’ best assets. These brand ambassadors are already talking about your products and services, the next step is to share their stories and ask them for a deeper input into strategy to show them how important they are to the business.
- Re-boot traditions
Your business may have age-old traditions, however small. A birthday cake for employees’ birthdays, an extra day’s leave for five years’ service, a Christmas party in the same restaurant. These are all built into the very fabric of your company’s culture but to build on an existing brand it could be time to freshen up these ideas and start something new.
Start a dialogue with your employees to find out what they value and what they would like to change. Begin new traditions and experiences whilst keeping the best of the old ones.
- Reward differently
Some of our best loved employer brands have ditched rigid reward systems and dared to be different. At Netflix, annual leave is unlimited, and parents can take off as much time as they want within the first year of their child’s birth or adoption.
Be generous – consider bigger discounts on your business’ products and services for employees. Consult with your employees to find out what they value the most in terms of rewards, it won’t just be pay. Improved work-life balance often tops the poll so look at working from home options, core and compressed hours policies and offer the technology and communication channels to support that. A new way of doing this could be to host ‘career conversations’ with groups of employees to start a two-way dialogue.
- Re-wire recruitment
HEINEKEN’s interactive personality test ensures candidates truthfully answer questions that are important to the HEINEKEN company because personality fit is one of the core selection criteria.
Be creative too in the ways that your business stands out when it is recruiting, look at the key character traits and skills that are required and consider how to tap into a wider, diverse talent pool by breaking down traditional recruitment barriers and utilising technology to reach untapped talent.
Being brave and ditching age-old ways of building your employer brand is a challenge and can be daunting but by listening to what your employees and candidates say about you, new ways of interacting, supporting and motivating employees can be discovered. When employees are content and fulfilled at work, they will be sharing the stories of what a great place to work your business is.
Need advice or help building your employer brand? Get in touch with Wonderful Workplaces on wonderfulworkplaces@haymarket.com
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Annie Hayes is a specialist HR, skills, careers and L&D writer with 19 years experience in the sector.
