Become an Employer of Choice by Recruiting from the Inside Out

Original source: Inside Out Recruiting, Recruiter.com

The job of the recruiting department today has become somewhat of a business generalist role.  They are measured in terms of typical recruiting metrics, but they really have to be astute in every facet of the business.  Marketing is one of those skill sets that a progressive recruiting department must add to their list of skill sets.  You’re no longer just recruiting for the marketing department, but you are literally doing marketing for your company in order to attract and retain top talent.

Marketing you ask?  Yes, you must become kings and queens of messaging as it relates to conveying your “employer brand”.  This starts on the inside of your organization.  It doesn’t do much good if your recruiters know that your company is an employer of choice but nobody on the inside of the organization knows that.  Once you “market” your key messages inside of your organization, your employees begin speaking with that same vernacular and hopefully recruiting great candidates along the way.

Utilize tools such as an Intranet or Employee Benefit Portal to communicate these key messages about your company.  That’s a start, but from there you should brand some of these key messages on things like trade-show giveaways, posters within your physical building, on your email tags, and certainly on the pages of your career site on your company’s external website. The important thing here is to make it a whole-company effort: every touch point between your company and the outside world is a potential recruiting opportunity.

How can your company be an employer of choice?  Here are 7 ways that you promote your company from the inside out:

1. Go for “best of lists” best company to work for, fastest growing, etc.  Make sure that you use these accreditations on your Intranet, company Facebook page, company LinkedIn page, and as an email signature.  This messaging should be well known to your employees so they can easily throw that little factoid out when they are explaining to their friends what they do and who they work for.
2. At the end of each fiscal year put a short summary together that shows the number of people promoted and what % of your staff that is.  Track that year over year and announce the results and any goals associated with that.   Post this information on your Intranet and your career pages.  People like to know that employee development is important in your company and that they won’t just get stuck in a dead end job.
3. Highlight your employees who have reached milestone anniversaries, post their story on the Intranet for employees to see and have something to look forward to. Consider more public options as well, so long as they are permission based.
4. Have you had employees get recognized for awards in their field, published articles, or patents?  Make a big deal about that with your employees on the Intranet as well as on your career portal; that tells people that they will be recognized for their personal achievements and contributions.  If you can influence HR to offer a bonus for these types of achievements that would be even better.
5. If your company offers salary or other benefits that are better than other companies in your industry, announce that.  Make it known that you research this information every year and that your goal is to stay xx above the average in order to attract and retain the best talent.  If it’s working, say so.  Your employees will remember that when a recruiter comes calling on them or when their friends ask them if your company pays well.
6. Work with your sustainability or energy management department to get some stats on what your company is doing above and beyond to reduce your facilities and overall carbon footprint.  If it’s better than other employers in your industry and area, make sure to announce that to your employees.  A greater number of employees are concerned about sustainability and would prefer to work for a company who promotes sustainable practices.
7. Get quotes from your employees on why they like working for you and use those quotes to form your branding messages. Make your employer-pitch as human and emotive as possible. The best messages from a marketing standpoint are ideally stories, not just quotes.

The bottom line is, if your employees are fed the branding messages consistently, your marketing can stick in their heads like that 5 dollar footlong commercial. If every employee in your company both understands the value of employment branding and knows “the pitch” by heart, your recruiting efforts will be easier. If your overall goal is to land the top talent in your market, it can’t just be you doing all the heavy lifting.  The whole company from the inside out needs to be on point and on message, but of course most importantly, be inspired to help follow your company vision and advance its image.