Firms are using on-line videos to attract and recruit potential staff, reports Steve Hart
KEY POINTS:
Smart companies are ahead of the game when it comes to recruiting staff. They already have a list of people to call on when a position becomes vacant.
Paul Jacobs, director of Wellington employment branding company Engage, says many companies are adopting this recruitment model so they don't have to start from scratch every time a person leaves their firm or moves to a different role.
"The more forward-thinking companies are building up what I call talent pipelines," says Jacobs. These firms are constantly recruiting and are highly proactive - they are not waiting for news that a person is leaving as the trigger to start finding a replacement.
"So rather than be reactive, they already have a list of people that have been pre-screened. This can mean they do not need to go to market to fill specific roles."
Instead, Jacobs says firms that have adopted the "talent pipeline" approach are always advertising in the hope of attracting the 60 per cent of people that he says are passive job hunters. People, who are basically happy in their jobs but are open to being tempted by the right firm - depending on its culture, the job and the package being offered.
"It all comes down to employer branding," he says. "To get people to want to work for them, companies have to show their brand and promote their working culture. Employers need to be able to show what it is like to work for them - and some firms are now using online videos to do this.
"Smart employers are phrasing their recruitment language so the job hunter can see what is in it for them. Too many firms are just publishing a position description in their recruitment adverts."
Jacobs says a good recruitment advert is not just about creative copy - it is about letting the job seeker know what they will get out of working for that employer. And that doesn't just mean sticking a price tag on the job.
"The market has shifted over the last few years with the skills shortage so employers have to sell themselves a lot better," he says.
Jacobs believes that enlightened firms are using their company website to open a dialogue with job hunters, giving prospective staff the chance to ask questions about jobs in a forum-type environment. Managers can run blogs, they can answer questions and give job hunters a look inside the company.
"People often arrive at interviews with lots of questions, but giving candidates - especially graduates and Gen-Ys - the option to ask questions ahead of time via a blog site is really beneficial," he says.
When it comes to advertising and recruiting, Jacobs says it is key that firms understand who their target audience is. He says they should have particular types of people in mind and not run "catch-all" adverts hoping the right people will apply.
"This is where there is a really big gap in the marketplace, among HR people and recruitment managers," he says. "They do not always know where the people are that they want to apply for their jobs."
One quick way for some firms to discover where to find staff is to survey its existing people to see where they hang out, where they network and how they came to apply to work at the firm - particularly useful if the staff joined the company within the last 24 months.
"Employers could ask staff what attracted them to the organisation," Jacobs says. "It is a simple question - but it is not happening. Firms need to find out what their staff read, watch and listen to. Then they will know where to market their firm's vacancies."
Staff could also be canvassed on where they would look for their next job - to give employers an insight into where they should look to advertise their vacancies.
"If you are in recruiting and are not into Facebook or LinkedIn - but all your potential staff are - then you will miss your target audience," says Jacobs.
In marketing terms, he is recommending that firms sell their jobs to the impulse purchaser.
"You have to market different jobs to different job seekers and look beyond the active job seeker," he says.
He recommends HR managers work with their company's marketing department when preparing job advertisements to reinforce company branding. And he says there is nothing worse than a 50-year-old writing an advert aimed at much younger people. If Gen-Ys are to be targeted by a job advert then a Gen-Y should be part of the team that helps prepare it.
It is also crucial for employers to measure their recruitment advertising so they can see what works best for them. "I think a lot of HR people come from the softer side of the business which is why I think they need to work with other people to bring structure and processes to the recruitment of staff - so it can be measured and structured," he says.
"If employers can start doing that then it will have a strong flow through, not only with talent acquisition but right through to retention."
Rowen Greatbatch says a lot of work often needs to be done before adverts are placed anywhere. As associate director at recruitment firm Cook Executive, he recommends companies look at each vacant position and decide if it has changed since the last person was appointed to it.
"Before people advertise a position they need a clearly defined brief of what it is they want," he says. "They need to fully scope out the definition of the role, responsibilities and its salary.
"It all sounds fundamental but sometimes companies haven't sorted all these things out before they go to market. Often you find the job has changed and the person they want for the job is nothing like the last one they hired for it."
Greatbatch also says too many firms pitch their vacancies too high, putting potentially good candidates off from applying.
"There is a tendency to do that," he says. "Everybody has a high expectation of what it is they want - but sometimes the job doesn't need a Rolls-Royce - often a Mini Cooper will do just as well.
"When firms over-specify a role, it can be because the company doesn't see where they fit in in the big picture and how people perceive them. Too many firms have a higher perception of where they sit in the marketplace than what is the reality.
"And if you pitch a position too high then the advert will be wrong and you'll find none of the people applying for the job are right for the position. It can be a complete waste of time."
Many companies end up going through a process of discovery as it dawns on them what it is they want from a candidate.
"Sometimes the person they didn't think they needed turns up and they say 'that's the type of person we need in this role'," says Greatbatch.
And when it comes to the interview, a structured procedure is essential to ensure a level playing field for all candidates.
"A standardised interview process is really important," says Greatbatch. "A lot of larger corporate companies do spend a lot of time training up their managers to do recruitment interviews correctly.
"You need to measure people by the same criteria. What companies should avoid is a situation whereby every interview is different - that tends to happen in smaller companies.
"But I have seen some negative examples when recruitment managers are given a roped set of procedures to follow and they just bang them out and never really connect with the candidate.
"There is always a balance in these things. I have had candidates that have gone for an interview and have come back to say they were just bombarded with questions. The interviewer didn't tell the candidate anything about himself, the job or the company. Or why the candidate should work for them."
Engaging candidates is important says Greatbatch. And once the employment contract is signed it is not the end of the recruitment process.
"Settling the employee into the role is really important."
Contact Steve Hart at www.stevehart.co.nz
