You might think that it’s hard to find talent in 2021. According to the statistics, you’re right.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has determined that by April 2021, there were approximately 9.3 million unfilled positions available across a variety of industries. Employees aren’t so much choosing not to go back to the working world as choosing not to return to their old jobs, seeking something fresh after the global pandemic forced them into unfavorable situations.
The good thing about this for enterprising recruiters is that this group of employees can be seen as an untapped, if cynical, resource for struggling companies. With a solid recruitment marketing strategy, you can take advantage of this pool of employees while your competitors are still apologizing to their customers for inefficient or ineffective service.
These four steps, while not being a comprehensive list of things you may need to do, will jumpstart your recruitment marketing strategy and get you that much closer to filling your vacant positions.
1. Evaluate Your Employee Value Proposition
Your employee value proposition, in short, is what you can offer the employee in exchange for their skills and services. It can include a supportive corporate culture, opportunities for advancement, higher wages, paid benefits, and the like. A solid employee value proposition may make all the difference, giving you the edge over your competitors and luring in unaffiliated employees who are attracted by the benefits of working for your company.
2. Make Sure Your Current Employees are Secured
On that note, it’s essential to recognize that once new employees are brought on, you will need to provide them with the advertised benefits. Consider asking your highest performing current employees how they feel you are delivering on the promises you’ve made to them, and what they like about working for the company. This is a win-win: if you get negative feedback, you know where you need to improve if you want to bring on new employees and keep them on. If you get positive feedback, you can always use their testimony in promotional materials.
Investigate other methods of keeping current employees happy, like employee recognition programs and instituting paid bonuses for excellent work. Maintaining and showing appreciation for your current employees will reduce your turnover rate overall and foster the kind of culture that unaffiliated employees will want to be a part of.
3. Evaluate Your Hiring Tools
One of the first impressions you make on potential candidates comes from a place you might not expect: the application process itself. If the software that you use for your application process is clunky or glitchy, or requires inputting the same information multiple times, it’s likely that potential candidates will see your company as old-fashioned and similarly clunky.
Also, take a look at your overall digital footprint. How many job boards are you on? Have you managed to communicate your employee value proposition clearly and effectively? How effectively are you using your social media channels and targeted ad buys to direct attention to your company?
4. Define and Pursue Your Target Demographic
The purpose of a digital marketing campaign is to selectively identify a group of people within a wider pool with who it is possible to have a mutually beneficial business arrangement and to convince them to choose your company over all others. To that end, concentrate your research around narrowing down your target demographic, and then focus all of your efforts on finding ways to reach them.
Targeted social media campaigns, staging hiring events, and marketing to audiences like college graduates and the recently unemployed may be reliable ways to pursue your target demographic. Also, consider employing the services of a professional: their knowledge and expertise may speed up the process and get feet through your doors sooner. You can actually follow this guide on recruitment marketing by NAS for a deeper understanding.
Your Time is Now
Competition is steep, and all the bargaining power is in the hands of employees. If businesses want to survive the employee draught and become stronger than ever, they need to make sure they are a step above the rest of the pack. More importantly, they need to make sure they market themselves well. With a well-planned recruitment marketing campaign, your company can push forward into the future on firmer footing and outlive the competition.
