In a climate where competition is tough and talent is hard to come by, creativity in recruitment is essential. When candidates can access resources at the touch of a button, traditional sourcing strategies may not be enough. Garmin recently hosted the TeamKC network at “Let's Get Social: Best Practices in Social Media Recruiting,” where we heard from DEG Director of Social Media, Jen Forrest. Jen shared why social media is imperative to talent recruitment, and offered a few tips for stepping up your social media game.
Here are the top seven takeaways:
- Social recruiting is a big deal. And here are the stats to prove it:
- 73% of 18-34 year-olds found their last job through a social network
- 59% of job seekers use social to research the company culture of organizations they are interested in
- 80% of employers say social recruiting helps them find passive candidates
- 93% of recruiters are currently using or planning to use social networks as part of their recruiting efforts
- Branding is everything. A bad reputation could cost you:
- Your corporate brand is directly affected by your employment brand and a poor reputation could mean spending 10% more per hire.
- Companies with strong employment brands drive twice as many qualified applicants, this leads to a 50% decrease in cost per hire.
- You have options. Social recruiting can take many different forms:
- Create your own channels? Or integrate recruitment into existing brand strategy? What channels do you choose? Which platforms are best for your company?
- Conduct research on your competitors and current brand status to make these decisions, then develop a strategy to implement your ideas.
- Realness is key. Be genuine and make it personal:
- Stock photos won’t show off your company, use real images.
- Candidates are looking for a culture that fits their personality.
- Using an employer branded hashtag may encourage authentic sharing.
- Don’t be a robot. Have an appropriate balance of automation and authenticity.
- Engage in one on one conversations. Use personal accounts to reach out to potential hires:
- Job postings from brand pages are less engaging and less personal than 1:1 interactions.
- Rather than creating a new network, strengthen your own. Use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to build your network.
- Design your online presence by including links to your company pages, writing messages that earn responses and establishing credibility on your personal profiles.
- Utilize your employees. The inner voice of your organization:
- Current employees have the inside scoop on company culture. They can testify on the treatment of employees, financial earnings, business procedures, innovation efforts, etc.
- Successful employees have stories that can be told! Develop content that highlights roles in the company and is easy and fun to share.
- Referrals, referrals, referrals! The largest external source of hires:
- Consider creating an incentives program for employees who post job listings or make referrals.
- Invest in keeping your talent happy and work with HR to better understand the impact of external employee reviews.
To learn more about TeamKC and its events contact Jessica Nelson.