Comment
By Simone Lockhart
Acquiring good people for a business is every bit as important as acquiring new customers, but it is often not given the same importance. It is time to prioritise people over product, and now more than ever marketing needs to be incorporated into a recruitment strategy.
There is no longer a silver bullet for hiring new staff such as a full page newspaper ad or a job board post that generates hundreds of applications. In this fast-paced, candidate-driven market we are targeting a passive audience of people who are already in jobs, so we need to act differently to attract attention. Previously there would be a predominantly active market who would visit job sites but just like the theory of the two-way interview, we now need to be proactive and work harder and faster to reach, attract and retain candidates.
Firstly, a business needs to define its employer brand and proposition – outlining company culture, values and opportunities – and ensure this is embedded in all marketing and recruitment materials. Content is king, and effective storytelling will help get the message out there.
READ MORE: Good employer branding can curtail salary pressures
Start with the company website and social channels as highly engaging platforms are essential. For example, professional video content is worth the investment as it can bring more personality to a brand. LinkedIn pages should include organic content such as staff profiles, and the careers page that is often hidden away should instead feature prominently.
Once the content is refined, recruiters need to understand the audience – for example what media do they consume, what do they value most from an employer, and how do they spend their time outside of work? Tap into insights from current personnel on interests and goals to develop personas for each role. In all that we do, we should also be mindful of diversity, equality and inclusion messages, and ensure that all shared content, including images and text, are reflective of company values.
READ MORE: Examining the 'when' and 'why' of going to the office
Once all of this is established then businesses can strategically target audiences through clever ad placement and marketing activity. This is why marketing functions should be aligned with recruitment, whether that means teams collaborating together or those in recruitment upskilling their marketing expertise. Too often recruitment falls down the priority list for marketing, but driving footfall or sales is almost pointless if staffing levels are not appropriate.
Essentially the theory behind marketing and recruitment is the same: it is about attraction, and in this case, attracting people. Knowledge of the latest and most relevant tools to target audiences can make all the difference, and if budget allows, a dedicated recruitment marketing person is an ideal way to elevate a campaign in today's crowded market.
Simone Lockhart, commercial director of the Taranata Group, is a guest writer on behalf of s1jobs.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here