If Covid had not been enough, now HR departments have to learn to become sales professionals. To reach out and ‘sell’ company vacancies to increasingly fickle, and shrinking pools of talent. The Great Resignation is only making the challenge harder

So how does HR sell the company brand to ensure it attracts the best job candidates? And how can they make long term connections with future prospective candidates so that when needed, the right individuals are primed and ready to be recruited?

The answer increasingly is, social media strategy.

Of course, HR departments have been using social media for many years. But this is in the form of a bulletin board approach posting up vacancies. Strategic use of the medium to entice talent is a whole other ballgame. One that has enduring potential for attracting the right candidates in the short, medium and long term.

As we know, the competition for the best people has reached an intense level, and money and position are no longer the all encompassing job criteria that potential employees look for. They want more. As a result, business branding laid in front of recruitment targets needs to stand out, and be known for ESG, employment practice and leadership. They are increasingly deal breakers.

According to a study by McKinsey, the better the ESG programme the more likely a company is to attract the best talent. Research by Talent Solutions reveals that employees want to work for a company that is aligned with their values, and two thirds want to help improve society through work, plus half will switch jobs to join a company that will benefit their wellbeing.

With the best candidates having so much choice, they hold a powerful position in the jobs marketplace. They need to know they will be valued, that whoever they decide to work for has robust employment practices, a positive company philosophy, progressive ESG, and a strong feeling of employee belonging within the company along with good leadership.

In the past, HR departments could lay claim to many of these attributes in job descriptions. Throw in a few examples in the interview process alongside a formal company policy document, and that would be enough to satisfy most needs. But no longer.

Positive company positioning needs to be ever present in front of the target talent pool so that when a vacancy needs filling, candidates don’t need to ask about social and environmental responsibility or employee satisfaction. They have already seen it, and know it exists. However, a lack of these criteria means employment interest will be elsewhere.

Ironically in the case of many companies, the appropriate attributes are present. Often there is even an abundance of the qualifications sought. But if they are not properly visible then they don’t count. They don’t exist to the outside world, and even internally.

Lack of effective showcasing is the problem. Announcements on corporate websites and social media posts may appear, or even feature in marketing, but if activity is not linked together cohesively to describe a pattern of commitment, the message gets lost.

Research consistently shows that to generate a value exchange between a company and an individual means creating up to ten touch points. Touch points occur when messages resonate. In the past they tended to focus on acquisition. Primarily it was salary. The same was true in the consumer marketplace. Buyers were brand and product focused – a ‘What’s in it for me culture’. In both cases this has fundamentally changed. Potential employees and shoppers alike now seek productive purpose and philosophy from a company or brand, evidence of environmental and social contribution, and progressive employment practices.

Social media is the only way to consistently promote these values effectively, and applied in the right way, it does it extraordinarily well. This should not come as a surprise. Social media is after all, a common denominator of all companies and employees, and used multiple times a day as a source for acquiring and sharing information. The medium is unique in that it can shorten the distance between company and target audience to show off the values individuals are looking for from an employer.

It is, however, impossible to create a picture of a company people want to work for if you don’t actually know what that picture looks like. There is a natural temptation to start pushing out positive communication as quickly as possible, particularly in the case of achievements. It is understandable, but it is a mistake. Smart use of social media means strategic planning, and that includes audience analysis.

The first task is to get an analytical knowledge of the ‘why’ in terms of what the target recruitment base seeks. Without understanding the demographics and psychographics, the best that can be achieved is guesswork, and trying to second guess people rarely leads to the required outcome. Messages that fail to resonate are no more than spam, and serves to demonstrate the gap between two parties. In this situation second chances are few.

Knowing who you are talking to and their ‘why’ enables communication to be brought to life. Take make the audience sit up and listen. They start envisaging working for the company. And there are other major benefits to focusing on data. For example, Facebook users can be targeted by job title.

Storytelling
Storytelling is without question the best way to create content that engages, and is remembered. Social media could almost have been designed for the purpose. This means content does not have to be all about announcements or results. It should be about journeys, developments and the learning that takes place. One off push notifications are far too easily forgotten. Therefore, creating appropriate narratives is essential. They will be followed.

The final piece of the jigsaw is to ensure content is genuine. Greenwashing, virtue signalling and hollow claims have become a pet hate of a public that actually don’t expect perfection. Genuine commitment is what is sought, and even when it does not always achieve the exact desired outcome, it presents a positive relatable scenario.

Be honest and followers will align with intention. They will stay with you. They will start to associate themselves with the corporate organisation, and when that happens they have the ‘why’ to come to you when you need them.