Rethink Your Recruiting Strategy from a Marketing Perspective

Posted on in Blog

All effective recruitment marketing strategies are grounded on a few guiding principles. No matter the industry or region, effective recruiting strategies rely on a clear understanding of their audience and the realities of delivering relevant information to the right candidate, on the right platform, at the right time.

What Is a Recruiting Strategy?

A recruitment strategy is a long-term approach to hiring and retaining qualified candidates to fulfill immediate openings and provide new skills and perspectives to the organization. Human resources managers often work together with in-house or marketing agencies to align their hiring needs with recruiting tactics.

Recruiting is marketing, so developing a comprehensive plan to support short- and long-term talent acquisition makes sense. Every organization wants to bring in smart, motivated and talented people, but those candidates are in exceptionally high demand. In tight labor markets, competitive salaries and benefits are just two factors in attracting high-potential workers.

Recruitment Marketing Tips & Ideas

Recruiting starts with a thorough, unflinching look in the mirror. Gather your leadership teams and key stakeholders to evaluate your organization, your priorities and your mission.

Asking the Right Questions

Like a marketing strategy, you’ll need to answer some basic questions about your recruiting priorities. Your organization will likely have some brand-specific soul-searching to do, but here are a few strategic questions to help get you started:

  • How do we define our brand? Corporate brand identity shapes how candidates – and customers – view your organization. Recruitment strategies should reflect your brand’s mission, voice and tone so candidates know what you stand for.
  • What makes us different? Top candidates have plenty of choices. Differentiate your organization from competitors by clearly defining “work perks” that set your company apart. This is more than having snacks in the break room – it’s important to understand what matters the most to workers in your industry, including flexible work schedules, mental health support or productivity incentives.
  • How do we position our employees to grow and succeed? New hires don’t want to do the same job forever. Smart organizations help put employees in a position to learn through professional development programs, subsidizing higher education costs or allowing employees to take on new roles within the company over time.

The people you onboard will ultimately shape the future of your organization. It’s worth discussing your brand’s priorities before you ramp up hiring.

What Are the Elements of a Successful Recruiting Strategy?

Growth-minded organizations always have talent acquisition efforts in play. Strategy provides the shape and direction that informs tactics, such as which marketing channels you’ll use for recruiting campaigns down the road.

Fine-tune your digital marketing recruiting strategy by addressing a few pivotable decision points:

Candidates or customers? Treat prospects with respect, consideration and professionalism. The recruiting process sets expectations about working for your company. Give prospects access to open lines of communication, provide resources that might influence decision-making (think workplace expectations, introduce supervisors, etc.) and keep the process concise.

Know who you’re talking to. Decide what topics, questions and concerns will appeal to your ideal candidate. You might be able to survey existing employees about what they enjoy about the workplace or conduct market research to better understand your candidate pool.

Stay on brand. Recruiting is an opportunity to examine your organization’s branding. Make sure hiring ads and social media recruiting assets meet existing brand standards and create new graphics, landing pages or videos as needed.

Effective strategy does more than fill an open position today. It mitigates the risk of making the wrong hire now and paying for it with retraining or replacement later.

You Already Found the Right People (to Find the Right People)

Oneupweb has helped develop recruiting strategies and effective campaigns in a host of industries and markets. We bring fresh and creative thinking and a data-driven approach to help you find the niche expertise and future leaders that can help your brand thrive.

Let us be your recruitment marketing guide. Get in touch or call 231-922-9977 today to get started.

Up Next

Nonprofit professional organizations are crucial in networking, education, and advocacy. While many members recognize the inherent value of these organizations, sustained membership growth is a challenge for even established associations. Before starting your next membership campaign, check out these membership growth strategies to maximize your impact. Three Elements of Successful Nonprofit Membership Programs Value is...

Read More