Talent Attraction: Not Just A Job For HR

Posted on 25/05/2020 by Breeanna Noske

In order to attract top talent, it is vital to position your organisation as an employer of choice. And marketing your organisation as an employer of choice does not begin and end with a brief company description with your SEEK advertisement when advertising a vacancy. It is the work that you do as part of your business’ marketing strategy to advertise the benefits of employment with your organisation when NOT recruiting that makes all the difference.

Without a reputation for outstanding employee care and benefits, you may fail to attract the market’s best talent or the candidates most fitted to your organisation. Relying solely on the jobseekers scouring job boards when recruiting highly limits the pool of potential employees you can consider. By promoting your organisation as an employer of choice year-round, your vacancy might be more highly considered when advertised, even potentially attracting passive jobseekers who are not actively seeking employment but are intrigued by the idea of an opportunity with you. Plus, you may receive enquiries from talent even when NOT actively recruiting, so that you can be the first to learn about available outstanding candidates and snap them up before your competitors do!

Consider the marketing tools and avenues you have available to you and incorporate marketing material that showcases the benefits of employment with your organisation into your marketing content and strategy. You can dedicate marketing campaigns to positioning your company as an employer of choice or include happy and satisfied employees within sales campaigns to push the notion as an underlying message. Social media can also be a fantastic way to showcase your employees’ satisfaction and promote your unique staff engagement practices. Share the stories, the successes, the milestones, and the activities that your staff are experiencing to humanise your team and advertise a positive workplace environment. Lastly, your business website is a vital element when it comes to attracting talent. A “Careers” page can provide you an opportunity to overtly outline the benefits of employment with your organisation. Use this space on your website to not only feature current vacancies, but also provide information related to the offerings, environment and activities that keep your employees engaged and will attract new ones. View the Entrée Recruitment Careers pages here for an example.

So, what are the offerings, environments or activities you should advertise? Often you will be doing things that you don’t even consider to be outstanding or worth mentioning, but it is each of those small factors that add together to equal one employer of choice! Let’s explore some possible features worth mentioning, with some examples from our own Entrée Recruitment website.

Diversity and Inclusion

Does your organisation employ a diverse range of employees? Does your organisation promote diversity within its recruitment practices? And beyond just ensuring diversity, does your organisation value inclusion? Are all employees appreciated for their unique contributions to business strategy and team culture?

View our diversity and inclusion practices here.

Career progression

Career progression doesn’t just mean internal promotion. Do you value the development of your staff members? Do you offer employees learning opportunities via industry conferences, in-house training, mentoring or coaching?

View our career progression practices here.

Team culture

Jobseekers want to know about the culture at your organisation! There is no right or wrong, good or bad team culture. But each company has a unique working environment facilitated both by management and by your team. Describe the office, describe the team’s shared values, and describe the employees’ working style. And beyond the working environment, tell us about your social endeavours! Team dinners, Birthday celebrations, a Kris Kringle gift swap… think about the small traditions that you might now take for granted that would sell the culture of your team.

View our team and culture description here.

Flexibility and balance

Do you offer flexible working arrangements? Working from home options? Remote working technology?

View our flexibility and balance practices here.

Reward and recognition

Consider the ways in which you recognise and reward your employees’ successes, achievements and milestones. Additionally, think about the practices that you engage to reward and celebrate your team as a whole for business wide achievements.

View our reward and recognition practices here.

Health and wellbeing

This includes both physical and mental health. Flu shots, gym memberships, in-office yoga classes, healthy snacks, and stand up desks are all drawcards for potential employees, as are extra leave days and access to mental health professionals.

View our health and wellbeing offerings here.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Community offerings are becoming a more highly desired factor when it comes to choosing employers. Make sure to promote any volunteering or fundraising campaigns your business undertakes. Do you offer discounts to charity organisations? Provide staff with paid volunteer days? Engage employees in CSR initiative decisions?

View our community commitments here.

Amenities

And lastly, promote the amenities available to your employees. Benefits you might take for granted such as car parking, a conveniently located office, company cars, phones, laptops and tablets, building amenities, close proximity to cafes and restaurants, coffee machines and more can be attractive to jobseekers.

View our amenities and benefits on offer here.

So there you have it. Make sure to get your Marketing department involved in the attraction of talent by positioning your organisation as an employer of choice. Assume nothing when it comes to jobseekers’ knowledge about your staff benefits on offer and advertise these benefits year-round to appear more appealing to highly skilled candidates than your competitors.