|
Marketing Jobs to Applicants
by: Toni Talbot, SPHR In the old days, you ran an ad and waited for the phone calls or walk-ins. Unfortunately, the labor market has changed and you can no longer passively recruit applicants. Even with changes in the economy, quality employees will be hard to find. In order to attract the best employee, you must actively recruit and market your company. You need to develop a "recruiting plan" just like you develop a marketing plan. Market Research
Examine your company first. Are your pay and benefit competitive with the market? Does you company have management that is effective and treats their staff with professional respect? Does your company have a vision or mission that it truly lives by? Do you operate clean and well-maintained trucks? Do you have established policies that provide employees with consistent management? The answer to these questions will help you establish an understanding of what your company has to offer potential candidates.
Find out what other employers are paying. This may be done through formal means, conducting a benefit and or wage survey, or informally, by making a few phone calls to business associates. Remember, this may not be just be other concrete companies, it may be any company that hires CDL drivers. Consider the valuable resource of your present employees. Ask them what they like about the company. Why do they stay? What do they think can be done to improve the company? Ask them who they know and who they would recommend. Understanding the Product
Based upon the market research, you need to be able to communicate to potential applicants the aspects of your company that will attract them. Of course this includes pay and benefits, but you cannot under estimate the importance of work environment. You need to effectively communicate both the positive and negative aspects of working for your company. This includes management style, opportunity to learn, hours, type of organizational structure, etc.
The most important of these is the reputation of sound, fair, and progressive management. A company with a reputation as a good place to work should market this reputation to attract applicants.
Include aspects of the work environment when developing advertisements, when developing marketing materials, and when talking to potential applicants. The work environment needs to be sold just like pay and benefits are sold. Advertising to the Target Audience
Remember that you probably want to communicate to individuals who are presently employed, they may not be looking in the help wanted ads. You need to expand your idea of the advertising mediums you use. Consider other advertising options other than traditional employment ads. These include: - Radio and Television Ads
- Billboards
- High School Counselors
- Community College Placement Offices
- Job Service Agencies
- Intermediate School Districts
- Adult Education Programs
- Local Job Fairs
Networking and Direct Sales
Every company knows and understands the importance of sales. When recruiting, employers need to use some of the same techniques developed by sales professionals. The most important of these is networking. Word-of-mouth referrals are always best. We have known this for years. Employers must actively get the word out. This includes letting people know what openings are available, at social events, at business events, at any opportunity available.
Keep an eye out for good workers and approach prospects with enthusiasm, making contact and getting names and numbers. Follow up with the prospect, calling him and trying to get an interview scheduled. Give him your business card. Call him at home if you can. If he is not interested, ask him if he knows of someone who might be interested. Use the same techniques a good sales person uses to get leads, prospects, and eventually sales. Develop Relationships
There are many individuals and organizations that have their pulse on the community and access to a great many potential applicants. These individuals include placement officials at colleges, high school counselors, job service staff, community leaders, local chambers of commerce staff, etc. These people can do two things for recruiting: they can send potential workers to the company and they can help market the positive aspects of the company to potential applicants.
These individuals should be used for recruiting just as they may be used to develop prospective customers. Communicate to these individuals regularly and let them know of the open positions. Tell them some of the good things going on in your company. Let them know of the benefits and perks available at your company. These individuals are an excellent source for potential applicants and this source should be cultivated. Assessing Results
Recruiting dollars are limited and employers need to spend their dollars where the best results are reaped. This means looking back and examining what recruiting methods were the most effective. Keep track of responses to ads. When you receive a response, find out how the applicant heard of the opening. Track where the most successful hires occurred. Continue to consider other recruiting options and make necessary adjustments to the plan. Interview Applicants
You will not hire every applicant. Consider every interview an opportunity to market your company. Treat every interviewee professionally and respectfully. Remember that they took the time to come to your office and meet with you. Do not keep them waiting in the lobby. During the interview, tell them about the company, its management, and opportunities. If you do not hire the applicant, let them know as soon a possible. The positive experiences these individuals have at your company may attract other applicants through word-of-mouth.
In order to attract the best applicants, you need to market your company to applicants just like you market your product and services to customers.
|
