A quality shared between some of history’s strongest and most revered leaders is their ability to accredit those around them. Even today, the best business and thought leaders are those who understand the power of a community in harmony. In other words, an organization is really just a community of employees. Having an effective recruitment marketing strategy in place will help you build a team of ideal employees who thrive in your organization.
There are a lot of layers in a comprehensive recruitment marketing strategy. All of the different core components that make up recruitment marketing tools are aimed at attracting and retaining the ideal employee, filling the recruitment funnel with quality potential candidates, and improving vital business metrics like turnover, brand reputation, and of course, the bottom line.
The following sections cover how brands can use recruitment marketing strategies to accomplish these goals all while simultaneously building an exciting and enriching company culture.
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How a Recruitment Marketing Strategy Cuts Turnover Cost
One of the most expensive costs a business can incur is employee turnover. Turnover is a sharp cost for a variety of reasons. Firstly, there are a series of expenses involved with the initial hiring process. From time and energy spent on resume review and interviewing, to the onboarding costs themselves, bringing a new employee on board is no cheap feat.
“Replacing an entry-level employee costs 30% - 40% of their annual salary. A mid-level employee 150% of their salary. And a highly skilled employee up to 400% of their salary.”
What makes a high turnover rate so financially detrimental is that all of this upfront cost invested in a new hire sees no return. Not only that, but it becomes a repeat cost as the hiring process for that position has to start all over again, meaning another substantial investment in another new hire.
Yet, without addressing the root cause of the turnover, there’s no guarantee that your next hire will last any longer than their predecessor. Taking a step back to look at the bigger picture can help put things in perspective and demonstrate the importance of a more strategic recruitment marketing plan.
With this in mind, the main focus of a recruiting marketing strategy needs to be on finding and hiring the right employee the first time. This sounds fairly simple, but in reality, there are so many variables in play here, it can be extremely difficult for modern organizations to find and win good employees.
How COVID-19 Changed Things
Recruiters had a specifically difficult time in the years following COVID-19, as so many members of the workforce made pivots in their careers or left the workforce entirely. This caused massive waves in the job market. Since then, the job market has leveled out significantly but not without seeing permanent change. Namely, the employee priorities have shifted toward work-life balance, healthy company culture, and flexibility.
This means that finding and hiring the right employee is only half the story. The other half is dedicating the necessary efforts to build a healthy company culture that promotes organic employee retention.
How a Recruitment Marketing Strategy Addresses Employee Retention
As mentioned above, the two main components of a comprehensive recruitment marketing strategy are attraction and retention.
Before we even talk about filling the recruitment marketing funnel, we need to address company culture and other employee retention tactics. This is crucial in 2023 and will continue to be in the foreseeable future.
“Company culture is incredibly important for drawing in top job applicants and minimizing employee turnover. It also builds a reputation outside of your organization that your company is a great place to work and aids in talent pool development.”
– Ramin Edmond –
People often associate company culture with certain amenities like a game-room in office, a flexible schedule, or free company snacks. However, these are more often the results of a strong culture than they are the cause of one.
Culture is developed through strong but open-minded leadership who own the values, mission, and vision of the company while also putting their teams in positions to succeed.
Part of this is recognizing the individuality in employees and empowering them to express themselves authentically so they can be in the best possible mindset to be productive and meet goals on projects. Additionally, people are naturally more engaged and excited about their work when they feel free to be themselves which translates to higher levels of motivation and job satisfaction.
Another part of a strong company culture is giving employees ownership over their role, and letting them grow in an organic way that lets them scale both professionally and financially.
The Attraction Stage of the Recruitment Marketing Funnel
Between understanding the long-term cost-savings that a recruitment marketing strategy creates and building a company culture that attends to the priorities of modern-day professionals on the job-market, you’ll put yourself in the perfect position to focus your recruiting efforts on the attraction stage.
This is really the first stage of the recruitment marketing funnel, but we’re addressing it last because it’s only effective with the foundational support that stems from strong culture and long-term vision.
Things like employee testimonials and referrals enhance recruitment marketing strategies. Brands can use these to craft social media posts, creative ads, and other content. Making sure that this stellar content then gets seen by ideal candidates is another task tackled by comprehensive recruitment marketing strategies.
For example, if you’re going to craft a job-listing for an open position in your organization, you’re going to want to highlight the cultural aspects of the company that current employees are excited about. On top of that, you’re going to want to communicate the overarching mission, vision, and values of the brand and how this specific role fits into that bigger picture. Finally, you’re going to want to post this opening in the right spaces so it’s easy for the right candidates to find.
This also means you’ll need to understand who your ideal candidate is. First, there are things like technical skills and knowledge-base to consider, but an ideal employee will go beyond being a functional fit for the role. Ideal candidates will fit into the culture, own their role, and bring additional value to the team.
Constructing a candidate persona (much like a buyer’s persona) and relying on industry data can help you find strong potential candidates who will be excited to join your organization.
Final Thoughts on Recruitment Marketing Strategies
A comprehensive recruitment marketing strategy saves money and time, helps develop a strong company culture, which is then reinforced by onboarding high-quality candidates, and strengthens both your brand reputation and image.
With culture a major point of emphasis for modern professionals, it also needs to be a top priority for business and thought-leaders alike.
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