At all times, your employees determine the rate at which you company grows because they make your customers either happy or unhappy. When you have a dedicated, competent, and loyal team you experience growth annually. However, when you have the opposite, your company struggles to grow. The secret is in attracting and keeping the right employees.
As you think about the ideal candidate to work with, job seekers are also looking at whether you qualify as a good company to work for. What does your brand stand for? Is the information found all over the internet about your company building or killing you? Remember, your PR department needs to be continually building and maintaining a positive brand reputation. First impressions matter.
You also need to brand your recruitment process to attract the right candidates. It is important to do this because
- It helps you stand out in the noisy marketplace.
- It improves your application rates from the right candidates.
- It improves employee engagement, which will lead to loyal employees who attract other loyal employees to the company.
With that in mind, here are top three tips to guide you through the branding process.
Market the Vacancy
The first thing job seekers rate your company with is the job description. The job description should sell the available position, not just be a list of requirements and qualifications. Look at the job description as an advertisement. The job is your product and the target audience is the potential candidate.
Follow the simple marketing AIDA principle.
- Create Attention to the right candidates
- Create Interest by giving relevant details of the job and its benefits
- Create Desire in the minds of the prospects to pursue the wonderful opportunity
- Make the advertisement lead to Action – the potential candidate applying for the job
And don’t forget to have your company logo somewhere in the advertisement. You are not the only one looking to get the best talent in the market; your competition is also looking. Your job announcement should stand out and represent who you are as a brand.
Shortlist the Candidates
With the right job advertisement, you will be sure to attract many applications. The next step is to shortlist these candidates. Most resumes today are professionally written; just reading them will not give the best result. Shortlisting is narrowing down the candidates to a manageable number who can then move to the next phase.
Because we are so connected, how you respond to the rejected candidates can affect your brand negatively or positively. Keep in mind what these rejected candidates say reaches so many others searching for a job. You can stand out in the eyes of all applicants by making the screening criteria public thus building credibility with them.
Remember to be polite when communicating to every candidate who applies for the job.
Carry Out Face-to-Face Interviews
After shortlisting the candidates, it is time to carry out interviews. There are different ways of conducting interviews; you do not have to change your current style if it is working. The commonly used method includes these various stages:
- Pre-screening – Draft your online application forms well to capture the essential data you need from the potential candidates. You can also take them through a personality test that will determine the right fit for the particular job. Speak to them over the phone and ask more questions before inviting them to the formal interview.
- Structured interview – This is the second stage of the interview where you get to meet face to face with the applicants. You are both weighing each other out for the best fit. You can either meet in the office for them to experience the company culture, or have a breakfast interview.
- Reference checking – The last step is to speak with the references provided. Maintain professionalism throughout because once they put the phone down, they will be calling your prospective candidate.
You can heighten this further by arranging a meeting between the selected candidates and the immediate team members followed by the senior management. All parties will be in a position to interact more and learn a little bit more about each other. The aim is the find the right fit for the opened position.
In a nutshell, branding your company to potential employees is as important as branding for customers. Take proactive measures today and brand your business. Incorporate the company core values in all steps and the selected candidate will pick it up from the onset.
In what ways are you branding your company through the hiring process?
Enjoy!
