Wordpress has been great for me.

Not only do I have the capability to deliver content globally I can track the most read and searched for blog entries.  This is good stuff.  Rather surprisingly, to me at least, employment branding is always close to the top.

I guess I have always been critical about organisations that fail to do something about their brand, making it a bigger problem than it is or talking about the challenges of global consistency.  So in this blog let’s look at the things we could all do, today, whether big or small that will make a positive impact on developing and sustaining an effective employment brand in some small easy to manage chunks.

1. Communication

We all know it.  Job applicants have a poor experience whether through agency or direct.  We also know that it’s not right but getting it right all the time every time is tough.  This week I received a Dear Sir/Madam email saying thanks but no thanks.  Good they let me know.  Bad that despite the 20 minutes I had spent filling information into their applicant tracking system they couldn’t quite bring themselves to add a [FirstName] field into the standard email.  It’s the little things that matter and having delivered a response why blow it so easily?

In summary, treat your applicants like sales leads or people looking for product information about your business.  Do this and you have cracked it.  Not only will you create a great first impression but you will appear engaging and want good applicants to join you.  The old M&S experience drummed into me when I was 17 still applies.  We tell one person about our good experience, we tell 9 about the bad.  This still applies - or thereabouts.

So once you’ve acknowledged the application - get on with getting in touch to let them know as soon as possible.   The applicants you want will really appreciate a phone call to tell them about the process.  In short people just want to know that you have thought about them and where they stand. That’s the quick fix for external applicants.  Getting internal referrals is one of the most effective recruitment approaches so make sure current employees know what is going on too. They talk to their friends, former colleagues and the industry at large.  Get this right and you will have qualified candidates coming directly to you.

2. Recruitment ownership Using that treat your potential candidates like a potential client approach, what does your business development team do?  Do you have multiple people talking to your customers or do you appoint a lead person to manage and deliver all communications, manage the customer and win the business even if it’s a team effort?  Naturally the answer is yes, so do the same with your recruitment.  Create  a single point of ownership so hiring managers know who to talk to and candidates feel they have someone who is on their side in the business.

While we are at it - let the recruitment person own offer management - set the parameters let them negotiate and let them get your contracts out.

3. Onboarding You’ll notice I’ve missed out the assessment/interview part but that is a whole new blog.  Onboarding can mean many things to different people.  For me it is a about getting people ready for their first day so that they feel loved, needed and valued.  The basic stuff like desk, computer, email and business cards are essential but take it further.  Why not have a 5 day schedule so they know what they are doing, who they are going to meet etc.   If your business is big enough, assign a ‘buddy’ to show them the ropes and don’t forget to get your recruiter to talk to them at some point about the experience, areas to improve and who else they know that might be interested in joining your organisation.

Clearly there is more to it than just this but then each organisation will have it’s own challenges.  If you want to talk more about what I can do to help you then call +44161.955.3647 or email me at martin.dangerfield@mckinleyresource.com.

You should follow me on twitter here.

about martin dangerfield My current assignment has ended and I am available again for the price of a coffee through to full employment.  My recruitment experience is supported by my years as a people manager, managing teams up to 45 people and the management of strategic clients and the associated P&L’s.

I am available to work across EMEA and offer a flexible commercial engagement model.

Email martin.dangerfield@mckinleyresource.com or call me on +44161.955.3647.

Search for 'People Consultant' or go to www.martindangerfield.com