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Attracting top talent involves more than simply posting a job ad, so make the most of the web to communicate a company’s values and culture.
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How to make a company’s social media presence its hire ground
18 August 2023
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What is important to candidates?
To attract top talent, companies must demonstrate that they understand the people applying. Across the accounting and legal industries, candidates cite flexibility, sign-on bonuses and paying out clawbacks, higher salaries, and financial stability as key reasons they look for a new role.
While salary expectations are stabilising, inflation and the potential for further economic challenges mean that candidates seek even more assurances that their salary will provide financial stability.
Similarly, some candidates move to secure a sign-on bonus along with sign-on bonus clawbacks being paid by the new employer. In accounting there has been an increase in visa sponsorships, indicating that firms are looking outside the home market for talent.
For Gen Y, Zs or Millennials, their ability to research online and make a judgement based on a company’s presence (or lack thereof) is a key factor in their job decisions. Generally, younger generations are looking for more than money. They want a compelling employee value proposition (EVP), benefits, and a workplace that suits their life and work.
Further, they are looking for diversity in the business, with many using executive-level diversity as a barometer to determine whether the company makes a demonstrable commitment to the issue.
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How can companies strengthen their online presence?
Posting a job advertisement on Seek and hoping that people apply is no longer enough to attract top talent. Companies must think strategically and ensure their roles are advertised and communicated to a vast network. Advertising roles across several online channels is important, but having a strong online presence also builds a more powerful brand and EVP for the company, both of which are influence candidates.
Four social recruitment pillars:
- Leadership presence: Your leaders should be involved and active on LinkedIn. This means they should use their profiles to post jobs and tap into their network. They can also build their profiles by writing content and establishing themselves as thought leaders in the market.
- Interns and graduates: To get visibility outside your online channels, your company should have a presence at local high schools and universities to attract talent to your early career programs.
- Paint a picture: People want to know what it would be like to work at your company; you need more than just the job description in an advertisement. Think about ways to detail what working at your company is like. This could include sharing different parts of company life on your social channels and outlining what makes your organisation a great place to work in each job advertisement.
- Alumni network: If you haven’t already, your company should tap into your alumni network. This can attract alumni back to your firm, but also expand your network when sharing job opportunities online.
Onboarding is critical
The onboarding experience is a critical first impression for new hires, and it starts before their first day. Employees should feel like they are a part of the organisation throughout the notice period with their current employer. This requires keeping in touch with them and ensuring they remain engaged to reduce the risk they may accept a better offer in the interim.
Once your new hire starts, clear communication will get a person’s journey off to a good start. If you haven’t already, you might consider having the new employee meet with someone from each business unit over their first couple of weeks to gain a broader understanding of the company and meet people across the organisation.
Use social channels strategically
As the labour market remains tight, it’s crucial for businesses to approach recruitment strategically. This includes understanding and identifying how the company will expand its online and offline networks. By reaching more people, from potential interns and graduate recruits to more senior lateral hires, your company has a higher likelihood of attracting top talent.
Further, understanding that candidates are well informed and that your online channels play a significant role in demonstrating the culture of your company is important, especially as younger generations enter the workforce.
Finally, once a candidate is hired, the onboarding experience also makes up a crucial part of your EVP. Making employees feel valued and welcomed before they start is a smart way to ensure that someone’s journey with your firm starts positively and is more likely to be a long one.
Karen Frenkiel is a principal consultant and Julia Storie is a manager at Pitcher Partners.
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