Digital HR Consulting Strategy
What’s digital
recruitment?
Digital recruitment goes far beyond posting vacancies on online
job boards and social media (although these platforms undoubtedly play a part).
Rather, it touches on a whole host of digital tools and strategies that span
the entire recruitment process — from start to finish.
Such tactics include:
- Digital
job board advertising
- Posting
on career websites
- Mobile
recruiting
- Utilizing
online assessments
- Social
recruiting
As you may have already gathered, digital recruitment refers to the process of using tech and the internet to find, attract, analyze, select, and hire candidates to fill your open job roles.
There’s a good chance you’re using one or two of the methods
listed above. But, unless you’re using the majority, you’re probably a long way
off of adopting a genuine digital recruitment strategy
What are the
advantages of digital recruitment?
Before we delve into how to execute a digital recruitment
strategy, here are just a few of the many benefits:
- A more
extensive reach: You’re able to reach far more remote
applicants including international talent, as well as more passive
candidates.
- Greater
efficiency: Sourcing, selecting, and hiring
candidates takes less time. Namely, because communication with prospects
is far more manageable as is automating parts of the recruitment process.
- A higher
ROI: While you’ll need to invest in
developing and implementing a digital recruitment strategy, the ROI is
usually higher than traditional recruitment methods. How so? Well, when
implemented effectively, you’ll hire
top-performing candidates in a shorter time frame. Simple.
Tips for building a
robust digital recruitment strategy
Now, let’s delve into the nitty-gritty of launching and developing
a digital recruitment strategy.
1. Create and share relevant content
You need to refine your messaging so you can engage with different
groups of candidates more productively. This means taking the time to identify
who your ideal candidates are and using their avatar to fuel your copy. It’ll also
give you a better idea of where to share your content, for instance:
- Your
company website
- External
blogs
- Your social
media handles
- Your
email newsletter
Let’s circle back to the content of your messaging for a sec.
There are tons of things you can do to make your content more compelling, for
example:
- Using
stories and testimonials from your current employees
- Publishing
industry salary reports
- Posting
industry news and updates
These are just a few of the many types of content you could
harness. So, we advise researching what your audience is interested in before
launching your digital recruitment strategy.
It’s also worth noting that to effectively create and manage your
content, you’ll need to identify the needs of your candidates and provide them
with a solution. Part of doing this is getting to grips with how you’ll
differentiate yourself from your competition.
This means explicitly tailoring your content to engage with your
ideal kinds of job seekers. For instance, are you hoping to attract Baby
Boomers? Gen X? Millennials? You’ll need to carefully customize your messaging
to capture the imagination of your target candidate.
To help you do this successfully, you’ll need to cultivate a
better understanding of your ideal applicants, be aware of their:
- Online
habits
- Interests
- General
lifestyles
- Average
expected income
Just to name a few.
With this info at your disposal, you can better create informative
pictures, infographics, or videos that explain and eventually convince
potential talent to apply to work for you.
2. Solid social media recruiting strategy
If you don’t already have a social media presence, that needs to change.
The stats speak for themselves, employers who started using social
media to hire, saw a 49% improvement in
candidate quality.
Once you have your profiles up and running, publish informative
posts, videos, and engage in discussions with potential candidates.
Social media platforms are also fabulous places to develop your
employer brand. This may sound time-consuming, but it’s worth it — especially
if you’re looking to higher Millennials. In fact, as many as 80% of Millennials look
for a good ‘culture fit’ with potential employers before sending an
application.
So, use social media to your advantage by conveying the kind of
company culture applicants should expect!
Not only that, but you can figure out where your ‘ideal
candidates’ are hanging out online. Namely, by publishing content that engages
and converts talent across all your social media channels.
Over time you’ll see which networks work best for you, but while
you’re still in the testing phase, we suggest doing the following:
- Publishing
job postings on LinkedIn
- Using
videos to showcase employee testimonials on YouTube
- Tweeting
about company awards or events
- Establishing
a presence on Facebook
In addition to traditional social media platforms, join forums
specific to your niche. Make a name for yourself there, this is an excellent
way to connect with more remote and/or passive pools of talent.
Workology
sketched out the social
recruiting universe with career site in its middle. Linkedin, Facebook and
Twitter are often central to companies’ social media recruiting strategies.
3. Prioritize candidate experience
It’s hard to be objective when reviewing the recruitment
experience your company offers.
This is why ‘mystery shopping’ your own application and selection
process is an absolute must.
It’s one of the most effective ways of getting a real understanding
of how candidates experience your recruitment strategy.
With this kind of feedback, you can then take the necessary steps
to improve. But, as a general rule, here are a few things you can do to enhance
the overall candidate experience:
- Communicate
with applicants as clearly and regularly as possible
- Provide
updates about the status of their application
- Stick to
your hiring timeline
The key is to build a rapport with candidates by treating them
with as much respect as possible. This is essential for bolstering the number
of prospects that complete your recruitment process from start to finish.
Don’t forget about optimizing your career pages, job postings and
applications for mobile. While almost 90% of job seekers think
mobile devices play a critical role in the job hunting process, only 20% of employers say
their career site is optimized for mobile. Make sure that mobile users have a
frictionless experience when exploring your company and its opportunities
online.
AI & recruitment technology is changing recruiting experience, It has helped other companies grow by enhancing both the recruiters’ and candidates’ experience!
4. Build your reputation
It almost goes without saying, you’ll want to develop and maintain
a reputation for being a top-notch employer.
According to Reoot Peleg, founder of HR for HR,
these days, the fields of recruitment and marketing significantly overlap one
another. In fact, he goes as far as to say; “Recruiters need to create
branding for the company while marketers create branding for customers.”
Branding yourself as an employer will take a little time and
effort but it’s well worth it. Companies with strong employer brand experience
up to 50% reduction in cost per
hire and
50% more qualified applicants.
Create a strong employer brand online: Ensure
your messaging is consistent across all your platforms (email marketing, social
media, your website, etc.). This is essential for building a stronger and more
memorable brand, plus you’re less likely to confuse candidates with
inconsistencies.
Get on ‘best places to work’ lists: Lists
like Glassdoor’s Employees’ Choice Awards and
Indeed’s Best Places to Work are
great examples of these kinds of lists. They’re calculated solely on employee
feedback, so be sure to claim your company profile and encourage employees to
leave a review.
Manage reviews: Obviously, you’ll need to maintain and update all your online
profiles. Make sure the photos you’ve uploaded are current, the links work, and
your description is 100% accurate. If you receive a negative review, you don’t
want to ignore it. We’re not saying to enter into a full-scale argument by
replying with a passive-aggressive comment…that would achieve the opposite of
the desired effect.
Instead, emphasize your commitment to clear communication and constant improvement. Show anyone reading the review that you listen to what employees have to say, and that you take steps to rectify issues that arise.
5. Design a digital candidate selection process
The ultimate goal is to create a selection method that’s a
positive experience for both recruiters and candidates.
How?
By building something that’s easy to navigate so everyone can
glide through the recruitment process.
This means being completely transparent with candidates every step
of the way.
For instance:
- Assessing
applicants for the skills needed to do the job justice.
- Providing
a genuine insight into your company’s culture
- Offering
realistic job previews
By setting the right job expectations for your
candidates right from the start, there’s less likely to be confusion and misunderstanding
later down the road.
Furthermore, recruiters and hiring managers will get access to
valuable data about their candidates and make the whole recruitment process
data-driven and, as a result, less biased. Implementing a video situational judgement test will help you set
the right expectations for your candidates.
6. Create feedback loops
By ‘creating feedback loops’ we mean, asking candidates what they
think about your recruitment process. Once you have comments and opinions
to analyze, look at how you could improve, and refine your strategy.
This process needs to be continuous. Otherwise, how else do you
keep improving? So, relaunch the entire loop with your next batch of
recruits.
7. Pick the right tools
Your digital recruitment strategy will only be as good as the
tools you use. Period.
Start by carefully selecting software to launch, develop, and
refine your current methods. Spend time looking at your hiring requirements,
then consider what tools you’ll need to help achieve your objectives.
Sit down and talk to your recruiters. You need to understand what
resources they’re already using and how they’re leveraging them.
What recruiting software helps them achieve the best results, and why
is that the case? From there, you can better work out what’s needed to take
your recruitment strategy to the next level.
Is it a candidate relationship management system (CRM)?
Pre-employment assessment tools? A social recruiting program? Whatever it is,
do your research first.
Top Tip: Before spending any money, ensure all these tools integrate with
one another!
With using online assessment tools, you stand a better chance of
identifying high-performing individuals. Best of all, these tests can be
administered remotely, so there’s no need to waste your precious manpower on
hosting and supervising assessments.
Gone are the days where you had to rely on inaccurate checklists
of candidate requirements to assess potential candidates. With the right tools,
you’ll save yourself a ton of time and recruit better fits for your vacancies —
what’s not to love about that?
Shortlisting
highly qualified candidates with the help of online pre-employment assessments
enables companies to make the interviewing process much more efficient.
8. Train your team
It’s not enough just to have the right machines and software if
your team doesn’t understand how to use them. Whenever you buy a new bit of
kit, you’ll need to train your team members. Teach them how to utilize these
tools to the fullest. Otherwise, you won’t see the full fruits of your
investment.
9. Track recruitment metrics
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. It really is as simple
as that.
Think about the focus of your digital recruitment strategy and
measure your progress using vital performance indicators.
For instance, is your aim to improve the quality of your new
hires? Or, is it to bolster your employer brand? Whatever it is, set a precise
objective for your recruitment strategy, select the right metrics to measure
your success, and keep a close eye on the data.
This will help you identify any potential areas for improvement.
All that’s left for you to do is to take action and see whether your tweaks
lead to a better result.
10. Be
consistent across the whole recruitment funnel
The experience you provide candidates has to be consistent.
If they see your brand as an innovative and creative place to work
because of your excellent employer branding, don’t spoil it by, for example,
having a cumbersome application process or not even acknowledging you received the
application.
If you’re talking a good talk, you’ll need to follow through on
that. Otherwise, you’ll lose the trust and respect of your prospects.
Your
digital recruitment strategy needs to span from creating awareness around your
brand and your openings to getting new hires onboard.
Ready to launch a digital recruitment strategy?
A high-quality digital recruitment strategy can drastically
improve your recruitment process, not only for the candidates but also for
recruiters.
Don’t forget, the objective is to provide the smoothest possible
experience which you can create by asking and receiving feedback from
candidates and monitoring key performance indicators.
With this data at your fingertips, you’ll develop and improve your
digital recruitment strategy in no time.
A Digital strategy is a plan that helps your business achieve specific digital goals through carefully selected online marketing channels such as paid, earned, and owned media.
9 Steps to Build A Great Digital Strategy | Infographic
I bet this is not the first time someone suggested you integrate an effective digital marketing strategy to your business. Stepping into the digital marketing is pretty much fine, but why does one need a strategy for that?
Because a strategy helps you in “setting the direction to the destination you want to reach.”
Whether
you just started your startup or in business for years, it is never late to
create a plan that creates a real impact on your bottom line. Any Digital
Marketing Services provider basically follows this pipeline for the best
possible chance of success.
1. Goals and Objective
Okay!
Do not raise your eyebrows. This suggestion or advice might seem certain that
does not need any special mention. However, we have seen many marketers who are
eager to get into the nuts and bolts of postings and campaigns without any
prior plan which is necessary for a productive outcome. As a business holder,
you should be clear of what your goal is. Whether you want to mark your
presence in the neighboring state or rank higher in the Search Engine Results
Page? The end objective can be determined by your current business standards
and how you want it to be in the long run.
2. Identify “your” customers
One
of the vital things to be contemplated during any digital marketing strategy is
that you need to identify your customers. See, if you do not know who you are
marketing to, what is the point of discussing a “great strategy?”Isn’t it? With
the available digital channels, you sure can REACH people, but the question is
WHICH people? Identifying the target audience is not rocket science if you
could create the fleshed-out persona. And a persona is something that gives a
detailed description of your audience. Get started with their gender, age, and
location. Then dig deeper to identify their hobbies, interests, occupation,
emotional desires, goals, etcetera. Google Analytics can help you determine
such factors and whom you should actually target.
3. Competitor Research
It
is essential to get the current online landscape in terms of competitiveness.
Analyze what the competitors are doing. It could help you in discovering the
areas you need to hone up. Create a spreadsheet and note their every single
activity on every single channel. With the help of SEO services companies and
tools, you can discover the keywords which are driving the high volume of
traffic to their
site.
Note:
You are studying your competitor’s way of marketing not duplicating their
strategy.
Great
that you have made up till here. Now let us explore how you can implement this
digital marketing strategy below:
9 Steps for a Great Digital
Strategy
4. Search Engine Marketing
Search
Engine Marketing (SEM) is a way of internet marketing which is basically the
promotion of your website. It improves the site visibility in search engines by
bidding on search terms. SEM enables businesses to get precise success tracking
and in-depth campaign analysis too. You can get to know how much value you are
generating which further helps in making educated decisions.
On
the other hand, Search Engine Optimization(SEO) is a component of Search Engine
Marketing. SEO’s ultimate aim is to increase the number of visitors to your
website. It includes on-page and off-page optimization that helps in maximizing
the visitor count.
5. Social Media Marketing
Social
Media Marketing(SMM) is a form of internet marketing that includes composing
and sharing content on social media channels or networks. The primary
activities involve in SMM are posting any kind of media such as text, image,
videos, memes, and updates that drive user engagement. Social Media Marketing
is mostly executed on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
6. Email Marketing
You
might be wondering why we set down Email Marketing as a separate tile amidst
the resounding cry that email marketing is dead. But, it is not. It is still
one of the effective ways of sending a commercial message for a group of people
that actually matters. As a matter of fact, 72% of people still prefer email
communication instead of chat. Besides email marketing, you can also integrate
the best live chat software into your website to convert visitors into business
clients.
7. Content Marketing
Content
Marketing is a form of marketing that primarily focused on creating,
publishing, and distributing content for the target audience through online
medium. It is implemented to increase brand awareness and credibility through
constant blogging, press releases, guest blogging, webinars, ebooks, articles
etcetera.
8. Mobile Marketing
It
is also a form of online marketing technique to reach the target audience on
smartphones, mobile phones, tablets, or any other related device. Whether you
are a product or service provider, mobile marketing is beneficial since it is
the gateway to interactive multichannel promotion.
Now
you are familiar with the strategies and mediums to achieve them. Well done!
But executing these actions and relaxing on the couch is not done. You need to
measure the performance.
9. Measure Results
You
need to get an idea of the outcome, what went wrong, what had hit the bull’s
eye, which channel generated the productive outcome, which medium betrayed, and
everything that defines your strategy. All you should do is keep on exploring,
experiment, and executing your conventions.
Conclusion
Digital
eStrategy believes this composed Digital Marketing Strategy could help in
making your business more driven and effective.
