The successful hire isn’t one who just meets the job’s skill requirements. To achieve employee satisfaction, productivity and retention, you must also make sure they understand your company’s goals, expectations and culture. And that needs to happen before you and they make a decision about joining your team.
When Integrity performs recruiting services for a client, we always put the client’s brand, mission, vision and values front and center. Candidates see us as an arm or extension of the client’s business, with unified messaging across the board.
Here are some of our best tips for managing candidates’ expectations of what it’s like to work for your company.
Share information about the organization.
Before you get into ways and means, decide what you will share in your candidate communications. Consider:
- The company’s mission, vision and values
- An overview of corporate policies and structure
- Workplace environment
- Photos/video of the workplace or employee events
Studies have shown us which factors are most important to job seekers when choosing an employer. Be sure to mention the ones your company offers:
- Work/life balance
- Flexible work schedule/work from home opportunity
- Workplace diversity
- Team dynamics
- A sense of greater purpose or meaning in the company’s work and mission
- Dress code
Include soft skills in the job requirements list.
For example, when you’re looking for a programmer, the ad wouldn’t just list the software familiarity needed; it would also let job seekers know whether they will need good teamwork skills or must be able to work solo without much supervision.
Be consistent across all communication channels.
Corporate identity marketing should also include employer branding: your working environment, employee support and benefits. Give examples of each statement, such as photos or quotes from happy employees.
The channels most often accessed by job candidates are:
- Job posting
- Social media
- Company website
- Interviewers and other contacts within the company
Be honest.
It’s important to be transparent and realistic in your descriptions of the company culture. You want hires who will really love working there, not ones who were sold on a pie-in-the-sky vision, only to be disappointed once they start work.
Answer candidates’ questions truthfully. If they’re going to have a problem with the job’s fast pace and frequent need for overtime, better find it out before you hire them.
Bring the job supervisor into the interview.
Nobody knows what skills and personality traits are required for the job better than the person that position reports to. Their real-world opinion of the candidate’s suitability could make a big difference in your hiring decision.
With these strategies, you can give candidates a good understanding of the role they’ll fill within your company. You’ll enable greater success for them, and get a great return on your recruiting investment. It’s a win-win!
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