Why your recruitment partner needs to think (and act) like a marketer.
Here’s the secret: recruitment is marketing.
In fact, according to Forbes, a recruiting-as-marketing approach can lead to a 45% reduction in cost per hire. The latest Recruitment Marketing Report cited 59% of employers as recognising that recruitment marketing had a high impact on hiring outcomes.
Talent are consumers of your employer brand and the employee experience it encompasses. Just like any other selling exercise, hiring relies on good marketing. You need to give people a reason to join your organisation.
The same people who buy products choose jobs. That’s why you need a recruitment partner who knows how to think and act like a marketer.
Your recruitment partner needs to think and act like a marketer
A recruitment partner who understands the role of marketing in the process can sell the value of your organisation, not just as part of a single hiring campaign but as a feature of your ongoing talent strategy.
Did you know that 14% of businesses can’t identify the target audience of their recruitment marketing approach? Your hiring partner needs to know who your talent audience is and where to find them. Are they building networks on LinkedIn or searching for opportunities on job sites? A good recruiter will ask what drives the talent you need and will identify what matters to the people you’re looking for.
Before releasing a call for applications, your recruitment partner should understand your objectives. What does your hiring team need to steer your organisation in the right direction and support your goals? Your priorities should provide the foundation for your search.
And of course, your hiring partner must know how to market the product your organisation is offering. What can you give talent that they won’t find anywhere else? In today’s hiring landscape, your EVP needs to look beyond job titles and salaries to dissect opportunities and understand the growth, purpose, flexibility and value they can deliver for employees.
When recruiters know what it takes to sell
A good recruitment partner has what it takes to market and sell your organisation. They’ll understand and communicate your offer as part of a recruitment marketing campaign that puts your message in front of the right people using a variety of content formats and marketing channels.
Once the right audience has started to sit up and take notice, your hiring partner can focus on storytelling, engaging in one-on-one conversations to promote your organisation and your employee value proposition before circling back to you with what they’ve found.
Essential skills for hiring great talent
A good recruiter needs the right skills to attract and hire incredible talent. These important skills include:
Marketing know-how, to represent your organisation as a brand and treat hiring as a selling exercise
Interpersonal skills, to communicate clearly and effectively with talent while driving engagement at the interview stage
Great storytelling, to use narrative tools that highlight the value of your organisation and what you’re offering your team
Active listening, to collaborate with talent as well as top talent
Critical thinking, to understand your organisation and its offer as well as assessing talent matches strategically.
Selling your organisation
You’re always recruiting, even when you’re not actively hiring. Selling your organisation starts long before a hiring campaign. It comes back to your employer brand.
Not sure where to get started treating your organisation as a product talent should want to buy? Contact the Heart team, and learn about how we can help.