5 HR Recruitment Marketing Ideas to Help You Find Your Next Top Employee

“If you build it, they will come” may have worked for a ball field in Iowa, but it just doesn’t work for recruiting anymore. You can write a great ad and put it up on the most popular recruiting website, but will you end up with the largest and most qualified candidate pool? Likely not.

If recruiting is an issue for your organization, you have to utilize traditional methods, but also not be afraid to get out of the box and be creative. HR recruitment marketing has to embrace both traditional and not-so-traditional avenues if you are going to have top talent to drive your organization forward. 

5 HR Recruitment Marketing Ideas to Help You Find Your Next Employee

1. Online Advertising

There’s no need to throw away what works. Indeed.com is the top job board today used by the vast majority of candidates, and it will help in your recruitment efforts. And that may change, but there will always be some board that is the leader.  However, be sure also to consider platforms like LinkedIn and Craigslist for positions that are appropriate for those sites. Further, don’t overlook industry-specific or local job boards that might work for your organization or position.

2. Networking

Tell everyone you know when you have an open position. Post the opening on LinkedIn and Facebook. Talk to people at chamber mixers and other networking events that you attend in town. While these people may not be in need of a job, they may know of someone who is. You just never know where your next top employee will come from.

3. Employee Referral Program

We know that employees are not going to recommend someone they do not want to work next to or who will embarrass them with a poor work ethic (nor should you want to hire someone like that). However, employee referral programs do work when your employees have someone worth recommending and, in exchange for their help, you reward them with something of real substance.

As you know, recruiting takes time and effort, so don’t expect your employees to work on your behalf for a $25 Target gift card. Put some money behind the program and show your employees that, if they help, you will make it worthwhile. We have a great template available for creating your own employee referral program, so be sure to check that out.

4. Be Observant

This is just what it sounds like: keep your eyes open in the real world and always have your business cards ready.

Did your restaurant server provide fantastic service? If so, ask if they would be interested in a customer service role. Did you take your car to be serviced and the mechanic quickly and efficiently got to the bottom of the issues? They might be interested in a role within your maintenance department. People feel honoured when you notice that they do a good job. What better compliment can you give them then asking if they would be interested in coming to work for you?

5. Schools

Cultivating relationships with your local schools can be key to finding top talent.

Depending on the role, identify programs at the high school, college, or trade school that support positions you have an ongoing need for. Don’t focus on the job placement office.  Form a relationship!

Get to know the program director. Offer to speak in classes, or provide tours and field trips. If possible, offer internships to give their students real-world experience.

In general, make it known that you often have positions available and, if they see a student deserving of an opportunity through hard work and commitment, you would love to meet them. Much like the employee referral program, they will send you the best of the best that they know will make their program and school proud.

The Never-ending Cycle of HR Marketing

Treat recruitment as an ongoing responsibility of the entire management team. Whether you have a position open today or not is irrelevant. The pipeline of candidates is critical, so when there is an available position in your organization, you have a system of qualified resources to help fill the slot quickly with future top talent.