NAS Talent Talk

New Years Resolutions…

January 4, 2011 at 2:55 pm sarahwering 1 comment

…for your recruitment communications.

Every year at this time, we hear the same New Year’s resolutions. Every year, they are all sensible. And every year, although we start with the best of intentions, we forget them by March. I thought it might be interesting to translate the top resolutions into the recruitment communications space and see what concrete steps we can take to ensure success that lasts for all of 2011 and beyond.

Resolution #1: Stop bad habits.
Translation: Stop repeating the same strategies every year. The very first task you should set for 2011 is to sit down with your team and determine what is not working for you. Where are you spending money that does not return its value? What audience is not responding to your employment communications? Is there a problem with turnover in a specific job family or location?

Steps to take: Once you’ve targeted your problem areas, work with your team to discuss what has gone wrong. Consider different approaches to the issue. Formulate alternative methods. And make sure you put metrics in place so that you can make even more informed decisions in the future.

Resolution #2: Get back in shape.
Translation: Get your employment brand in shape for a tough market. When was the last time you audited your employment brand to make sure it still fits your organization? Perhaps now is the time to do some internal measurement, checking with your recruiters, employees and even external candidates to see what your value proposition is – right now in 2011.

Steps to take: Set up some employment brand discovery (including focus groups, surveys and competitive analysis), gap analysis and creative refresh of your brand statement and visual interpretation. You may want to involve an external partner in order to get an unbiased outside perspective on your brand refresh.

Resolution #3: Learn something new.
Translation: Tackle that challenging area of recruitment communications you have been avoiding. Is your careers website all that it needs to be, considering that it is the true center of your recruitment efforts? Are you somewhat confused by all of the social media options for recruiting? Does your mind wander when you hear about SEO and SEM?

Steps to take: Get informed. Network with peers at HR events. Attend courses and webinars that are offered on the topics that confuse you. If necessary, contact an expert (like NAS Recruitment Communications) to help you fill in the gaps and build a forward-thinking strategy.

Resolution #4: Spend more time with family.
Translation: Review your internal re-recruiting efforts and make sure you are working as hard to keep current employees loyal as you are to recruit new ones. When was the last time you communicated directly with employees? What did your last employee satisfaction survey tell you – and did you do anything about it?

Steps to take: Set an agenda for internal communications projects and tackle one per quarter. Perhaps your referral program could use a boost. Consider creating a series of communications that reinforce the value of your benefits package or encourage employees to consider an underutilized benefit. Maybe it’s time to revitalize your recognition programs – and publicize them so employees can see how valued they are.

Resolution #5: Enjoy life more.
If you do all of the above – and stick with your plans instead of forgetting them come spring – you will certainly enjoy your work life more!

Charles Kapec is a Senior Creative Strategist at NAS Recruitment Communications. With the agency since 1993, he partners with clients to develop employment brands and to provide a wide range of creative solutions.

Entry filed under: Charles Kapec, Digital Strategies, Employment Branding, Marketing Strategies, Recruitment Processes. Tags: .