Attracting top talent: how to win the war

A careful marketing and branding strategy is an important tool in building a firm’s image and reputation. If done well, it will not only bring in more business, but also top-level employees that will sustain business profitability in the long term. However, how can small and mid-tier firms, that often lack the budget required for extensive marketing campaigns, still recruit the best? Keith Robinson, operations director at totaljobs.com, examines recruitment strategies and how any size of firm can make the most of even the most difficult market.

In a time of economic hardship, it is easy for companies to batten down the hatches and focus on the bottom line. In this environment, talk of law firms spending resources on attracting the best staff may seem futile. Yet the war for legal talent continues to rage and the winners will be those companies that place most importance on employment branding.

The best job seekers are attracted to organisations for a number of reasons, but a firm’s reputation and brand image have the most important roles to play. In fact, recent research has shown that 75 per cent of job seekers would be put off applying for a position if the CEO had a poor reputation. Companies should also look to extend this recruitment branding to their internet strategy by using a mix of their own corporate website and online job board. Only by ensuring that a strong employment brand is in place when the economy takes an upturn will organisations improve their chances of attracting the most talented candidates.

The aim of employment branding is to attract and retain the most promising recruits and ensure that existing employees understand the firm’s values and goals. Large corporations with big marketing budgets can often use their existing customer brand to entice jobseekers. Yet law firms with less recognised customer brands still need to ensure that jobseekers can clearly identify what they stand for – whether it be through their website or merely through any interaction the firm has with a candidate.

Jobseekers today are a different breed to those of the 1980s when the most important draw was the package – including money, benefits and extra perks. Although these factors still have a role to play, in 2002 a company’s brand and whether it is socially responsible has a bigger influence on those looking for work. Firms need to carefully consider how they portray themselves to potential employees and recognise the power of their management reputation. Our own recent research shows that jobseekers are willing to forgo a job offer of they do not like the look of a company’s CEO. The message is clear –image and reputation are more important than ever to both existing employees and future talent.

Corporate reputation spans the whole firm. It is important that the higher echelons of the business are living the brand and that all employees are brand ambassadors. The recent email faux pas involving Trevor Luxton has shown the effect an employee’s behaviour can have on the reputation of the company as a whole. Employees at every level of the company now have a responsibility as proponents of the brand values and to understand the impact that personal misdemeanours can have on a company’s reputation. A strong brand depends on corporate ethics being understood throughout a company – an issue especially important in the legal profession. A good HR department will ensure that it constantly provides guidance to employees so that ethical polices are clearly understood.

There is a case to suggest that recruitment should really be the responsibility of the marketing department – as it is the marketing team who fully understand branding and how to communicate these core values to the wider public. Firms of all sizes need to ensure that their marketing and HR departments work closer together in order to deliver a cohesive and unified employment brand to jobseekers.

Not only do firms need to ensure that all levels of the organisation are living the brand, but also that the people they recruit will fit into the company culture and in turn become brand ambassadors. Many large companies use psychometric testing to see if a jobseeker’s values fit in with their own. This can be effective but for smaller companies with a lesser budget, it can be too expensive. The best way for a firm to recruit the right jobseekers is to ensure that it has carefully listed its values and beliefs and use the interview process to see if the jobseeker matches these values.

The web has taken over as the first point of call for potential employees to get an understanding of what a company stands for. Again, our research has shown that 66 per cent of jobseekers use corporate websites to gather information, with only 10 per cent using advertising and marketing to influence their decision. The web is now an integral part of the recruitment process and by making corporate websites inviting to potential candidates, companies can often entice not only the active jobseeker but the passive as well. Recruitment is now a 24-hour activity with thousands of jobseekers using the web to find jobs. Companies need to carefully consider how they wish to be portrayed on their website and take advantage of this low cost, high exposure medium.

Larger companies with well-known brands can afford to spend thousands on their corporate websites, and will attract jobseekers just because of who they are. Small to medium-sized enterprises sometimes struggle due to limited budgets and less recognised brands. But this should not stop them from using their website for recruitment purposes, as it is not just about who a company is but following a few basic principles. Informing a jobseeker what the company stands for, highlighting company news and corporate social responsibility programmes will help potential employees get a fuller understanding of the company and help them decide on whether a company is the right fit.

Recruiting via the web is something that HR and recruitment directors need to embrace in a way that jobseekers already have. Over 20 million UK adults are online and over half of these have already looked for a job on the web. Recruitment advertising on the internet is over five times cheaper than a newspaper and twelve times cheaper than a recruitment consultancy - a compelling argument for e-recruitment.

The main drivers of internet recruitment are the significant savings in time and money. US analysts believe that e-recruitment has the potential to save 90 per cent of recruitment costs and cut by two-thirds the time taken for the whole hiring process. E-recruitment tools such as web-based sifting and screening software and online application forms have the potential to reduce internal administration.

The potential to reach a wider audience and the scope for targeting specific candidate pools are two extra benefits employers can expect from e-recruitment. Some companies also use the internet to help them reach candidates for hard to fill vacancies as well as passive candidates who are not actively looking for work. Firms need to look at their internet recruitment strategies sooner rather than later to ensure they stay one step ahead and are constantly recruiting the best talent.

The maturing of the online recruitment market in the UK has undoubtedly been driven by the phenomenal increase in general internet use. The number of people using the internet is rising month on month and the amount of time they spend online is also increasing. As potential candidates are embracing the internet in their millions, employers are slowly moving their recruitment strategies to make the most of technology. A recent study by the CIPD has shown that the internet has entered the mainstream of recruitment practice – with over half of companies using this medium when recruiting. Legal firms have especially embraced e-recruitment. Despite this, many employers are still feeling their way – traditional methods of press advertising and using consultancies are still seen as very effective.

E-recruitment is still maturing and developing and due to their lack of technical knowledge, HR departments have often failed to take the lead with e-recruitment. In addition, more evaluation criteria is needed so that HR departments can prove the benefits of web based recruitment. Employers need to move away from a mindset that regards the internet as just another recruitment advertising media to incorporating it as part of the whole hiring process.

The best recruitment strategy is a two pronged approach using a firm’s own website to post a job alongside placing the position with an online job board. This is highlighted by current statistics that show that sixty-four percent of Fortune 500 companies using major job boards also list positions on corporate careers websites.¹

Building a brand, using the corporate website and having a strong e-recruitment strategy in place are vital if firms are to attract and retain the top talent. A good employment brand will allow individuals looking for work to see immediately what a company stands for and whether they would fit in. In addition, communicating this brand over the web, through a company’s own website or job board, will further spread the word and ensure wider accessibility to the jobseeking public.

Keith Robinson is operations director at Totaljobs.com. For further information, contact Nickie Farrington at: nickief@bbpr.com.

1. 2002 iLogos research