When you’re at the supermarket, I’m willing to bet that your hand drifts towards familiar brands.
The same phenomenon applies to recruitment, and in a pretty interesting way.
Let's go into the value of the most integral tool to creating and spreading your employer brand: an awesome career site. It’s the key to hiring employees that truly care and are willing to commit to your goals. Bold claim? We’ll see.
Your main focus as a business should be to hire the best people for the job. And the best employees don't go for "jobs" - they go for companies that share their values and workplaces that match their personality.
A career site is a great first step in connecting with these elusive dream candidates. Here are just a few of the basic ways having a good career site can help you recruit successfully.
1. It helps you make a great first impression
The quicker you can make a solid connection with your candidates, the better. A career site gives candidates an inviting glimpse inside your business.
When done well, it convinces hesitant candidates to apply. It sparks inspiration and the hope that "maybe this is the place where I can thrive".
The career site is the hub for that first impression - but you need to do some thinking first.
Firstly, shift your focus to “human” qualities.
Your career site needs to show the candidates what your team is like, what your culture is like, what your workplace day-to-day looks like, and so on.
Keep the following in mind when creating your career site:
- Communicate your values
- Be genuine - fewer buzzwords, more sincerity
- Show off your team
- Talk about what drives your team (besides money)
- Highlight why working at your company is great with employee testimonials.
- Win people over with some great stories
Today’s applicants are used to false promises and empty platitudes. Remember what it's like to be in their shoes, and maintain an earnest, conversational tone throughout.
2. It makes the application process easy
People are impatient. Never has that statement been more true than today.
To hire the best people and make sure no candidate falls through the cracks, you need a smooth application process.
The more complicated your process is, the more hurdles you create for the candidate to jump over. Each hurdle encourages the applicants to bail early, and leaves you in a position where you risk losing a potential star.
Having a clear application hub improves the candidate’s experience and strengthens the impact of your first impression.
If applying is easy, it shows candidates that you’re invested in their well-being. It shows that you’re a company with an eye for detail.
3. It increases retention - before and after the hire
You want to avoid turnover at all costs. It costs time and money, and leads to instability and unpredictability in the short term.
Retaining your employees starts at the beginning (surprise). The connection may not be clear at first, but it boils down to that first impression.
If you’re able to keep the applicant’s interest during the application process, then you are more likely to keep them for the long run.
Who you end up attracting and whether or not they’re going to be committed from the start depends on your career site. Partly, anyway.
Did you know that:
- 33% of employees quit within the first 6 months of starting a new job
- The same employees knew within the first week whether they would stay long-term
- 45% of employees that have found out about a business before applying last over 2 years at their position. 55% outlast colleagues that had applied blindly.
- 3/4 companies are currently reworking their onboarding and application process to improve retention.
- 80% of corporate leaders view retention as a critical issue.
Source: Global Purpose Index 2016.
Retention is a pressing issue, and it seems that the best way to handle it is to nip it in the bud from the start.
Show your candidates that you have style, an eye for design, and that you think about their quality of life. It’s a great way to get the candidates to envision a serious career opportunity, rather than just a job.
4. Attract people that are serious about working with you
Your performance relies on the quality and expertise of your team. This applies equally to local coffee shops as it does to metropolitan corporate offices.
People perform their best work when they’re motivated. As for what motivates people… that’s a topic for another article. But, we can go over some basics just to get the juices flowing.
- Employees are motivated by money. That’s capitalism for ya, kid. (Money shouldn’t be the main focus of your pitch. If you use money as a selling point, make sure to keep it classy.)
- People feel the need to be treated fairly and have their time valued
- People need to feel socially comfortable at work
- People need to feel challenged
So, what on earth does this have to do with your career site?
Well, it's all about creating the content that speaks to your ideal candidate. Try to break down what that ideal candidate prioritizes and values - and cater your message accordingly.
(Bonus) 5. If you don't have a career site, get one
To speak in a reductionist way, everything in business comes down to two big factors: money and time.
For small to mid-sized businesses, knowing where to allocate your resources is crucial. Investing into powerful tools helps you conserve and manage those important resources. You may not be able to hire a full time web developer or graphic designer, but you can build an awesome career site.
Not to turn this into a sales pitch or anything... But since we’re conveniently on the topic of career sites, I thought it would be fitting to mention the YouCruit Career Site builder.
Think of it as another rung on the ladder to prosperity.
On top of getting a slick career site builder, you get a whole toolkit that makes every step of your hiring process smarter and easier.