Recruitment Branding

Research drives strategy and design.

In spite of the damage done to their portfolios at the turn of the century, employers everywhere took secret pleasure in one result of the dot bomb: employees suddenly seemed grateful to have a job. Employers no longer had to try to compete for the best and brightest with the funny money dot coms had at their disposal. The dot bomb had a sunny side. But it was short-lived. Competition is more intense than ever as the shortfall of talent created by the baby bomb approaches. Smart firms have come to realize that the war for talent is never-ending. And recruiting is their strategic priority.

When we ask clients to identify their marketing problems, they frequently point not to "more business" but to "more help getting the business done." To that end, firms are becoming more focused, more intense and more creative in their approaches.

Buy and Hold

Whether luring students out of school or attracting laterals from others, ultimately the quality of the talent you bring on board will have the most significant impact on long-term profitability. Firms must present a vision of a bona fide organization, strong and viable, to lure the best talent into the fold. Those that have ignored their talent base have seen their market position erode over the long haul.

www.recruit_me.com

At last, everyone seems to recognize that the first place a student goes to research a prospective firm is its Web site. Firms are responding by upgrading the recruiting section of their site to reveal the firm's working style and life style. The law firm Goodwin Procter’s recruiting site is designed like a movie trailer! Technologies such as Flash, podcasts, streaming audio and video, give recruiting sites "live action" far beyond the static presentations that characterize the typical professional service firm site. Some ideas:

• Take an individual through the kind of work and interactions he/she can expect during a typical day
• Let individuals experience the spirit of the place, the firm’s mission and its values
• Let individuals hear from others who can speak credibly about their experience
• Match individuals who work at the firm with target schools where you hope to achieve success
• Be creative. Write your own rules.

For the time being, the Web site is driving innovation in most service organizations. But the Internet is hardly the sole province of creativity...

The Printed Page Closes the Loop

Research suggests that traditional brochures play a small role in a student's decisionmaking process. But our research experience reminds us that people are reluctant to admit they've been influenced by marketing materials—brochures or advertising—when, in fact, their actual behavior often suggests otherwise.

Recruiting brochures have always been more relaxed and freewheeling than their client-driven counterparts. Text is more likely to be reduced to a bare minimum on the theory that the emotional impression of a warm and friendly working environment was far more important than the details of employment that one can easily find on the firm’s Web site.

New Wave Advertising

Print advertising is not the only method firms use to get the word out. Increasingly the placement center of schools is besieged by firms that distribute not only brochures, but promotional cards and direct mail, usually designed to lure students to the firm's Web site.

Your Next Stop: The Recruiting Zone

With competition for talent so strong and the market constantly in flux, it's not surprising that firms have upped the ante on the development and delivery of recruiting materials. Hiring the "best and brightest" is a management strategy for long-term survival as well as profitability. But with this truth: He who speaks loudest, wins.