As competition for skilled resources increases and candidates have greater choice, it’s no longer enough to offer a market-related salary and run-of-the-mill benefits. Top talent is looking for something extra – and that puts your company culture, value proposition and employer brand in the spotlight.
Because of the central role they play insourcing top talent, who you choose as your recruitment partner can have a significant impact on how your brand is positioned in the market. And as thefirst point of contact between your company and prospective candidates, it’s upto them to make a good first impression. Failure to do so can mean losing agood candidate before you’ve even had a chance to view their CV.
Leigh Swartz of executive searchspecialists, Tuesday Consulting, adds an important point about employer brand congruency, “It’s very important that a recruitment partner is not only professional and able to make a good impression, but that they position your company in a way that is congruent with your brand. This helps to ensure that interviewees have a congruent, authentic and positive experience of your brand at every single touch point, starting with their first engagement with the recruitment partner, and continuing through to all other points at which they interact with your company. So the recruiter should establish and reinforce at the outset what your company’s brand promises.”
When choosing a recruitment partner, Swartz advises businesses to look for companies that are able to:
- Understand your target audience and identify what matters most to them;
- Develop a strategy to reach and engage this audience;
- Understand your competition and what they are doing to attract top talent; and
- Understand and effectively communicate your offering and what differentiates your company in the market.
It goes without saying that in order for a recruitment partner to deliver on these points, they need to have a sound understanding of your company, its brand, corporate culture and key differentiators. And for this, they need to have established a relationship with you.
“Furthermore, a good recruitment partner should provide you with input and feedback based on sound research that they have conducted into your target audience, your competitors and the talent pool that you want to attract. Such input is particularly important in the searchmarket, where the emphasis is on enticing top talent to consider you as an employer,” she adds.
In this market, the companies that are ableto attract the best skills resources will be those that combine a compelling brand proposition with strategic recruitment partnerships delivering awell-researched strategy that speaks directly to a targeted audience.
For more information, call +27 11 325 2802or visit www.tuesday.co.za
