Pride, sloth, lust and greed – these are the four deadly sins to avoid when using social networks to expand your workforce, according to Tony Restell, online recruitment specialist. We look at the issue.
Pride
Too often, social media is used as a mere distribution platform without any distinctive feature. Companies specializing in recruitment will promote generic, anonymous and, ultimately, irrelevant content. “By not targeting specific audiences, these organizations aren’t reaching the desired candidates. Fishing in a pond that large is not good for anyone,” says Restell.
His advice: define your targeted candidates, what social platforms they use, and what is expected of them. Above all, do not to fall into the trap that is excessive self-promotion, an imposing invitation in the eyes of many prospects.
Sloth
The content on social media should encourage potential candidates to interact in their desired manner. Otherwise, it is no better than having a ‘showcase’ website. To optimize conversion rates, thus efficiency, Restell suggests recruiters let their personality shine. In other words, make conscious efforts to be warm and inviting in your recruitment strategy on social media.
According to Rémi Lachance, President and CEO of Proxima Centauri, a consulting firm specializing in human resources management, this means to produce content that touts a certain lifestyle around recruitment. “What we want is to build a community towards which we are focused and intelligently address them instead of flooding them with job offers,” he explains.
Lust
A Facebook page with thousands of ‘likes’, a LinkedIn profile followed by hundreds of professionals, the highest commitment rate in the industry: all signs pointing to the effectiveness of an HR marketing strategy. However, as states the online recruitment specialist, it is easy to revel in this success. “The best is not the enemy of good,” he says. “Social media requires a lot of constant work.”
Something Lachance could not agree with more. “You could have built a large network without it having given you any of the desired results. Nothing is ever automatic,” he says. In terms of recruitment through social media, an organization is only as good as their last performance.
Greed
Often, an organization will win in ignoring some of its public conquered on social media in order to reach only their most desired candidates. Let us not forget: the purpose of the strategy is to fill positions and generate benefits, not to accumulate popularity. How useful is it to send a generic message to a sample of 800 followers more or less randomly selected while it is possible to personally contact 25 candidates meeting the required profile?
Rémi Lachance thinks that same. “Many companies are chasing several rabbits without catching a single good prey,” he says. “The important thing is not to be seen by 100,000 people, but by THE right person.”