5 Things that the Top HR Marketing Teams are doing next.

You work in HR Marketing? You are doing great! Probably better than you think.

Today we are sending you an energy boost: some good, encouraging news – plus a sneak peek: 5 things that the best ones are working on.

So welcome back from the holiday break – you deserved it! It’s an exhausting time full of challenges.

We believe there has never been a better time for HR Marketing. Candidates are “harder to get” than ever before. So, this could be the chance to get things done that would otherwise have taken years to even get started.

Do you agree?

Being the fire department is not easy

The talent market is a bit crazy right now. One way to see it: There are many fires, and you are the fire department. This might be stressful, demanding. Nothing is ever “enough” anymore.

Therefore, we want to give you a little energy boost today: your situation is probably similar to that of hundreds of other teams. And you might be closer to the best than you think.

Small steps forward are actually great.

It may always seem like “the others have figured things out”. Our experience is – no, not really, everyone has the same struggles with time, stakeholders, budgets, and priorities. Some teams might just be one step further in some areas.

Who are even the best?

To start, we have analyzed our Talent Communication Ranking of the Most Talent-Friendly Employers 2022 to see which companies made it to the top 30. What do they have in common?

Top 30 Ranking

Look at ranking examples: US , Germany, France and Italy.

The result: there is no “winner industry”. It’s not the largest companies, or even the ones with the biggest Employer Branding teams. Companies of all types and sizes make up the top 30.

So, what differentiates them? Only two things: ambition and a dedication for “candidate first” in everything they do.

This is encouraging because it means: no matter your company, you can be (or stay) on top of your industry in terms of talent competitiveness as well. Not by being perfect, but with the right focus and persistence.

There is no perfect strategy, no team without any budget restrictions. On the contrary, we have even seen some risers in the top of the rankings - such as Kimberly-Clark in the US (22nd, +41 ranks), zeb in Germany (10th, +15), Inetum in France (19th, +30) or EY in Italy (7th, +17). They made it there with creativity and dedication. And in many small steps.

What are the best ones planning for this summer?

In our numerous talks, we have heard first-hand that HR marketing teams are focusing on areas they can influence until the fall and that they think will make a difference for their talent competitiveness. Here are five:

1. More videos: videos are a great employer branding tool. HR marketing teams are learning how to create many quick, creative videos in a short time rather than one big image film per year. And they use them on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok to drive traffic to the career website from people that would otherwise never go there. Motto: it’s easier to make 100 videos than to make “the one”. And that’s a learning process everyone has to go through at some point. Now might be a good time. It can actually be quite fun!

2. IT landing pages: an increasing number of companies are building specific sections on their career websites for tech talent, such as software engineers or data scientists. When these candidates see a career post on social media, the link takes them to this landing page, and from there to the open jobs. This funnel approach is an excellent basic marketing strategy to address this tough target group with attractive content and show why you are an employer of choice for them.

3. Making applying faster and easier: for example, by implementing a CV parsing, no longer requiring a cover letter, or by removing questions from the application form. The idea is to decrease drop-out rates. Talent goes where they feel their efforts are appreciated and that includes a quick, transparent, talent-friendly application process.

4. Faster turn-around time: the goal is to have fewer days between an application and the first reply to lose fewer applicants to competitors. This is a process, it involves the recruiters and hiring managers, and it needs to start by making everyone aware of the costs of losing hard-earned candidates at this late stage. And once you reply fast, this is an excellent advantage to communicate on your career website.

5. Salary transparency: more and more signs are indicating that it will become a “new normal” to show salary ranges in the job ads – sooner or later. HR can be the driving force of change in their organization even if it takes time to convince all stakeholders to go along with this.

It can actually be quite fun and rewarding to make life easier for candidates and become more competitive in the process. Especially when it’s concrete steps that have proven to be successful. And even if you can’t do them all at once.

Over the next two weeks, we will post two more stories for you:

1) Three “secret candidate wishes”: things that candidates love, but only few companies offer, and that might be surprisingly easy for you to implement.

2) A look over the shoulder of an HR team in our Top 30. One of the top ranked companies will show us what they are planning to do until the fall and why.

Stay tuned!