Win the Applicant Economy to Boost Customer Satisfaction

This guest article is brought to you by Debra Senra, speaker at the 2019 Customer Service Revolution.

 

The record-low unemployment rate is making it more challenging than ever before for businesses across industries to attract and hire top talent. But your employees can ultimately make or break the customer experience – and your business success – so it’s critical to have an effective recruitment marketing and hiring strategy in place that excites today’s job seekers.  

 

Today’s top talent spends a significant amount of time researching job opportunities before applying to open roles. And one of the key criteria they take into consideration when making career moves is a company’s employment brand. Recent data found that 69 percent of job seekers would reject a job offer from a company with a bad employer brand. 

 

To stand out from competing employers and win in today’s applicant-driven economy, your team must focus on building a strong employment brand. Hireology data found that with the right employment brand in place, you can boost applicant-to-hire conversion tenfold. If you’re in the process of improving your employment brand, make sure to include the following elements. 

A Compelling Career Site 

The most engaged candidates apply to jobs directly through the company’s career sites – rather than simply clicking “apply” on several job board postings. Embrace your career site as a tool to keep top candidates engaged by telling a story about your culture, people and core values. 

 

Make sure to link to your career site from your company home page and in any job descriptions you post through outside sources. Also include an option to apply via mobile, as many of today’s job seekers search for and apply to open roles via mobile devices. And continuously share engaging content to get top talent excited about applying – including team photos and videos, employee testimonials, your latest benefits, and more. 

 

Beyond job applicants, customers visiting your corporate website will also notice your strong employment brand and career site. Ultimately, seeing this information will validate that your business is dedicated to hiring the best team, providing effective training to all employees and creating a satisfying customer experience – making potential customers more likely to engage with your business.  

 

Effective Job Descriptions 

Your job descriptions should focus on only on specific job requirements, but also what your team has to offer. The job description is your chance to sell applicants your open roles and answer the “What’s in it for me?” question. It should begin with a detailed company overview that touches on such information as location, company history, culture, awards, community involvement and career growth.  

 

You should make sure to highlight benefits, responsibilities and key requirements of the role, so job seekers can gauge whether or not they’re truly a fit for the role and your team before applying. And you should also include several preferred competencies, rather than simply requirements. For example, look for job seekers who have a customer service-oriented mindset to ensure you’re offering the best customer experience possible.  

 

A Comprehensive List of Benefits and Defined Career Paths  

Today’s top talent is motivated by much more than pay alone. On your career site and in your job descriptions, highlight all the benefits your company has to offer employees, including your healthcare benefits, paid time off, training opportunities and professional development budget, to name a few. 

 

Job seekers today also demand clearly defined career paths and if you don’t have clear career progression, top talent will likely accept roles elsewhere. Show visuals of the paths on your career site and describe career paths in job descriptions, and highlight examples of employees who have risen through the ranks. This is another area in which your customers will recognize you’re investing in your employees’ – and invest in a great customer experience as a result.  

 

Hiring qualified employees can help you offer top-notch customer service. By following these tips, you can get a leg-up on the competition and attract top talent in today’s competitive market.