assessing the authenticity of your recruitment marketing

ASSESSING THE AUTHENTICITY OF YOUR RECRUITMENT

MARKETING A quick tour of best and not so great practices on web sites

ERE.Net Fall Conference

Dr. John Sullivan Author, Professor and Advisor to Management

www.drjohnsullivan.com

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Four goals for today

1. To get you to think 2. To show you potential weaknesses in your

current recruiting messaging 3. To highlight some key features that you might

want to adapt to your site

4. To have some fun

5. To answer your questions

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Website authenticity rules

Rules for assessing authenticity  The determination is in the eyes of the reader  The judgment on the same information will vary

based on demographics and their life experience  When business, social & environmental factors

change, authenticity assessments also change  Testing of authenticity must be done but it should

be done narrowly within your target audience  You can assess the authenticity using usage rates,

focus groups and by tracking online comments

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Website identification process

The process for identifying today’s example

  35 HR students were given a set of criteria for assessing the authenticity of corporate jobs/careers websites

  The resulting examples and positive or negative assessments came from their perspective

  I threw in a few examples in areas that were not covered

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Website authenticity assessment factor

Page design is “too corporate” Why  Being overly consistent in messaging can make

your organization's messages seem controlled and working at the firm might be perceived as rigid and intolerant of diversity

Measure   The overall design of the site cannot appear to be

overly "corporate," i.e. generic layout, tightly controlled content spaces & an extreme level of conformity in presentation of content

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San Francisco 49ers – Memo format

No info on any type. No pictures, videos or current employee testimonials

San Francisco Giants – With an ad

Apple – Casual format

SW Air – a cause and star of the month

It even encourages applicants to apply and submit a video cover letter instead of the “sooooo old fashioned” cover letters.

Zappos – encourages a video cover letter

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Pictures are real Why   Pictures that are judged to be staged or “fake” are

not convincing Measures   The pictures presented include real employees in

unscripted activities  Not just managers are shown   Few professionally staged photos where

everyone is smiling, photogenic, and every possible demographic group is represented are immediately identifiable as “fake” 11

HP – Canned picture

-Unauthentic because picture does not look like an employee. This is just a portrait of a random person with well groomed hair. “Your about to enter unique places and see inspiring things” … What does that even mean??

Authentic picture of staff and doesn’t try to stand out as perfect place to work

Subway – real people picture

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Google understands authenticity

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Zappos toga party and chug contest seems real

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Videos are included Why  Videos can show the passion and excitement.

They can also be placed on YouTube Measures  Not having videos is a sign that the firm is not

current in technology or has nothing to show  Videos that are professionally made or edited

may be easily dismissed as propaganda   The site should feature a link to externally

hosted employee produced videos offering non-scripted insight into life inside the organization?

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Deloitte’s film festival showed their excitement (Yielded 1,000+ videos)

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The video show clips of the original video they filmed when they finished developing the video feature which was used to test and launch the product.

Facebook

Zappos shows a music video made by their own employees!

Zappos – Employee music video

Soleio, the designer of the Video feature, tells how he enjoys re-watching the videos of his girlfriend and him when they started dating and see how much they have grown and changed.

Facebook – employee video with personal story

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The degree of message filtering Why   If all the messages appear like they have been

filtered and this may send a message that the same will happen to you when you are an employee

Measure   The extent to which messages do not appear to be

scripted, screened or filtered by corporate executives

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“Nuts about Southwest’ brand building web site

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The Luckiest Girl in the Whole World

By: Beverly Behrens 06-05-08

My name is Bev B. and I am a Southwest Employee at our University for People, a self-proclaimed bookworm, and a lifelong learner. And, I think I just might be the luckiest girl in the whole world. Allow me to explain why ....

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Nut’s about Southwest

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CEO Gary Kelly as Gene Simmons

Toilet paper games

http://www.blogsouthwest.com/media_image

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Southwest fun for interns

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Employee profiles Why  Candidates want to know that “people like

them” work and succeed at the firm. Powerful profiles cause the applicant to “identify” with the firm

Measure   The page offers multiple employee profiles that

appear to be written by the employee and they give insight into what it’s like to work there

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BCG provides access to real employees and allows you to search for them based on what college they graduated from, what office they work at, their background etc. This makes the company appear more credible because outsiders can more easily contact actual employees and proves BCG has nothing to hide.

BCG – multiple searchable employee profiles

Adobe – day in the life video profile

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Realistic job preview Why   Everyone wants to know what it is “really like”

to work there every day. An honest picture will likely reduce possible fears

Measure   The site provides at least a picture of the job site   The site provides a realistic job preview of both

the positive and potentially negative aspects of the company, the region and the job

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The print screen of the video that shows how is to be working at a Hackaton which is a dedicated program that allows employee to work on whatever project they want.

Facebook – employee video on a free-form project

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Google’s Zurich office sends a message

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Candid information is provided Why  Whenever a site provides candid information or

encourages the candidate to visit external information sites they are demonstrating their confidence and that they have nothing to hide

Measure   The site shares candid information about current

challenges, weaknesses, and past mistakes and that you are aware and acknowledge your shortcomings

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Informs applicants of current merger with Continental Airlines and offers supplemental

information regarding the merger

United – Straightforward info on the merger

Adobe – Shows external info sources

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Self assessment opportunities are offered Why   Potential applicants want to know if they can

actually “do the job” and if they would be a “fit” at the company

Measure   The site provides you an opportunity to self

assess your fit and to solve problems

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Facebook’s puzzle page contest

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Facebook invites budding computer engineers to try one of their ‘puzzles’…in order prove their worth and attract the attention of the company bosses

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Blog postings & social network links are listed Why   Employee written blogs that are available on the

corporate site send a message that you trust your employees and whatever they might say

Measure   The organization posts the blogs of decision

makers, managers, and regular employees   These blogs cover their work experience and

learnings

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Intel – Candid blog saying what its like to work there

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An opportunity to interact and ask questions Why   Even if individuals choose not to take advantage

of this option, soliciting feedback, questions and comments sends a message that you are willing to listen

Measures   The site provides visitors with the ability to

comment on your content  Or to ask questions

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Virtual forums – Chat and Q&A

Discuss the possibilities with one of our recruiters!

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Job descriptions seem real Why   Employees that are concerned about whether

they can do the work expect honest job descriptions

Measure   Provide job descriptions with honest wording and

include some aspects that are not 100% positive

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Google – job descriptions can be interesting

Philosophy – “We work hard and play hard”

7/16/08

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It highlights the job search process Why   Potential applicants want to know what to expect

in the job search process in order to alleviate at least some fear and anxiety

Measure   The steps of the process are highlighted   Information that previous candidates wanted is

included

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Reduce “ surprises” to alleviate anxiety

Research In Motion… describes each hiring step

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Daxko – offers how not to get a job advice

Insist on a fist bump instead of a handshake…

Steal free sodas from our fridge, calling 12 cans, “one for the road”

Sneeze on the hiring manager

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Quotes from regular employees Why  Candidates want to hear from real employees but

they will ignore quotes that seem phony or staged

Measures  A majority of the quotes that appear on the site

are attributed to a named employee in a non-managerial or recruiting related role

  The quotes are not overly polished

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Facebook – great employee quote

Putman, the engineer in the video feature, got hired at age of 19.

Facebook – employee video of a 19-year-old

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Overuse of glowing adjectives and trite phrases Why  A long list of glowing adjectives in copy

doesn’t inspire action. Research shows it may actually turn the audience off!

Measure  When presenting something positive, is it

presented free of a long list of glowing adjectives such as excellent, great, leading, infinite, etc.

  There are no trite employment related phrases like “we put employees first”

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Zappos – casual language… Sin city

-“Perhaps more than anything else, our people are what make Gap Inc. a great company. Gap Inc. employees around the world are smart, creative and passionate individuals working in areas from product design to distribution to marketing.”

-cheesy

Gap – our people make gap a great company

-”trust me its rewarding”. Cheesy, why trust him?

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Kohl's – employee quote - trust me it’s rewarding

Eltron Research – One word descriptions

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Values and culture are demonstrated in examples Why   Simple words alone are not credible because

every firm has values but not everyone “lives them”

Measure   The information that covers the corporate culture

and values provides specific examples of how your organization acts in certain situations that bring the culture and values to life

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Zappos - Adidas day and employee contest

Held Adidas day for it’s employees, which included a shoe lacing competition, a float contest, a costume contest, and a design a pair of Adidas shoes contest

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Diversity goes beyond words and pictures Why  Diverse candidates are cynical of words, so they

want to see specific examples, numbers or actions related to diversity

Measure   The website discloses how your organization

defines diversity  What percentage of the workforce falls into

each diversity classification  What unique programs exist to support diversity

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Virgin America – Blah Blah

Jack-in-the-Box – Diversity picture

Where are the real people that we always see that work at Jack in the Box? Totally unrealistic and not believable.

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Benefits Why  Benefits are an important part of the decision for

many applicants so they need enough detail in order to make comparisons

Measure   If your site discloses information about benefits,

the information is detailed enough that potential candidates can compare it to past packages or offerings from other organizations

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Pepsi - emphasizes words in its benefits

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Benefits related videos can excite

Microsoft shows it’s perks

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Customization/ personalization Why   Potential employees want more than general

information, they want information tailored to their specific interests

Measures   The information is customized to the job family   The information provided automatically changes

to fit the location of the visitor

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Northrup Grumman – Customized info by job type

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Microsoft’s “Genius Lounge”

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For the “Millennium Generation”

Inquiring parents - Enterprise rent a car offers information to the parents of perspective applicants…

And nearly half accept

Did I make you think?

Any last questions

www.drjohnsullivan.com

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4 additional authenticity assessment factors

1.  Support data – the availability of data or specifics about a program that support the subject of the message

2.  Credibility of the source – the credibility of the source based on the accuracy of previous messages

3.  Podcasts are offered – the site provide access to podcasts made by managers discussing their group’s work without an identifiable script

4.  Numbers and dollars provide proof – words are backed up with numbers and proof

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assessing the authenticity of your recruitment marketing

Business

authenticity assessments

testing of authenticity

website identification

real employees

video cover letter

subway real people

current recruiting messaging

authentic picture of