It's that time of year where companies are back hiring new recruits.
As someone who is always too busy, I have left the on-boarding to our previous CEO and Area Managers, with my role being minimal other than an introduction.
However, like most entrepreneurs, January is a time to re-think your business in every way; finance, recruitment, human resources, marketing, sales, products/services etc.
This has given me an opportunity to see just what is going on and I have to say, we have some gaps. As a marketing and communications based company, Marketing Eye plays a pivotal role in communicating a company's brand and culture to employees of our clients. We develop and design on-boarding manuals, podcasts, corporate videos and interactive presentations on the company, people and history.
What I have realized is that we are not dissimilar to a mechanic who never finds time to fix their own car.
With that, off came the gloves and I rolled up my sleeves to have a better insight into our on-boarding processes.
Here are some clever best practices that we teach our clients and implement on their behalf:
THE INTERVIEW
- When writing an advertisement for a position, include a link to your website which talks about the company culture and the type of person that will fit in. This is great for the applicant and even better for your company as it sends people to your website and drives traffic and engagement.
- Ask applicants to like your company on social media. If they don't want to do this, then they are definitely NOT interested in your brand, culture or the future promotion of your company - so strike them immediately off the list.
- When an applicant comes for an interview, ensure that someone from your team rings them the day before, introduces themselves and talks to them about a normal day in the office. It's a great way to give the applicant an idea what it is like to work for your company and also shares with them an insight into the culture and type of people that they need to fit in with.
- Do something clever to get the applicant to remember your company like sending them an inspirational email with a famous quote. Ensure that it is written on a picture to give your brand a "lift"
- On arrival at the interview, give them an iPad with a presentation and video of what it is like to work for your company and what type of people perform best.
- In the interview, present your company like you would present the company to a client. Then ask for the applicant to talk about themselves; share insights that do not come across clearly in their CV's and ask them to explain why they think that they would be a good fit.
- When they leave, give them a company brochure and any literature related to your company that may be of benefit to them.
POST INTERVIEW
- Send them a letter thanking them for coming to the interview. If you have a clever postcard that is creative and inspirational, send that to them. If nothing else, you will create word of mouth marketing.
- Check their references and google them.
- For the final three, ask them to conduct psychological profiling through an online profiling software. Match profiles with the highest performing person in this area in your business. Try and match as closely as possible.
ON-BOARDING
- They have the job, now you need to make sure that their experience is awesome! Have an ON-BOARDING MANUAL complete with all Workplace Health and Safety, Sexual Harassment and Bullying Policies, Company Culture Book, Job Description, Times and Dates for Performance Reviews and overall company any payroll information.
- On the first day, leave something memorable on their desks; company shirt, flowers, champagne, stress balls, inspirational postcard, company magazine, great book to read etc
- During the first week, make sure every key employee that relates to their position has met with them, or rung them to introduce themselves
- Set expectations early so that the new recruit has every opportunity of being successful
- Send a card or postcard to their next of kin; mother, father, boyfriend - thanking them for supporting your new recruit in their new role and how happy your company is to have them on-board.
These things are simple and need to be processes within your small business or larger corporation. Be memorable and do things that new applicants don't expect so that regardless of the situation, they want to be part of your company and will strive to work towards this goal.
Make sure you send a message to all applicants to let them know that on this occasion, they have not been successful, but to keep in touch through social media.
Let me know if this works for your company and how it impacts your new team members feelings towards your brand and company.
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