Social Media has opened up a behemoth of opportunities for companies to converse and attract potential employees and understanding the thinking process of candidates has changed entirely. No longer does the traditional Passive vs Active candidate argument satisfy. Engagement is now imperative, however is it as simple as just trying to have a conversation with someone who is on your page/account?
We are now living in a much deeper, and to some degree, more complicated methodology of candidate interaction. Whilst the basic principle of “being social” is key, it is important to understand the different phases that a candidate is likely to go through to be the “bum on the seat” that you are trying to achieve.
Focusing on the ultimate objective of building a community, I believe there are 4 stages to consider that a candidate now moves through.
1. Browsing – Candidates are researching or surfing around Twitter, Facebook etc looking for a potential employer, or general searching and come across your business. There is no affiliation or loyalty with this candidate and they are not sure what it is they are looking for. This is as close as we get to the passive candidate in terms of “not looking”, however something strikes them they move to Interest.
2. Interest – Candidates whilst browsing see something that connects with them, and, in turn interests them. It could be a wide range of propositions that you have marketed, or could simply be a testimonial of a previous employee or a current employee. They are not entirely sold on your business quite yet but are intrigued enough to find out more. Two to three positive messages (estimation) should see them move to the Interaction phase.
3. Interaction – The Candidate is now asking questions, downloading information and conversing within the community to get a headline overview of the company and what potential career opportunities there are. They are still in the research phase, and will likely ask a wide range of questions to qualify their key criteria of what company they would like to work for. It is more likely that they will simply seek answers to questions and not offer any more communication unless they are genuinely interested. Then they will shirt to the Engagement & Contribution stage.
4. Engagement & Contribution – Your candidate now wants to join your business and you have now directed them to your Community Platform (Tribepad, shameless plug yes..) to engage in more meaningful conversations with current employees and HR staff and proactively apply to positions. It is at this stage that you have a candidate, that should their skills be applicable, that can not only be harnessed for positive word of mouth, but that is “sold” on working for your company and they may not have even applied for a job yet. They are giving back to your community their views and thoughts of your hiring process, and what they have seen that has made your company the one they want to work for. Can there be anything more powerful then that?
With Social Media/Social Recruiting forming an integral part of the recruitment process, it is important to adapt to the new ways of thinking that candidates or potential candidates now move through. Passive vs Active is no more.
Thanks for this Justin, I wholeheartedly agree that Candidate Attraction is about building a community and needs to form a fundamental part of any businesses wider Talent Management Strategy. I really like how you’ve broken this down into four easy to understand steps and stages and would add the words “benefits” to your Interests sections – the what’s in it for me paradox is intrinsic to the success of this strategy for employers and potential employees alike.
Keep writing – your blogging is brilliant!
Michelle
Using social interaction as a way of exposing potential employees to the internal culture of an organisation is something which will become more prevalent as more organisations adopt social technologies as information points. Where I think this changes the traditional model of identifying talent is that organisations will need to be fluent in speaking with candidates at all levels of technological interaction. Yes, potential hires can access more information on your company through your own generated content or sites like GlassDoor. There’s nothing to say that they will, particularly for low-end users of social technology.
I think that the new passive candidate is the candidate that doesn’t use the new platforms which companies are rushing to adopt. It’s easy to see why recruiters would rush to social technology, but it’s only ever going to be as good as the conversations you have with the potnetial hires you find there. Those of us who have embraced social technology tend to forget that many people use these technologies differently, and not all of them want to be inundated with brand conversations. Identifying the conversational habits of your potential candidates is as important online as for email or the humble telephone. There’s nothing so intimidating as a juggernaut brand, that thinks you joined Facebook to be a fan of their page, rather than to be connected to your friends. Recruiting is able to use social technology to source and engage talent, but the talent didn’t come here for that, and good operators will respect that.
As social recruiting becomes another active channel, we need to remember that the technology is only as good as the people using it from both ends.
Thanks Michelle, appreciate the comments and happy to hear that you agree that the method of candidate attraction is changing now with Social media as part of the mix.
Jared, I agree with the fact that potential employees now have access to more information on companies then before and I think this is a good thing. The adaptation of new technologies may be slow for some demographics however it is only a matter of time until it is more widespread. The conversations that Employers have with these people will need to change accordingly as you stated not throwing the brand in peoples face. Understanding the 4 stages will be key to this.
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