5 ways to attract top talent

Finding and retaining the best employees for your organisation can be a costly and time-consuming process. Especially if you are working alongside multiple recruitment agencies and incentivising applications with success fees and employee referral rewards. While any successful recruitment campaign should have multiple touch points, you will find the process far less daunting with a clear and strategic PR plan.  Rolling out such a strategic employer brand campaign across your business shares the workload and sets defined objectives and responsibilities. How do you attract top talent for your business? Here are our five top tips:

1. Employee Generated Content (EGC) 

This covers any content made and distributed by your employees and includes the following: 

• TikTok and social media videos discussing the workplace 

• Posts on LinkedIn about their employer 

• Reviews or testimonials about a company 

• Engagement with anyone about jobs / products / services to recommend their employer 

EGC can be a scary concept for many organisations who have to relinquish control of their content to staff, but done well it is one of the most effective ways to encourage young professionals to join an organisation. Viewed as more authentic, it can build trust with a specific audience far better than any corporate advertising campaign.  

2. Utilise LinkedIn effectively 

LinkedIn is THE social platform to make connections on a professional level and you want your business and your team to make the most of its full functionality. Ensure your staff are fully trained to act as advocates of the business and that using LinkedIn for talent acquisition is a part of your senior management team’s remit. Test and evaluate content on the platform to see what resonates with any given target audience using a combination of video, recruitment advertising, thought leadership and brand and culture-led content. The LinkedIn algorithm – which dictates the type of content that gets the most prominent place on users’ feeds – changes sometimes, so keep your team updated on the latest changes and updates to the platform.  

3. Brand values 

Ensure that your organisation has defined what its core values are and that these have been communicated across the entire organisation. These should be kept somewhere visible for employees to refer to, so they become embedded as part of the organisation’s culture. These will allow anyone to confidently answer the questions why work with us? Or, what sets us apart? 

4. Be seen and heard! 

It is hard to generate organic interest in joining your organisation if your business is not well known in its industry. Building a good presence and strong reputation are key in attracting talent and it’s a 365-days-a-year commitment, rather than just when you are thinking of recruiting. Build strong engagement by offering your audience valuable content, consistently positioning yourself as leaders in your field and showcasing yourselves as a great place to work. Having visibility on social media, at career fairs and with professional bodies is a good place to start and good PR means this needn’t cost you the earth.  

5. Recognition 

When selling a defined career pathway, it helps to have real examples of people who have made their mark within the organisation. Elevate your employees’ profiles to show others what they could achieve. Use testimonials, anecdotes from staff themselves and get these individuals to talk to potential candidates about their experiences. The secondary benefit of this is that it gives your current staff validation and recognition and fosters a healthy relationship between employer and employee, placing you a cut above the competition!  

Orchard are PR-led communication specialists in communication strategy, video production and content creation. Our corporate LinkedIn training workshops cover everything from the basics of a great profile to understanding the latest content algorithm. Get in touch today to find out more.