The next time you find yourself grousing about not being able to find and keep enough qualified employees, start compiling a list of your company’s “good stuff”—reasons why people would want to work for you, or why your employees stay. Then use that list as the springboard for a publicity campaign that will bring job-hunters to your door and help keep the employees you have worked so hard to recruit and train. The current labor market has convinced many media-savvy companies that publicizing their present work environments and other benefits can be just as important as marketing their products and services. Smart companies are relentless about turning recruitment and retention into marketing events. In other words: You must market internally as well as externally. The jump was due largely to a proactive media campaign touting everything from the benefits of being a UPS worker (from package handler on up to the top) to the company’s generous tuition reimbursement. A Chicago PR and marketing firm worked on a publicity campaign for UPS, focusing on local media. It helped the company snag 40 media hits, many of which painted a picture of UPS as a great place to work and a good corporate citizen. A few of those stories were picked up by national publications such as USA Today. Imagine your company making those kinds of headlines! Dave Chisholm, staffing and development manager for UPS’ North Central Region, says the company doesn’t know exactly how many people apply for jobs because of media publicity, but said, “we suspect strongly that combining this recruitment PR with recruitment advertising is a very potent strategy.” The real benefits to UPS don’t stop at a pile of news clippings. “It’s what those articles actually stimulate,” Chisholm said. “They’ve given us a lot of credibility with people who have job training programs, with city leaders, with people who can fund programs to get more trainees into UPS.” Once employees are hired, the strategic marketing continues. UPS is doing everything possible to keep its new people, including promoting from within. Chisholm and UPS chairman Jim Kelly, like many other senior executives at the company, started as package handlers or sorters, received extensive training, and were promoted through the ranks. These stories inspire and motivate front-line workers. Make Marketing Work for You
Media Works—Believe It Start small. Try just one of the above suggestions. Then try another. Then watch your recruiting and retention efforts become more effective than you’d ever dreamed.
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Joan Stewart |
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