Getting recruiters behind your employer brand

Love them or hate them, recruiters can be the first experience a candidate has with your brand. Hollie Wright tells us how to manage them effectively.

In an ideal world every organisation would have an employer brand so powerful the HR and recruitment teams would be drowning in applications from the brightest and best wanting to join. But in reality, whether you’re unknown, scaling up quickly or just need an extra set of hands to help get new faces through the door, you might need a specialist recruiter to help you out. And with a recruiter often the first person to introduce your brand to a prospective employee, getting them behind your employer brand is really important.

As an ex-recruiter, I can relate. In today’s hyper-competitive international job market, gone are the ‘post and pray’ days. Recruiters can take over 50 calls a day, trying to keep clients, candidates and job boards sweet whilst trying to take a strategic approach to matching a talented individual with the right role. A skilled recruiter will tailor every interaction to make the candidate experience feel personalised to the potential employer, but without the right tools given to them, it doesn’t always happen.

A study by Hays recently looked at the impact of employer brand on recruitment, finding that 79% of employees agreeing an employer brand is central to their decision making when considering a new role.

It’s the recruitment partner’s purpose to capture the attention of the candidate. They’re the ones powering up to deliver that super strong elevator pitch and communicate the reasons to join your company rather than go elsewhere. Like it or not, they hold a massive amount of influence, so help them tell your story in the most compelling way possible.

Here are some top tips on how to get recruiters endorsing your employer brand:

Research – your recruiter partner carefully. Do they have a specialism and access to the right talent?

Educate – them on what you do, your offer and why you’re a great employer. Brief them on what you do, how you do it and why you do it. Tell them how you would like them to position you, and don’t be afraid to ask to see the job ad they write for your role!

Share – any changes your company makes and keep them updated regularly. Think expansion, new clients or products, policies, holiday allowances, training and other benefits.

Engage – your recruiter, make them buy into your brand as you would a candidate. Gain their trust and confidence that they’re placing candidates into a great business.

Acknowledge – feedback from your recruiter and take time to understand candidate feedback, the good and the bad. They’ll have lots of insight so listening to some of the downsides is great because 1) you’ll be aware of them 2) you can address them!

Make – it an easy sell. Because let’s face it, if your recruitment partner is as good as they say they are what are the chances that they will also be recruiting for your competitor?

Ask Synergy about…

• Our guides for resourcing managers

• Videos we’ve produced that explain your employer brand

• Candidate experience mapping and best practice

Email us: hello@mccannsynergy.com.uk

So there you have it, our top tips for engaging recruiters with your employer brand. What are your thoughts? Recruiters, do you agree? Let us know on Twitter @synergycreative