Dec
Game Changers: The global brands changing recruitment
There’s a lot to be said for the combination of passion and courage, particularly when they’re combined with a thick belt of curiosity. As technology continues to reshape the way we interact, communicate and inspire, we’re exposed every day to new ideas and products that spring from the minds of enthusiastic, creative and brave people all around the world. And in an industry that ties so richly into human achievement and happiness, it’s no surprise that the Australian Talent Conference’s Social Media speakers delivered a rich and broad spectrum of opinions, viewpoints and tools.
Our MC for the day was Paul Jacobs, whose engaging style and rich background in social innovation made him an excellent facilitator of discussion. Paul’s introduction set the tone for the day, and he was the first of our speakers to use what would become the watchword for the day – authenticity. Paul also talked about media penetration into the Australia and New Zealand social ecosystems, bringing his insights as a Community DJ to show the audience which things were taking off, and which areas were still evolving as options for the recruitment industry.
Paul then introduced our opening panel of speakers, speaking on the topic of global brands that are redefining recruitment. Facilitated by Jason Kerr from Find.ly, the panel included Carrie Corbin from AT&T, Lance Brolin from Sears, and Richard Cho from Facebook, each bringing unique perspectives and a tremendous sense of energy to the stage.
Carrie Corbin spoke passionately about how focusing on the journey of candidates was integral to their recruitment success. Building a comprehensive online destination for careers made AT&T’s social marketing all the more effective, tying candidates to a narrative. Just like there’s no point building great highways to a run-down city, using online and real-time pathways to direct candidates needs to focus on where they will end up. She spoke about building communities that are social ecosystems, rather than a holding tank for candidates. And how successful communities create their own sense of energy around a brand, which leads to better results and a greater sense of engagement. Carrie also talks about building credibility in this space by owning your communications. Companies with no official presence on Facebook often have an employee-delivered page or presence unbeknownst to corporate. Rather than trying to usurp this community-fuelled presence, it can be amplified and strengthened by adding corporate backing and content.
Lance Brolin spoke about the unique recruitment challenges for Sears, in particular having to hire 80,000 people over one month. Lance spoke about using the launch of Sears’ to build momentum for an excursion into social media, both to gain stakeholder approval and to engage with the wider candidate audience. He spoke also about search engine optimisation as part of an online strategy, mentioning that advertisers who already use traditional online recruitment (particularly job boards) will find their search engine rankings already high enough that this optimisation delivers only marginal improvements.
Richard Cho spoke about Facebook, highlighting his own journey into the organisation as a way of explaining what he’d learned about the company through exposure to its inner workings. His enthusiasm for his work was evident, particularly when he spoke about the his own epiphany that social media wasn’t just about connection, but about building what Hugh MacLeod calls expressive capital – an reservoir of shared emotional connection that enriches the lives of the community. Using social media to build that expressive capital is the real strength of these platforms, and a company that can do this to engage with potential candidates and existing employees is giving itself a strong advantage in the search for talent. Richard explained how people build an emotional connection with the possibilities of technology, with what it adds to their lives, rather than with the novelty of technology itself. The culture of sharing is not about the platform as much as it is about the social objects that are shared upon it with your community. He also reinforced that whatever you do, doing it authentically is the difference between being in the game and winning it.
This guest blog was written by Jared Woods. It the first of four on the Australasian Social Media & Mobile recruiting conference.
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