Last month, our reader poll focused on the obstacles that companies face with talent communities. And while the top three responses varied slightly from one another, the underlying issue seems to be engagement.
Talent Community Pain Points for Employers
Most respondents said they saw a lack of member engagement and low retention rates as the largest issues with talent communities, while over a third said it was a struggle to provide top talent a real reason to join in the first place. Additionally, a small percentage of respondents said maintaining a talent community was simply too time consuming to be worthwhile.
While there’s no doubt that managing a talent community (or community of any kind) requires a lot of effort and commitment, it’s critical to devote the time necessary to build relationships with your members if you want it to grow – or even last.
3 Rules of Engagement to Live By as a Talent Community Manager
1. Resolve their issues. Whether you’re creating content, sharing industry-related news or trying to start a discussion, remember to focus on the needs of your audience. If target users joined your talent community, they’re likely looking for something, whether it’s a job opening, resume tips or help filling out an application. Take advantage of this, and always keep the job seeker in mind by asking yourself, “How is this helping my users?”
2. Be authentic, open and honest. It may seem obvious and sound like cheap advice, but it’s really the key to building relationships. You wouldn’t continue associating with a liar or a fake in person, so why would job seekers do it online? Use your words and the tools at your disposal to share your voice and convey your company’s employer brand message. Participate in the conversation, and if a candidate has a question you can’t answer – tell them! They’ll appreciate the honesty and the fact that they’re able to speak with a real person instead of a robot or the black hole that is e-mail. Plus, if you’re able to find what they’re looking for and provide a quick response, they’ll be more likely to trust you as a brand.
3. Keep it interesting. And don’t be boring. Aside from the pure number of companies you’re already competing with for top talent, the clutter on the Internet as a whole makes user engagement tough. If you’re housing your community on a social platform like Facebook, it’s even more critical to share exciting content and media that will stand out and attract job seekers back to your careers page (likely from the main feed) or back to your corporate careers site.
Do you manage a talent community? What other rules do you follow to keep your users engaged?
Image: Meg Cheng/Flickr
Author: Autumn McReynolds
Autumn McReynolds is a master of communication, and with two years in the recruiting industry and over five years of experience in journalism and content creation, she was thrilled to take her career in a new direction as a Blogger and Content Strategist focused on talent acquisition in the digital age. In addition to writing, Autumn spends her time managing social media accounts for business and pleasure. Follow her on Twitter @AutumnMcRey.
[...] sourcers, recruiters and project managers are already busy and may not even have an interest in managing your community. Your company’s marketing team is immersed in social media from the client/customer [...]