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Making the match between an employer and employee is not unlike a match on a dating website.
âWeâre trying to match people up for long-term relationships,â Indeed Talent Strategy Advisor Kyle M.K. says.
While the AI can do a lot of the heavy lifting, there are limits. Technology can free up human staff to start the employer-employee relationship off on the right foot. The relationship starts the moment a potential employee sees a job ad.
Starting the relationship right
Job searches today are as much about interviewing the potential employer as they are about finding a potential employee. Job seekers, like customers, need to see the value a company brings to the table, beyond the usual things such as pay.
[RELATED: Finding a good employee is more technical than ever]
Matt OâDonnell is director of talent strategy and operations at Randall Reilly. (TPSâ parent company, Fusable, was part of Randall Reilly until the companies split earlier this year.) Randall Reilly helps vital industries find and keep talent.
âMost businesses still take a transactional approach to recruiting,â OâDonnell says. âThe recruiter has a job and the candidate has the skills needed. They miss the opportunity to build better relationships with the candidates. If the job doesnât match the candidateâs skills or preferences, thereâs an opportunity to stay in touch. Building the relationship through continued outreach allows the business to build its brand and employer value proposition.â
M.K. says employees and potential employees need to feel supported from the first contact. Focus on what M.K. calls green flags that make employees feel more taken care of. These days, job seekers want employment that gives them a life outside of work.
âPeople donât want their life to be about work. They want work to enable their life,â he says, encouraging employers to put themselves in the shoes of a potential employee.
Austin Hallman, digital marketing manager of strategic accounts for TPS parent Fusable, says by doing that, employers can find out whatâs really important to employees. Hint: Itâs probably not what they think it is and itâs definitely not the company pizza party.
Ask employees what they like best about working there, Hallman says. Questions such as why they chose the company and what could the company do better in looking for employees, he says, can help you make a better value proposition to potential employees.
âIf the primary challenge and issue theyâre facing is understanding potential employee, know [the current ones] and put them first,â he says.
Thereâs also the possibility the company may just have a bigger problem.
âIf theyâre having issues with understanding their employee and the person theyâre trying to attract for a role, theyâre likely having issues understanding their customer as well,â Hallman says. âWe know their target customer.â
If talking to those employees reveals a problem, fix it, ideally before advertising.
âYou have to have follow-through,â Kat Kibben, founder of Three Ears Media and an expert on writing job ads, says. âIf thereâs an endemic issue thatâs stopping people from applying, address the actual issues.â
They think what employees are looking for is stability, and the job ad can stress that in a million different ways: health insurance, hours, pay. But, as M.K. said, be clear about exactly whatâs offered. For instance, Kibben says instead of saying health insurance is offered, note that health insurance is 100% covered.
âOne of those is way more effective than the other one,â they say. But on the other hand, donât just be marginally better, and donât oversell. âFocus on what makes you special. Noticeably. Donât let the marketing get in the way of being a good place to work.â
Recruitment and retention
Not only are customer marketing and employee marketing linked, so are recruitment and retention.
âTalent retention is as big of a focus as talent acquisition,â OâDonnell says. âEveryone is hiring heavy-duty techs. What becomes important is recognizing and highlighting why someone will want to stay. Being able to explain why a candidate should choose you over the dealer across the street can help entice candidates to join â and stay.â Â
[RELATED: Shops get creative in recruiting, retaining technicians]
Jon Pearson, president of Momentum Truck Group, says his company has a very low turnover, less than 5% annually.
âWe work very hard to make sure that we have a company culture that draws and keeps great people that want to make a career at this company,â he says. And those people bring other great people. âThe best âadâ is one of our current team members referring someone to an open position with our company.â
Rihm Family Companies has a two-day welcome summit for new hires to help new team members feel engaged and valued, strengthening their long-term commitment to the company, adds COO J.B. Rihm.
âBy bringing in the right people from the start, we set the stage for long-term retention,â he says. âWe ensure our recruiting process reflects our company culture and values, and that carries through to our onboarding and day-to-day work experience.â
 This is the second in a two-part series. Read the first part: Finding a good employee is more technical than ever.