When you’re looking to get more people included in your talent pipeline and boost interest in your employer brand, engaging with them directly through tailored online events can be a highly valuable first step.
Rather than more passive activities, such as pushing out paid social advertising, these events can help your brand actively spark interest in people who may not have shown any previously.
what can online events accomplish in terms of employer branding?
Hosting an informative event - for example, a Q&A with both passive and active candidates - allows businesses to gauge candidate opinion and establish what it is that potential applicants want to know about businesses before they apply.
LinkedIn’s 2016 Global Talent Trends report found that the biggest obstacle for job seekers when looking to change jobs is that they don’t have enough information about companies. Finding out what they want to know will provide you with insights that many other businesses won’t have, giving you an advantage when it comes to crafting your employer's brand.
Hosting an online networking or information event can help you target job seekers who are serious about applying. At a careers fair or other events, multiple companies are present but hosting your own event means your organization is the only focus.
You will be speaking directly to people who have already decided they’re interested in working with you, so make sure you’re taking advantage of this opportunity.
the advantages of online recruitment events
HR technology is now able to provide enough support for businesses to analyse and manage applications, keep candidates updated about the situation, and reduce bias in recruitment.
It can also provide you with the opportunity to engage candidates upfront, letting you reduce your time to hire and improve the quality of hire by evaluating who has the right skills and fast-tracking their applications.
It also provides you with the opportunity to engage with younger candidates in an environment they’re comfortable. Millennials are the biggest adopters of technology, so using it as a tool to communicate with them can help put them at ease. This then allows them to focus on highlighting their skills, rather than letting their nerves overwhelm them.
Online events also allow companies to dedicate more time to engaging with potential applicants.
Often, businesses getting involved in careers fairs or other recruitment events struggle to find people willing to give up their time - especially as it can run into full days. Hosting an online event, however, means workers can stay at their desks and not have to spend more than a few hours away from work.
Michigan Tech University is one institution that has embraced the option of taking career fairs online.
With the help of Randstad Innovation Fund participant Brazen, the university saw the benefit of saving time and money by hosting the event virtually.
how to make the most of online recruitment events
Businesses can also use online events to show off their company culture. Use your opportunity to demonstrate the personality your business has - post links to your blog and social media accounts or consider a video tour of your office or one featuring a day in the life of one of your employees, as LinkedIn suggests. Show job seekers your business’ personality - it will help them work out if it aligns with their own.
In addition, candidates want to hear from the hiring manager. In its ‘Inside the Mind of Today’s Candidate’ report, LinkedIn found that 56 per cent of professionals are more likely to respond to hiring managers than other participants in the recruitment process. Use this information wisely and ensure your hiring managers are present during online events to give your engagement levels a boost.
If you can engage with professionals before they become applicants, you’ll have a better shot at keeping them engaged throughout their employment.
This can then lead to a significantly better chance that you’ll be able to retain these workers and benefit from their skills in the long term.
