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In Recruitment Marketing and employer branding, we’re constantly on the hunt for the next big strategy or tool that will give us an edge. But what if the most powerful tool in your toolbox is one you already have? Yes, I’m talking about the collective voice of your employees! Uncovering why your employees chose to work at your company and why they stay is perhaps the most valuable project you can undertake in Recruitment Marketing. It becomes the foundation of your employee value proposition (EVP), enabling you to create a compelling story about your organization as an employer and adding authenticity and depth to your employer brand in ways no other strategy can.
Why does employee feedback matter? In the simplest terms, it’s the bridge between perception and reality about your employee experience and company culture. It’s one thing for you to tell the world you’re a fantastic place to work, but it’s entirely another when you have real proof points coming from your employees about what it’s like to work at your organization. Employee feedback, whether positive or negative, is a reality check that keeps your employer brand honest and relevant to those most likely to succeed at your company. Plus, it signals to candidates that you’re an employer who listens, values transparency and actively engages with your team.
So, how do you unlock this treasure trove of insights? In this blog post, we’ll provide you with tips for making employee feedback the centerpiece of your Recruitment Marketing strategy, how to effectively gather employee feedback, ways to use AI to analyze and uncover key findings about your employee experience, and how to integrate these insights and key messages into your Recruitment Marketing and employer brand strategy.
Let’s dive in!
Experienced practitioners know that gathering employee feedback is an art and a science. It’s important to be strategic about the tools and channels you use, from employee surveys and focus groups to one-on-one interviews and social media listening. Another valuable source of employee feedback is employer reviews from sites like Glassdoor and Indeed. The key is to make it as easy and inviting as possible for employees to share their thoughts, to be purposeful about what you ask and to leverage multiple input sources, as different formats will yield different types of information and data. For example, employee pulse surveys will be more quantitative, whereas a focus group will produce more qualitative insight that could become future employee stories.
The most important ingredient: honesty. You want to hear the unvarnished truth, not sugar-coated niceties. That can be hard to get in certain situations like a focus group or a survey that isn’t anonymous. Sometimes anonymity isn’t practical, if for example there are 3 people in the Marketing team it becomes fairly obvious who said what. That’s why it’s important to create a culture where feedback is valued (not penalized) and where the expectation is set that employee feedback is asked for frequently. It will foster an environment where employees feel safe to share their experiences and suggestions, enabling you to get to “truth”.
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