For the last 8 years my philosophy and focus in any headhunting campaign that I have implemented has been based around getting as much positive PR for my client as possible. I have also maintained a strong belief that the candidates involved should feel motivated and positive throughout the process. My intention in a 2 horse race is that Candidate B should walk away feeling like they really did the best they could do to get the job but were pipped at the post and still hold my client in high regard in the hope that I can keep them on my radar for any further hiring that I might do for my client. Candidate A will be elated at getting an offer, know they had tough competition during the process and feel they successfully navigated their way through all the interviews to secure the new role. Hurrah! Unfortunately my next job is to let Candidate B down which is the worst part of the process but has to be done and I ensure that they get positive and constructive feedback so that they can maintain a positive view about my client as indeed they may well recruit again.
Having been on both sides of the fence I know how each situation feels and when it is delivered the right way it really works but the flip side of that is as you can imagine pretty painful. I can hear you all now nodding your heads in agreement but probably only focusing on your bad experiences as the good ones are quite rare.
Companies spend millions of pounds and thousands of hours getting there PR ship shape only to find out that actually if they don't have a great reputation in the first place no amount of money can put that right. Their reputation a lot of the time comes down to how they treat their staff and their customers and nothing to do with their products. You only have to read the National press to know who these companies are and see how hard they have worked to be named " A great place to work" or visit this website to see who they are www.greatplacetowork.co.uk
They know we live in a very small world and reputation means everything, their people count and make as far as they are concerned their business successful. Six degrees apart isn't so crazy after all and I guess www.linkedin.com proves that to all of us.
With that in mind my suggestion would be to not only focus on the hiring campaigns and how to make that a focus for your PR strategy but to give thought to your exit strategy as well. How effective are you at letting people go? how effective are your exit interviews? and what in the name of outplacement programmes has your company got to offer employees? Its not a nice area to focus on but you can't get a more powerful PR campaign than that of a employee who can claim " from the moment I interviewed to the day I left my company always looked after me" how many of you reading this as candidates or hiring managers can say that? Not many I expect!
If this topic strikes a cord then feel free to comment, email me or give me a call as I don't think this will be my only blog on this subject. In fact I think Outplacement is going to be a very popular word over the next 12 months and I for one will be pleased to hear from any one who is currently involved in either of these situations.
Nearly the weekend!
Emma
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