Business owners and marketing professionals know the value of a customer. For the small business owner, marketing involves a limited budget and a daily fight to gain and retain customers. For large corporations, marketing is a function with multi-million dollar budgets and the goal to attract and retain thousands of customers. I recall a college marketing professor starting his Principles of Marketing class by informing us that without marketing, business would not exist. As a management major, I thought his comment to be a bit self serving. I just as easily could have argued that without people and employees, business would not exist.
In today’s business climate, many companies are facing a similar conflict, and most business leaders do not even realize the fight is occurring. With a background in entrepreneurship and human resources, it hurts me to admit that Human Resources Departments, in companies across America, are undermining their marketing department’s efforts on a daily basis. That’s right…your Human Resources Department, on a daily basis, may be diminishing your brand, angering potential customers and creating a negative image of your company, all without your knowledge!!! If you are a business owner or a marketing professional, you are probably either asking “How?” or simply doubting my assertion. The answer and proof to this assertion is found in your company’s recruiting processes.
Since the late 1990’s, the internet has spawned the growth of online job boards…Monster, Careerbuilder, HotJobs, etc. While these job boards have become the “standard” for advertising job vacancies (nearly replacing all newspaper classified ads), they have also created an administrative nightmare for recruiters and HR Departments. When you advertise a job vacancy on these major career web sites, you can almost be assured of receiving 100 to 200 resumes or more. Recently, I was speaking with a Regional Director for a major Fortune 500 company. He had 3 vacancies for a newly created position, which he advertised on Monster.com. From those ads, the Regional Director received over 700 resumes. Seemingly, for employers, such a large applicant pool is a “feast” and in many cases, it is indeed a feast of plenty. However, what many companies fail to recognize is that those 200 applicants are also 200 customers or potential customers. As such, companies should consider how your HR Department (including outside staffing and placement firms) is treating your customers and potential customers.
Just as the internet revolutionized how to advertise jobs, the internet and computer technology has also made recruiting processes impersonal and in some cases, rude. At this point in time, I believe that most job applicants have grown accustomed to the impersonal nature of the application process: fill out the online form, fill out the online questionnaire, receive an e-mail about a phone interview, get an e-mailed “thank you, but no thank you” letter, etc. However, applicants (i.e. potential customers) have not and will not grow accustomed to rude behavior, the unintended fallout from these impersonal recruiting processes. Most companies would not tolerate an employee who demonstrates rude behavior to a customer, but many companies are tolerating recruiting process which are perceived as being rude.
If you are a business owner or marketing professional, you should immediately look to your company’s recruiting processes to determine if you might be angering or alienating current or potential customers. In your analysis, consider the following:
Communication, Communication, Communication:
There are countless books and seminars on the value of communication. In recent discussions with professionals who are in the job market, I have found that most have negative impressions of companies that fail to communicate with them during the course of the recruiting process.
On a daily basis, job seekers hope their phone rings, that an interview is scheduled or that a job offer is submitted. Many recruiters and HR professionals seem to forget about the “hope” of job seekers that hangs in the balance each day. A constant source of agony for job seekers can be summarized quite simply as a lack of communication. As an illustration, allow me to share this quick anecdote from a job seeker applied to a Fortune 50 company:
Knowing that the company was expanding and adding positions in my field, I applied for a job with a major Fortune 50 company. I was quickly contacted by the Recruiter, who spoke with me about the position, asked me questions about my background and suggested that I had the experiences they were seeking for this position. The Recruiter explained that, while the new position had been approved, they had not finalized the specific geography, nor had they posted the position internally. The Recruiter explained that the internal posting would occur within the next day or two and that they did not expect any internal candidates would be a fit for the position. The Recruiter concluded the call by informing me that she would follow up with me the following Friday. Furthermore, the Recruiter said that “no matter what” she would call me on that Friday, explaining that when she was a job seeker, she became very frustrated at people who would commit to a time or place, but then fail to fulfill the commitment. The next Friday passed, no call. The weekend passed and so I sent the Recruiter an e-mail on Monday. No response. It was only when I called the Recruiter that she explained that decisions were made about the position and that the position would most likely be filled internally. No apology for not fulfilling her commitment to follow-up.
As I noted earlier, I believe that most job seekers have grown accustomed to impersonal nature of modern recruiting processes. However, in speaking with job seekers, much frustration and anger stems from situations similar to this story. Applicants do not necessarily hold the content of the message against the company; they just want to receive a message. If they are not qualified for the position, let them know you have selected better suited candidates for interviews. If you commit to following up with the applicant, follow up on time. If you are unable to fulfill a commitment, communicate to the applicant that circumstances have changed. If you interview someone, let them know where they stand in the process. Once the position is filled, let all the applicants you interviewed know that the position has been filled and show appreciation for their time and interest. Applicants know there can only be one “winner” for the position, so the message will not anger or alienate them. However, if you fail to communicate, communicate, communicate, you may be losing a current or future customer.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T:
Find out what it means to me… Aside from communication, respect is the other area where HR Departments seem to be striking the nerve of applicants, your potential customers. The best way to illustrate this point is through example:
* An applicant was scheduled for a 2:00 pm phone interview with the Director of Human Resources. At 2:20 pm, the Director of Human Resources had not called. The applicant contacts the recruiter who scheduled the interview…voicemail. The applicant then contacts the Director of Recruiting, who performed the initial phone screening…voicemail. Through the company’s switchboard, the applicant calls the Director of Human Resources directly…voicemail. The applicant then e-mails all three about the interview…no response. It was not until 2 days later was the applicant contacted about the missed interview, despite 3 voice messages and 3 e-mail messages.
* An applicant for a middle management position had an interview with the company’s General Manager. Immediately after sitting down in the office, there was a knock at the door. Someone needed the General Manager’s signature. The General Manager abruptly signed the document, refused to answer a follow up question of the employee and rudely instructed the employee to put a sign on the door to let people know he was in a meeting. Within seconds of the employee departing (not even enough time to find the pen and paper for the requested sign), there was another knock on the door. The General Manager yelled “I am in a meeting…come back later” in a very aggravated voice. The General Manager then conducted the interview, saying he was not sure he had the budget to fill the position being interviewed for and therefore, the recruiting process would be on hold until further notice.
* A Recruiter performed a phone interview for a potential Director within the company. During the course of the interview, the Recruiter interrupted the interview no less than 6 times to take other phone calls and speak with people in her office.
* Two HR leaders in a Fortune 1000 company scheduled an interview for a Regional Management position. For one applicant, the interview site was a 3.5 hour drive away. Once there, the interview transpired as expected. At the conclusion of the interview, neither HR leader had business cards with their contact information, nor would they commit to the next steps in the process. The applicant, who made this 7 hour trip, attempted no less than 5 follow ups in the 4 weeks after the interview. All attempts at follow-up went without response.
* An applicant was presented a job offer from a known retailer, but the financial terms of the offer were not sufficient to make the career change. In rejecting the job, the applicant offered to provide the company with names of other candidates who might be a fit for the position. Apparently, the company’s HR Manager was offended by such a proposition. The HR Manager called the applicant and told her that they did not need her help in filling their positions and to not contact them again.
As you can see by these true stories, lack of respect comes in many forms. It is from these disrespectful interactions that your applicants, your customers, become jaded in their view of your company.
How many positions does your company advertise each year? Whatever your answer, multiply that by 200. This is the number of customers or potential customers that your HR Department may be interacting with each year. If your company advertises just 10 positions a year, your HR Department may be reaching 2000 or more of your customers. Is your HR Department marketing your company in a positive manner to your applicants? Does your HR Department build your brand by positively treating each applicant with respect? Is your HR Department perceived as rude?
These are important considerations for all companies, big and small. Looking back at the applicant at the Fortune 50 company, he does not like to shop at their stores and has told at least 10 friends and family members about this experience. Business owners and marketing professionals know how hard (and expensive) it can be to acquire new customers and retain the ones you have. Take a closer look at your recruiting processes and HR Departments. You may find that for every marketing success, there may be an HR “marketing” failure.
