[Welcome back to our Word of Mouth Marketing Lessons newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using this handy form.]
You’ve gone through the regular channels, you’ve posted your job openings in the right places, but the job applications you’re looking for just aren’t coming in. Sometimes it takes a little extra creativity to get your job ads in front of the right recruits.
Here are three word of mouth tips for finding and attracting new people to join your team:
1. Focus on your mission
2. Tap into employee pride
3. Make your office accessible
1. Focus on your mission
We admire companies like Patagonia and their sustainability efforts and TOMS for their one-for-one shoe program because they make their missions loud and clear. As retailers, it also gives them an edge in looking for new employees. They’re not just reaching the people who need a job, they’re attracting recruits who are passionate about the environment or helping others. What mission drives your company? Make sure the people and groups who also believe in that mission know you’re hiring.
2. Tap into employee pride
Your employees are some of your company’s biggest influencers — especially for companies like Uber that rely mostly on word of mouth to earn new customers and recruit employees. So Uber asked some of their top female drivers in Austin and Chicago to be a part of their city’s YWCA Drive to Thrive programs. The campaign promotes empowering female drivers and offers complimentary rides for women in crisis situations to and from the YWCA. By relying on their drivers to be the face of the campaign, Uber’s giving their biggest influencers something to be proud of and something to share with their friends and passengers.
3. Make your office accessible
Big companies often open up their offices to the public for tours. But Zappos takes it to a new level by offering tour packages of their Las Vegas headquarters. You can sign up for a 90-minute tour, lunch in their cafeteria, join a private department Q&A, or even take a guided tour of their art on campus. Your company has a lot of different things going on that make you you. Why not go beyond the standard tour and let potential recruits sit down for lunch, pick your brain, and see how you work?
