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If you have a meager budget for classifieds, it’s all the more reason why you should be relentless about capturing all the free print space and broadcast time you possibly can to spread the word about your job openings and pleasant working environment. Here are other ways you can use free publicity to position your company as an employer of choice. The tips were taken from Creative Recruitment and Retention Strategies, two cassette tapes on how to use free publicity to recruit and retain. * Write articles for trade journals and industry publications positioning the authors as experts and explaining what makes your company different from the competition. You can even talk about your aggressive recruiting strategies. See the tips booklet 113 Tips for Recruiting Valuable Employees. * Write letters to the editor of newspapers, magazines and trade publications. Carefully weave into the letters reasons why your company is a great place to work and the type of people you hire. Include contact information, such as an e-mail address, under your signature. See Special Report #4: How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor. * Don’t forget community shoppers, alternative weeklies, gay newspapers, and African-American and Hispanic publications. * Pitch story ideas about the labor shortage to reporters and tell them what you are doing to recruit and retain employees. It will give you a chance to explain all the reasons why people should work for you. See How to Write a Pitch Letter More Powerful Than a News Release. * Appear as a radio or TV talk show guest who can offer expert advice on a particular topic. During the interview, mention that your company is recruiting. * Publicize your unusual training programs. Job-hunters in some industries such as biotech know they are in such demand that they can pick and choose between companies that offer the best training. * If your company is an employer of choice, get your CEO onto the public speaking circuit to talk about it and possibly attract the attention of people who aren’t necessarily job-hunting. If the CEO isn’t a great speaker, a speech coach can help. * Pitch story ideas to your local business journal. They write frequently about employee recruitment and retention. See How to Use Business Journals to Tell Your Story. * Publicize your company’s pro bono projects, charity fund-raisers, volunteer programs or anything else that positions you as a good corporate citizen. Help With Retention Here are ways to use free publicity to keep the great employees you have worked so hard to recruit and retain: * Flag the local media about unusual events and fun parties at your company. A feature story in your local weekly or daily newspaper, or a feature photo, is almost like the media outlet giving your company its stamp of approval. See the tips booklet 107 Tips for Keeping Valuable Employees. * Frame and display favorable media articles about your organization throughout the company—in the employee cafeteria, in the lobby for visitors to see or anyplace where people gather. * Place articles by and about you at your web site. * If you rehire people who once worked for you and left, feature these “boomerangs” in your company newsletter. Be sure to mention in the article why they came back. This reminds your other employees that the grass isn’t necessarily greener someplace else. * Apply for “best places to work” awards. If you win, plaster the fact that you won on everything—marketing materials, voicemail messages, fax cover sheets, a sign in front of your building, and on your web site. This keeps the award top-of-mind among current employees. * Use employee testimonials, with photos, at your website. Include quotes from them about why they like working for you. It will make them feel like stars. * Smart companies make employee recruitment and retention a joint project of their human resources and public relations departments and make managers of those departments responsible for working together. Too often, HR and PR work independently and miss valuable opportunities to cross-promote and toot the company’s horn even louder. Now get going. Somewhere out there, there’s a media outlet that’s just waiting for your great story idea--and hundreds of active and passive job-hunters eager to find out about you. Reprinted with permission. Joan Stewart publishes "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," a free ezine on how to generate thousands of dollars in free publicity. Subscribe at her website at http://www.PublicityHound.com and receive free the handy checklist "89 Reasons to Send a News Release." Visit her blog at http://publicityhound.net | ||||||||||
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Concept Marketing Group, Inc.