4 Ways to Turn Your Recruiting Team into Your Best Brand Ambassadors

I am a talent acquisition leader and recently went through a fairly extensive search in hiring for my team. As I went through the interviewing process, I realized that one of the most vital qualities I was looking for was the candidates’ ability to tell a story, and in particular articulate their company’s vision, mission, culture and values. As a company that attracts talent via a direct sourcing strategy, it is critical that the recruiters we hire can engage passive talent in a meaningful way and serve as compelling brand ambassadors.

Out of the 40+ candidates I interviewed less than 20% could recall their company’s vision and mission, and even fewer could explain how they directly impact those. I was surprised. How would they able to capture the interest of high achievers? Research shows us that “high achievers want to be a part of something larger than themselves and to know that their work makes a difference.” – i.e. they want to be part of a company with a great vision.

To ensure this doesn’t happen on your team and that everybody around you is a comfortable brand ambassador for your company and mission, take a look at these training strategies:

1. Set meetings with your CEO or executive team.

Make sure that during those meetings, the executives share the vision for the company and update your team on business priorities. This will allow your team to feel more connected with the company mission and also more confident and authentic as they share it with candidates. Also, knowing first-hand what the top priorities of the executive team are never hurts.

2. Ask your recruiters to accompany the sales team in the field.

This is great exercise that will help your team understand the value proposition of the products your company sells. Also, they will be able to spend time with prospects and customers and hear how your company changes their lives. Meetings like that often times make for great and inspiring stories that can be shared with job candidates.

3. Insert your company values into your daily conversations and workflow.

When you really care about the company you work for, you will want to live its values. For example, one of LinkedIn’s values is ‘Demanding Excellence’. We like to use this in conversation with each other and our business partners to ensure we produce the very best work. By making the values part of your daily routine, you will easily bring them up during conversation with interviewees and showcase the great culture of your company.

4. Find and share stories that demonstrate the company culture.

High achievers want to know what the future looks like, what they can aspire to and what opportunity is ahead. Sharing stories of individual transformations and other cultural events allows candidates to experience what it might be like to work with you. So ask around and find those great examples of opportunity and success within the organization – they will make all the difference when talking with candidates.

Top performers will choose to work for a company if there is a strong alignment between their personal values and their corporate values. It’s no longer about the immediate opportunity and the core functionality of the role, it’s about making a difference and the bigger picture. Arming your talent team with tools and knowledge to attract the very best candidates will ensure a great candidate experience, quality hires, stronger business partnering and an engaged and motivated team.

To learn more about articulating a compelling company vision, growing your employer brand and turning employees into brand ambassadors, download the Employer Brand Playbook.

*image by Trekking Rinjani