It feels like everyone is talking about candidate engagement lately. Probably because...well...they are talking about candidate engagement. A quick Google search found more than 128,000,000 results.
With a tight labor market and increasingly discerning talent, staffing firms who aren’t investing in candidate engagement are getting left behind, fast. As a result, you may be scrambling to start investing in candidate engagement at your staffing firm.
It can be tempting to jump right in and start investing in candidate engagement. But to maximize your ROI, it may be prudent to focus your energy and investment in one new area of candidate engagement.
Chances are if you’re reading this blog and looking at new technology, your staffing firm has a pretty good applicant tracking system. We are super familiar with most of them, and particularly top ATS technology across the globe. That’s because we designed Sense to integrate seamlessly with core platforms. Sense was designed and built this way from the start, so that your staffing firm could easily work within the platforms and rest easy, knowing they were working together to generate real results for your business.
Back to this month, because you are ready, willing and excited to invest in new candidate engagement elements, and you want to focus on the ONE thing that’s going to get you the biggest bang for your buck.
Any guesses what that is?
It is absolutely, unequivocally, texting. Right now, it is the most powerful way to reach your candidates where they are (because we ALL live on our phones, for better or worse!), with personalized communication that builds stronger relationships. And with Sense Messaging, you are not only empowered to send and respond to personalized text messages in real time, but automate those messages based on data found in any field in your ATS. Wow!
Now, while texting is “one” thing you should pour your energy into this month, there are several things you should keep in mind to keep you on the right course and help you maximize your time and money investment:
Many staffing firms are diving into texting without a strategy, which means many recruiters are winging it and devising their own personal strategies. With this scattershot methodology, firms are unable to track touchpoints and measure their impact.
You recognize the value in texting candidates and clients and you are ready to get started this month. Excellent! But making the right decisions off the bat is critical to maximizing ROI and using texting to help grow your firm.
Texting candidates and clients can both help you make faster placements, increase redeployment and referrals, and much more. Do you want to start texting both groups right off the bat? Rather than shoot from the hip when crafting and sending messages, texting with a plan is much more effective. Wondering what types of texts to send using Sense Messaging? Here are 10 types of text messages you should be sending candidates. Don’t worry, we’ve also got recommendations for 10 types of texts you should be sending clients, too.
While texting clients and candidates is, in a lot of ways, similar to texting your spouse or friends, it’s also pretty different. Remember, we’re all human. Even when we’re at work, we should be texting like one!
Texting is an engagement tool, so remember that the ultimate goal is for your client, prospect, candidate or contractor to feel valued. That may come in the form of important information, recognition of an achievement or something else (see above for examples ⬆️⬆️⬆️).
If it’s longer than a few lines, it probably belongs in an email (or on a phone call). But, if you can’t convey something in a few lines, it might be even better to take a step back and see if you can simplify your message. We’re conditioned today to digest and share communications in short tidbits. It’s just how are brains are currently wired! If your message is too long, via text or otherwise, it may end up inadvertently going to the backburner, simply because a shorter, more easily actionable message pushed it aside.
We dig into a whole host of texting best practices for staffing firms in another blog post -- keep those in mind when you’re getting started 👍
Sense Messaging is a powerful tool built specifically for staffing firms. Begin leveraging 2-way texting to build and nurture stronger relationships. Ensure your recruiters and team are all on the same page, and gather insights and data from their interactions to make better business decisions. It’s one thing you can do this month that will provide ROI for months and years to come.
We’re happy to walk you through Sense Messaging and show you how it might fit into your daily operations. Schedule a demo and let us know any questions you might have. We’re here to help!
