Shrinking budgets mean less funds for hiring managers at government agencies. So, how can you do more with less and still attract the best candidates? ENC...
Commentary By Eva Neumann
President and CEO, ENC Strategy
When hiring new workers, your first instinct may be to enlist the help of HR consultants. But often, doing a better job of raising awareness about what your organization has to offer and getting in front of potential candidates is a better and more cost-effective option.
Workforce recruitment challenges are really communication challenges.
Amid shrinking budgets, government agencies can’t afford to spend a lot of time and resources finding employees. To keep up with the fast-paced, mission-critical work agencies do, they need to get the word out to top talent and hire them quickly.
But it doesn’t take expensive HR consultants or lavish talent fairs to land the hires you need right now. Agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation recruit top talent through strategic communication by following these steps:
Step 1: Evaluate your current recruitment presence
Step 2: Create a recruitment communication plan for each significant audience segment
Step 3: Use innovative, proven communication methods
No one communication strategy is right for every organization. Ignoring the first two steps because you think you know what will work, without any previous data, could be a recipe for disaster. Different messages are needed depending on the type of employee you seek.
Don’t have a communication expert in your human capital organization? Find one within the agency or use an outside strategist to create messaging that will ring true for each audience segment, not fall flat because it’s too general or go unseen because the deployment channels aren’t specific enough.
Eva Neumann is the president and CEO of ENC Strategy. ENC offers communications planning, messaging, branding, social media, advertising, strategic consulting and Web services to government agencies, companies and associations. ENC is a woman- owned small business located in McLean, Va.
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