Marketing ideas for your staffing agency

5 Staffing Agency Marketing Ideas that Add Value

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For the past several years staffing employment grew faster than the economy and employment overall. Here are five staffing agency marketing ideas that can help your agency stand out from the rest of the pack – and make it indispensable to your clients.

Add Value for Employers with Five Staffing Industry Marketing Ideas

According to IndustrySelect.com (and despite the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the U.S. jobs market in 2020) the forecast for the staffing industry is projected to be $126.1 billion in 2020. While this represents a 17 percent decline from the previous year, it is still 4 percent higher than the original estimate of $119B.

With the economic recovery of the last decade came opportunities for recruiters, temporary employment and staffing agencies to rebound, big time. Not only were more jobs available overall, but many employers, unsure of how quickly the recovery would happen and whether it would last, were hesitant to hire regular employees, and so opted for temporary workers instead. It is reasonable to expect continued opportunity for temporary employment agencies as the economy comes out of COVID-19 slowdowns and shutdowns, since employers may be uncertain for some time what their “new normal” number of employees and jobs should be, or to hedge against additional short term temporary closures.

5 Ways to Make Your Staffing Agency Indispensable

1. Look for value beyond the skill set

As a staffing agency recruiter, you (or your software) may scan hundreds of resumes relative to the skills, software, and specialties of candidates. Bring candidates to the table for temporary employment or temp-to-hire placement opportunities that have what it takes not only to do the job, but who will enhance the culture of an organization, and who may possess valuable skills beyond those specified in the job description.

The more often you place candidates that produce well, bring additional value to and fit well within an organization, the more likely it is that employers will turn to you when the next hiring opportunity arises.

2. Network to fill your back pocket

Hiring can be an expensive, time consuming process. Temporary employment and staffing agencies that network well can create a pool of individuals who, while they may not be actively looking for a new position, would be open to considering a change for the right opportunity.

Reach out to already-employed people, not just those who are actively looking! 35 percent of workers say they would change their field of work if they lost their job. That means that more than 1 in 3 people currently employed might be interested in changing jobs if they had an opportunity to do something they are more interested in doing, or which represents a better path for professional growth in the future.

Being able to serve up one or two quality candidates for potential openings immediately could easily make your staffing agency more valuable to employers when the need to fill a position quickly is paramount.

3. Write better recruiting copy

When you have an awesome job opportunity to fill or an outstanding employer to recruit for, why would you write boring, cliché, job description-like copy? Set your staffing agency apart by writing recruiting copy that engages top candidates and creates intrigue so that they want to know more. Plus, when you talk up the brand of an employer in creative copy, you are telling candidates that you think the employer’s brand is just as special as they believe it to be!

4. Soften your approach

If you only reach out to employers with sales calls and emails, you are doing it wrong. You might get lucky by hitting someone up at the moment they need to fill a position once in a while, but you may well turn off the vast number of contacts on your list.

Soften your approach with employers and think about nurturing relationships instead of pursuing accounts. Reach out with information that people can use to build their businesses – interesting articles about their industries, information about their competitors they might not be aware of, and so on. Become so interesting and helpful that your clients will welcome your phone calls and open your emails and will keep you top of mind when opportunity arises.

5. Specialize

Instead of casting a wide net, carve out a name and a niche for your staffing agency by identifying industries which are emerging or evolving, which are underserved, or even better understanding which industries your own firm’s expertise is best-suited to serve. When you become the “go-to” for certain industries or certain types of temporary job openings, you build top of mind brand awareness that is invaluable in providing your staffing agency with opportunity to get the first shot at filling opportunities.

Many past temporary hires turned into regular employees as employers developed more confidence in the economy. While the job market rebounds, competition will also increase among staffing and temporary employment agencies as well.

For staffing and temporary employment services firms, competition can be a good thing! Not only does it reflect more opportunity overall, but competition can light a fire when it comes to continuous improvement within a staffing agency. For temp services and staffing firms that want to create a competitive advantage, it is vital to identify areas where they can become indispensable to their most valuable clients.

You might also like: Benefits of Factoring Staffing

 

7 Ways Staffing Agencies Can Cultivate a Niche and Grow

7 Ways Staffing Agencies Can Cultivate a Niche and Grow

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While it might seem counter-intuitive, staffing agencies that narrow their marketing focus could spur faster growth. Here are seven ways to carve out a staffing agency niche to grow your staffing, recruiting or temporary employment agency.

A Niche for Staffing Agencies – Narrow Your Focus to Expand Your Client Base

With a super-competitive staffing industry and double-digit growth projected in 2021, it’s more important than ever that staffing agencies carve out a niche where they can excel and thrive. With that in mind, here are seven ways that temporary employment services firms or staffing agencies can identify a niche where they can make a name for themselves and grow.

7 Ways to Cultivate a Staffing Agency Niche and Grow

Grow with seasonal staffing opportunities

Look for businesses that have seasonal ebbs and flows. These are the types of businesses that may also benefit from outsourcing to staffing agencies or using temporary workers instead of hiring their own employees.

Seed the market with PR

You can play a part in strengthening your own agency’s reputation by using PR tactics strategically. Publishing press releases helps to position your agency as an expert resource in a given employment niche. Likewise, placing ads and advertorial articles or writing general interest articles for publication in trade magazines can help to reinforce your agency’s reputation in industries where you want to carve out a niche for your staffing services.

Put your ear to the ground

Many of the most successful businesses became so because they were able to identify and act on emerging trends early on. Make sure that you are on the look-out for emerging new industries or industries that are evolving where your staffing agency can gain ground before competitors become aware.

COVID-19 might have put a damper on staffing industry growth in 2020, but there are several industries that are growing now and which are set to grow post COVID-19, such as:

  • Technology of all kinds – online meeting platforms, online e-education, online and remote work apps, etc.
  • Medical and healthcare staffing
  • Cloud computing and storage
  • Web and app development
  • E-commerce
  • Cybersecurity
  • Logistics, transportation and supply chain

Plant new locations for future growth

Communities and neighborhoods zoned for industrial and commercial development, or which may be expanding with tech companies may also represent locations where having a physical office for your staffing agency would give you a leg-up in booking new business.

Attract and engage with digital content

Just like consumers in general, B2B buyers often start their buying journey online and many even expect to be able to complete the buying process online in a digital self-service environment. Cater to digital B2B shoppers and buyers in the industries you most want to serve with a website that is optimized for search and blog articles that attract search and social media traffic and shares among those niche target audience members.

Dig in deep by increasing numbers of followers and subscribers

While some organizations that need temporary workers or staffing services may engage in short or only occasional buying cycles, others may need to be convinced of the benefits of outsourcing over time or may need a consistent stream of temporary employees. Gain and maintain top of mind brand awareness for your staffing or temporary employment services by constantly increasing the number of social followers and subscribers you have within your desired niche industries.

One way to do this is by consistently providing followers with added value in the form of email newsletters and social status updates that pertain to their industries. You may also be able to build your networks quickly using tactics that require online registration, such as contests and whitepapers.

Pre-seed the marketplace

Universities, colleges, vocational and trade schools, unions and even high schools are all representative of organizations where you can build your reputation within a staffing niche by pre-seeding the marketplace; i.e., introducing yourself to the people who represent the candidates and employers of the future, as well as the present.

You might also like: Benefits of Factoring Staffing

Staffing Industry Analysts say that while 2020 staffing is down from 2019 (due mainly to temporary job losses because of COVID-19) the forecast for 2021 is bright. SIA projects 11% growth in temporary staffing revenue and 19% expansion in place & search in 2021. With increased demand for temporary workers comes an influx of new agencies among temporary employment and staffing services.

In a more competitive landscape, temporary employment service firms and staffing agencies must develop strategies that help them grow, and they must be on top of their game. One way to become more profitable is by finding a staffing agency niche that allows them to successfully attract the best candidates for placement so they can build a strong reputation among employers.

 

6 Keys for Supply Chain Marketing Plan Success

Supply Chain Marketing – 6 Traits of Successful Marketing Plans

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Bring these six supply chain marketing strategies to bear in developing a supply chain marketing plan for a manufacturing or distribution business.

While your plans are likely to include both short term marketing strategies and long range strategic goals, the values that guide your plan should not change. We came up with six traits that characterize successful supply chain marketing plans. Keep these principles in mind as you evaluate strategies that can help with growing a manufacturing or distribution business.

6 Keys for Supply Chain Marketing Plan Success

S – Service

Unless you have an exclusive product or are the only distributor of a product for which there are no real substitutes, it’s likely that your products – in and of themselves – are not the most important reason that people should choose to do business with you.

A supply chain marketing plan that revolves around the idea of service – the effective solutions or unique added value that your business or sales professionals are able to offer your customers – is more likely to produce compelling calls to action, marketing copy and advertising.

U – Urgency

While the supply chain industry is constantly evolving and products and services are always entering and leaving the marketplace, your particular area of manufacturing or distribution expertise may be one that rarely changes, evolves or produces innovation.

Whether your business falls at one end of the spectrum or the other, your marketing plan must create a sense of urgency among your buyers in order to stimulate more sales. If your customers never have anything to lose by waiting to buy from you, there is little motivation for them to take action more quickly.

P – Persistence

Sales representatives have to make an average of 6 contacts to sell a product or service (33 Cold Calling Statistics). One email, one phone call, one networking event, one tradeshow — it is going to take more than one attempt to make contact with your decision makers.

Make sure that your supply chain marketing plan is not reliant on campaigns that need to hit the target on the first try. Plan for marketing campaigns to be played out over time and across multiple marketing channels.

P – Proactive

How well do you understand the buying cycle or customer journey of your supply chain business? The extent to which you understand what occurs at each phase of the buying cycle and design customer experiences that will help prospects move to the next phase of the customer journey will affect the bottom line when it comes to conversions.

If your supply chain marketing plan does not move prospects through the buying cycle effectively, you will have to generate many, many more leads to fill the sales funnel in order to meet your revenue requirements or grow your manufacturing or distribution business. Refining the buying journey at every step is essential to increased conversions and ROI (return on investment).

L – Leverage

The word leverage means to, “use (something) to maximum advantage.” As you brainstorm potential tactics, calls to action, advertising and marketing campaigns, those areas where your business has competitive advantages and supremacy should be used to your organization’s maximum advantage.

Rather than trying to compete in areas where your competitors have already made a name for themselves, look for a niche or value-add that creates a competitive advantage that will be persuasive and meaningful to members of your target audiences. Do not assume that prospects and customers understand the benefits of working with you.

Y – Your One Thing

Your “one thing” is sometimes called a USP (unique selling proposition) or UVP (unique value proposition). In terms of your supply chain marketing plan, your one thing is the single-most compelling reason people should choose to do business with your organization instead of your competitors.

Your ‘one thing’ might be something that sets your products apart. It could also be something unique to your manufacturing process, your corporate values, or even the overarching vision of your business.

Writing a supply chain marketing plan is no small task, especially when it comes to the marketing strategies you hope will help you grow your manufacturing or distribution business to the next level. We created an acronym from the word “supply” with six important things to remember as you develop the marketing strategies and tactics you plan to put into action.

Although the supply chain has benefited as the US economy continues growing in the post-recession era, it is worth noting that logistics, manufacturers and distributors that have a strong supply chain marketing plan in place stand to benefit most. Now is the time to write a new marketing plan or revisit your organization’s strategic long range plan in order to identify areas of opportunity, carve out competitive advantages and strengthen your business.

You might also like: Supply Chain Finance

 

7 Low-Cost Staffing Marketing Ideas Can Put Your Agency on Top

7 Low-Cost Staffing Marketing Ideas Can Put Your Agency on Top

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As the job market rebounds, competition will heat up among staffing and temporary employment agencies, too. Here are seven low-cost staffing marketing ideas that can help you put your staffing agency ahead of the competition.

Land More Leads with 7 Low-Cost Promotion Ideas for Staffing Agencies

It should not come as a big surprise that the staffing industry is a fiercely competitive marketplace at present, given the rebound in the job market of the past several years. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted that the staffing industry will grow faster, and add more jobs than nearly any other industry over the next decade. With competition high for landing easily place-able candidates as well as employer job listings, here are seven staffing marketing ideas that can help develop competitive advantages for your staffing agency, temporary services firm or professional recruiting services.

7 Low-Cost Staffing Marketing Ideas for Employment Agencies

Maximize Free Marketing Channels

Web content optimized to attract your ideal candidates or employers, social media, and good old-fashioned in-person networking with local business groups, Chambers of Commerce and other civic organizations can go a long way to building relationships with employers that put position openings on your books. Likewise, they can connect you with executives and other individuals whose skills are in high demand, so that when they are ready to make a move, they already know who to call.

Fill the Pipeline – Get As Many Subscribers As Possible

Every phone, web or email inquiry is an opportunity to add a new contact to your database. Every business card collected at a networking event represents a potential new subscriber. You can also use contests or gated web content such as white papers, videos and reports to bolster the size of your contact database over time.

Cultivate Relationships with Influencers

Formal influencers like HR staff and executives aren’t the only way that you can source listings. Thanks to social media, it’s never been so easy to find people who are willing to share social posts they feel might interest their own networks. Make sure your social posts reference cities or geographical areas and encourage people to share them with their own networks.

Reinforce social shares with a thank you, retweet, tag or mention (which will also increase their reach). If influencers produce real business with you, thank them with a gift card or some other small gesture — reward behavior you want more of!

Survey Client Satisfaction

It’s vital that you take the temperature from time to time when it comes to client satisfaction. Even long-term client relationships can go south quickly with a bad placement or failure to deliver fast enough. Clients may have new leaders who want to work with other agencies. Even if you do everything right, there could be client discontent brewing for many different reasons.

Be Present in the Community

If you are waiting for business to come to you, chances are you are being out-hustled by recruiters who are willing to roll up their sleeves and participate in community events, networking groups, churches, schools, charitable endeavors, Chambers of Commerce, and other activities in order to give back and build a strong network in the process.

Beat Your Competitors When it Comes to Following Through and Following Up

Placing your star candidate or putting the right person on the job for an employer isn’t enough; it’s simply meeting expectations. Go the extra mile in your process by doing more (whether that means prepping candidates better, completing the employer’s side of the paperwork, etc.) than competitors are doing. Don’t be afraid to come right out and ask your clients what else you can do to add value to the process. And once the placement is made, follow up as though your job depends on it, because the next job listing just might!

Thank you notes, “how did we do?” type of inquiries, solicitation of feedback by email initially and a few weeks later can all be invaluable relationship builders that let the client know you truly care about whether you provided a solution that brought them the success they wanted.

Stay in Touch Longer (Well, Forever)

Candidate placement and closing of the job ticket isn’t the end of the staffing marketing process; hopefully, it’s just the beginning of a long-term relationship with both the candidate and the employer. Stay in touch by moving contacts to a staffing marketing list that will put helpful tips, cartoons, entertaining stories, items of interest or added value into their inbox every few weeks over time.

The candidate you placed today may be looking for a new opportunity a few years down the road. The employer who hired them may not have other openings now, but 6, 9, 12, or 36 months later, they might be growing so fast that they can’t keep pace. Transitioning from a sales-oriented to a relationship-building staffing marketing plan is essential for clients or candidates “after the sale.”

Whether you are looking to attract job candidates or want to land more employers onto your staffing agency list of clients, these staffing marketing ideas can help. Add these staffing marketing ideas to your agency’s strategy to grow your temporary services firm, staffing agency or recruiting services.

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As a top staffing factoring company we are pleased to offer low staffing factoring rates, high advances and fast funding for staffing payroll loans and to help you grow your employment agency more quickly. Get a free staffing factoring or payroll funding quote:

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11 ways to position your business for success in the New Year

11 Ways to Position your Business for Success this Year

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If you are one of the many business owners looking for ways to build business in the New Year, you are not alone. Here are eleven steps you can take to position your business for growth right now.

Top 11 Ways to Position Your Business to Succeed in the New Year

The devil is in the details when it comes to growing any type of business. The little things that you do now can have big effects later on. Put these eleven ideas to work in your business in order to set the stage for business success and growth in the New Year.

1. Get on Top of New Year Marketing and Industry Trends

Taking the time to research new technologies, consumer buying behaviors and marketing trends can help you identify improvements to your business that could help you gain an edge over competitors or keep you from being out-maneuvered by them. Emerging trends in your industry, marketing and the buying patterns of your customers (or consumers in general) can be used to shape – or at least tweak – your business and marketing plans for the coming year.

Where to start: Industry trade magazines and websites often feature preview and trend articles at this time of year. You can also glean inspiration from sites like springwise.com, find out about new tech from sites like producthunt.com, or explore all kinds of 2020 business trends on sites like entrepreneur.com.

2. Improve your Communication Skills to Succeed in the New Year

No doubt about it, effective communication skills – whether verbal or written – can make the difference when it comes to breaking through the clutter with consumers, employees, investors and other stakeholders. Smarp.com identified eighteen communication trends leaders need to be aware of in 2020.

3. Why Wait? Spring-Clean Your Business Now

Be all you can be! Now is the perfect time to identify inefficiencies, ineffective policies and just plain bad practices that are keeping your business from becoming the best version of itself. This pingboard.com article suggests seven specific ways for you to improve your business in 2020. You might also like this forbes.com article with five budgeting tips for small businesses in 2020.

4. Identify Financial Resources

Very few growth initiatives can be completed without working capital. Your plan for growth needs to be supported by adequate working capital for day to day operations as well as capital that can be used for marketing, expansion, new technology, new product or service launches, and so on. Your business may already have working capital that can be unlocked using receivables invoice factoring or with a real estate commission advance. These assets “on the books” can be unlocked to free up working capital when needed, instead of waiting weeks, or even months, for customers to pay or real estate transactions to close.

5. Stop Generalizing Already!

If your marketing messages are one-size-fits-all, it might mean they are closer to one-size-fits-none. Get smart about members of your target markets using sites like Nielsen’s claritas.com Prizm zip code look up tool (where you can find out what types of people live in your local area) or trendsactive.com with its overview on generational trends.

6. Refine or Retool Your Value Proposition

Stop rambling! Refining the way that you deliver your value proposition could impact your conversion rate in a big way. Sales strategy expert Jill Konrath offers up two ways you can create sales messages that convert in Examples of What to Say When Prospecting. We also recently published an article with five buying signs real estate prospects give when they are ready to sign on the bottom line.

7. Speaking of Customers, Reboot Your Retention Strategy

Many businesses have detailed plans for attracting customers but only a few, somewhat vague strategies laid out to keep them. Now is the perfect time for you to identify the rate of customer turnover (or “churn”) that is present within your organization, decide what constitutes a reasonable level of turnover and create a warning system that triggers actions when unacceptable levels are reached.

7. Craft an Employee-Experience Strategy

Churn and turnover isn’t just a problem when it comes to customers; employee turnover can keep your business from reaching its full potential as well. Much attention is paid in marketing to designing a customer experience that sets a business apart, but few businesses go so far as to design and implement a purposeful employee experience plan.

Since employee satisfaction is critical to customer care, efficiency, productivity, profitability and nearly every other area of your business, thinking through the experience in your business from the employee’s point of view could be helpful.

From recruiting, hiring and orientation through to the break and lunch areas, benefits, time off and other perks, design an employee experience within your business that makes employees believe you feel they are as important to your organization’s success as you say they are! To help you get started, check out this hrtechnologist.com article six practical ways to improve employee retention.

9. Stop Believing You Can Read Minds

Whether it’s gauging customer or employee satisfaction, looking for ways to cut costs, becoming more productive or making any other number of improvements to a business, many business leaders act as though they can read minds; or worse, they act as though everyone thinks just like they do.

Let go of the notion that you are a mind reader and start asking questions of your customers and employees – and start listening to the answers. Make it safe for people to give you constructive criticism and you may well discover a treasure-trove of ideas that you can use to grow your business faster in the months ahead.

This article with 10 Questions to Ask Your Team Every Week on 15five.com can be a starting point to better team dialogue. In addition, be sure that you are soliciting customer feedback using surveys, post-sale customer ratings and reviews and encourage customers to engage with you on social networks.

10. Get Everyone on the Same Page

If everyone is pulling – but everyone is pulling in a different direction – you are unlikely to achieve your business goals. Don’t assume that investors, board members, employees or customers share your vision! Take some time to ensure that everyone is on the same page as is laid out in this entrepreneur.com article by:

  1. Defining the mission
  2. Setting priorities, goals and targets
  3. Encouraging bottom-up planning
  4. Facilitating transparent information sharing and rigorous debate
  5. Ensuring that your organization is aligned appropriately

11. Send a State of the Business Message

Inspire customers, employees, vendors and other stakeholders to enter the New Year feeling more connected to you and your brand. Talk about the way your business has impacted the lives of customers, staff and the community for the better. Tell how your business will transform and improve in the New Year. Point out benchmarks and achievements, and recognize and thank those who contributed.

7 Things to Do Before Launching a New Product or Service

Launching a New Product or Service? Do These 7 Things First

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When you’re launching a new product or service, answer these seven questions to ensure it gets the customer attention it deserves and produces the new sales you desire.

Don’t Fly by the Seat of Your Pants! – 7 Point Checklist for Launching a New Product or Service

All too often a stellar product or service launch falls flat simply because the groundwork for product launch success was not done. In fact, data suggests that 64% of small businesses (or even more) don’t even have a documented marketing plan.

What you do before launching a new product or service option could be just as important as the product or service itself. Position your new product or service for faster client adoption using this seven-point new product launch checklist.

7 Things to Do Before Launching a New Product or Service

1. Identify “who” will want it.

If you’re launching a new product, chances are it fits one or more segments of your existing customer base (and target markets) better than others. Or you may be planning to add products or services that will attract new target markets, outside of those your business normally serves. In either case, successfully launching a new product or service requires that you identify “who” will want it.

Based on purchasing history, identify pioneers and early adopters among your customer base, or use your marketing to target pioneers and early adopters among members of your target audiences.

2. Specify “why” members of your target audience should want it.

Value propositions and competitive differentiators aren’t just for brands. You should be able to accurately describe – in detail – why members of your target markets would want any new product or service you plan to launch.

3. Court influencers and put them to work when launching a new product.

Based on purchasing history, identify pioneers and early adopters among your customer base, or use your marketing to target pioneers and early adopters among members of your target audiences.

  • Invite them to pre-launch events
  • Employ their feedback for product or service refinement before the launch
  • Use their comments as testimonials and social proof
  • Invite influencers to sample new products or services and share their experiences on social networks
  • Share recommendations from celebrities and experts on your social networks and marketing communications

4. Create anticipation and demand before launching a new product.

Initiating communications about a new product or service beginning weeks – or even months – prior to its launch gives you the ability to create anticipation among your customers and prospects. Additionally, by creating demand prior to a product or service launch you will have a better idea of the level of product inventory (or service supplies) you will want to have on hand for the launch period.

5. Extend a no-risk trial proposition.

Money-back guarantees, free add-ons and other incentives can help to allay any concerns that your customers or prospects may have about trying a new product or service.

6. Make it an offer too good to refuse.

Reward those who are willing to pioneer adoption of your new product or service by extending a special trial period offer, free gift with purchase, financing options (for big-ticket items), or another inducement that makes it easier for customers and prospects to say “yes” than it is to say “no thanks” when it comes to trying your new product or service.

7. Create urgency.

Special offers and incentives should be time-limited, so that your customers are encouraged to try new products or services before they disappear. Likewise, if sales are less than anticipated or less than needed to keep a newly-launched product or service in your line up, encourage customers to purchase and to recommend it to their friends, co-workers or loved ones in order to step up demand.

You might also like: How-To and Marketing Tips for Vendors Selling on Zulily

3 Innovative Recruiting Ideas for Staffing Agencies

3 Innovative Recruiting Ideas for Staffing Agencies

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The recruiting and staffing landscape has never been more competitive. Agencies that want to land the best candidates need to stand out from the rest; these three innovative recruiting ideas for staffing agencies can help.

Innovative Recruiting Ideas for Staffing Agencies Can Set Your Services Apart

You aren’t likely to come across a job posting from a company or a staffing agency that says “ho-hum candidates wanted.” Without an innovative approach, however, your staffing agency runs the risk of looking just like all the rest, and that “rest” is growing quickly. The staffing industry grew by 4 percent in 2018. With the economy at full employment – and more job openings than jobs – the recruiting competition for staffing agencies in 2019 is tougher than ever before.

You might be concerned that your agency will have to spend a lot of money on advertising or gimmicks in order to become more successful at attracting top candidates. However, these innovative recruiting ideas for staffing agencies can help set your services apart, and they don’t have to break the bank to deliver a big return on investment.

3 Low-Cost Innovative Recruiting Ideas for Staffing Agencies and Recruiters

1. The Power of a Voice

Today’s technology makes it easy for everyone to see information all the time, but at the same time makes swiping information and updates away or deleting information from an inbox equally easy and immediate. Within seconds, people decide whether to read an update, comment or click on an image. Sites like LinkedIn make it possible for prospective candidates to find and connect with company and agency recruiters instantly; indeed, it’s not uncommon to see updates about position openings throughout the news feed on LinkedIn and other social platforms.

All of these voices have power, especially when updates come from people a prospective candidate knows personally, or when a “real employee” lends their voice to the recruiting effort by sharing a job post or positive reviews about what it’s like to work for their employer.

When information comes from a reputable voice a candidate will be more likely to click on the content, which then takes them to a company’s job posting or career site. The power of a voice – a real employee’s esteem for the organization they call home, can play a critical role in helping to engage and attract top talent to impact the future of the company.

2. The Impact of Personal Stories

For every job opening there is an employer, title, description and salary. While all of these can get the attention of talented candidates, it’s the culture of the organization, the growth opportunities for an employee, the neighborhoods where they might live or work, and the added perks that make life a little bit sweeter that truly engage.

Many companies recognize this is an advantage to gaining top talent, and so seek to engage candidates using short funny or inspirational videos in order to give prospective hires a peek behind the curtain. Although professional video production can be expensive, the cost to make your own short videos runs the gamut from free (using a cell phone, webcam or owned equipment) on up.

Amazon has released many videos that give candidates insights as what it’s like to be a part of the culture and what they to expect working at Amazon on a daily basis, such as this one titled What is it like to work at Amazon: Go Beyond the Badge with Janna.

This video was published in May of 2015 and since then has garnered more than 18,000 views. Another Amazon example is a video that talks about Seattle, where the company is headquartered, focusing on the e-commerce giant’s relocation package and why Seattle is a great place to live.

3. The Prove It Test

A “prove it test” is any type of test a recruiter might use to determine whether an applicant has the skills needed to succeed in a given role. When you combine the idea of a prove it test with a personal challenge, you create intrigue that can motivate ambitious, talented candidates to take action. Think of this as one of the few times “if you build it, they will come” might actually work.

In one example, when Google was recruiting engineers they put up billboards that simply had a white background with an algorithm listed. Those who responded on their website with the correct equation and then succeeded in additional problem solving online were then redirected to a final recruiting page. Giving proof to the message displayed to those who reached the final recruiting page that “One thing we learned while building Google is that it’s easier to find what you’re looking for if it comes looking for you,”

Google has continued to use unconventional recruiting techniques in order to attract the uniquely talented employees they are looking for. In another instance, the MGM hotel in Vegas put together their own version of the reality show Iron Chef to test the mettle of applicants for a top chef job at one of their best restaurants (MGM and Iron Chef Contest).

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Staffing Agency Factoring and Staffing Payroll Funding Services

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5 Small Business Superpowers Big Rivals Can’t Touch

5 Small Business Superpowers Big Rivals Can’t Touch

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It’s not always about growing to the next level. Some of the small business superpowers your not-so-big business has are things larger competitors lack, which might mean staying small is better for your organization.

Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships – Oh My! 5 Benefits of Keeping Your Small Business Small

If it seems like a lot of companies got bigger by joining forces in the past couple of years, it’s because they did. Deloitte’s Merger and Acquisitions Trends report for 2019 found that 79 percent of responders anticipated they would close more deals over the next 12 months, up from 70 percent in 2018. In addition, more than 80 percent planned to sell off assets in 2019, up from 70 percent the year before.

It can be difficult to watch social media feeds and newswires light up with stories of larger competitors making acquisitions, merging with other companies and forming partnerships for lead acquisition, especially when you know that there are things your small business does better.

Rather than worrying about competing on scale, it might be smarter to leverage those things a small business can do that larger rivals cannot, to make your business more profitable without actually getting bigger. Since you might not know how to leverage these small business superpowers to outpace bigger rivals, we also included a few tips to help you turn advantages like these into growth.

5 Small Business Superpowers Big Rivals Can’t Touch

1. Access

Unless they go on a reality show like Undercover Boss, most CEOs and executives in large organizations have little contact with real customers on a day in, day out basis. They don’t have a chance to engage in two-way dialogue, collect first-hand feedback about the customer experience or find out what customers wish the brand would do next.

Take every opportunity to listen when customers complain, ask questions, or make suggestions. The insights they provide can tell you exactly what you need to do to make your business better, more profitable and guide your choices when it comes to adding to new products and services.

2. Accountability

In a big organization responsibility for mistakes can be passed along until a furor dies down, and accolades for success don’t always trickle down to the employees who really made the difference. For better and for worse, a small business offers their customers accountability and gives every employee a chance to shine.

Leaders who aren’t afraid of taking responsibility for mistakes, missteps and misfires often earn the respect not only from customers, but employees as well. Take responsibility for the mistake and make the solution happen. Worry about tracking the details back later to ensure product or service performance in the future. Be generous with praise. Make sure that everyone on the team has a chance to shine and understands that the success of the one can only ever happen as a result of the effort of the whole.

3. Agility

Bureaucracy, processes, committees and getting the-powers-that-be to change direction or add new projects mean that big companies will almost always take longer to react to marketplace changes and emerging opportunities than a small business. A small business can react and make course corrections quickly. They can communicate almost immediately with all staff who need to make adjustments. They can move resources and redirect efforts in a short period of time when new opportunities emerge. These small business superpowers enable smaller companies to move faster than big ones.

Agility isn’t a verb; rather, it’s a passive state of energy. A small business that prides itself on agility but never takes action is wasting this small business superpower. Make sure that you have a process for discovering and evaluating suggestions, ideas and marketplace changes so that when opportunity strikes, you can strike right back.

4. Simplicity

As companies get bigger and bigger, it’s not just their offices that start to look like a maze. Trying to figure out who to contact with a question or when a new product or service will hit the floor can be a job in and of itself. A small business can keep things simple. From processes to communication channels and corporate announcements, customers and employees can feel confident that they are in the know about where to go and what’s coming next.

The routes might be clear, but they still need to be mapped. Make sure that you establish methodology for tracking and reporting stats and progress to the team on a regular basis — and then do it — so that everyone knows what they need to do next.

5. Consistency

Big companies are often stretched in many different directions, so much so that departments could even end up working to cross purposes or unknowingly undermine one another with prospects and customers. A small business has the luxury of finding and focusing on a few or even one common purpose. Employees not only understand the mission but can work together to achieve the goals with a minimum of disruption, since communication is practically instantaneous, everyone can be apprised of the status of all the projects underway at any given time.

The more consistent a brand experience is, the stronger the impression can be; but remember that a consistently boring experience might be just as bad as a negative one. Decide what type of customer experience your brand should deliver and what you will do to get it done. Ensure that all staff have a clear understanding of how what they do impacts and have the ability to improve the customer experience.

Regardless of size, your company has small business superpowers big competitors can’t replicate. The question is, have you discovered them, and how will you use them for good?

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