Dell is usually considered one of the best companies to work for, so they make an excellent source of inspiration for ways to improve recruiting practices and employee management. A smaller company might learn from Dell how to give candidates a 3-dimensional view of the workplace before applying, to supply candidates with tips on how to apply, the importance of merging recruiting and marketing efforts, and how crucial a defined company culture is. If you’re searching for a mobile ready online resume formatting system to making hiring easy in 2018, check out Recruiteze. Start your free trial here.
5 Hiring Lessons We Can Learn From Dell
#1. Let Candidates Get To Know You
Many companies employ the tactic of giving candidates a day-in-the-life view of their company. It helps candidates self-screen, and it makes the ones who do fit even more invested in your company.
Dell’s careers page is chock-full of opportunities to get candidates acquainted with the life at Dell.
As soon as you open the page, you see four things:
- A description of the Dell mindset
- A video representing the Dell workplace
- Links to discover more about “life at Dell”
- Buttons to search for jobs and learn how to apply
The entire above-the-fold section of their careers page is almost completely devoted to learning about, as they put it, “life at Dell.” But that’s not all.
The next section when you scroll down covers nine topics including:
- Our People
- Our Workplace
- Our Company History
- Our Culture Code
- Employee Benefits and Rewards
- Development Programs
Below that, Dell has placed a link to their vast selection of social media accounts, ranging from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor. And guess why they say you should follow them on social media?
“Connect with Dell Careers to learn more about #LifeAtDell.”
The Senior Manager Global Candidate Attraction, Engagement and Experience at Dell, Jennifer Jones Newbill, gave an interview to Coachify in 2016. As would be expected after looking at Dell’s careers page, Newbill discussed life at Dell and how she made sure the company’s vibe is made visible to the public.
She said, “our people are our greatest asset (and really the best asset of any company!) – this helps drive our referrals and trust in our brand so it creates a super healthy eco-system. We create not only videos but social testimonials showcasing people in different markets sharing what they value about Dell. This includes flexible work, work-life balance, etc. The key is to share stories and share content that is honest.”
When asked about the best topics for blogging, Newbill said, “Our people stories – we feature our early in career hires about how Dell has helped them launch their career. Also stories about our connected and flexible work where team members share their personal stories and how flexibility has benefited their professional and personal lives.”
#2. Play Matchmaker to Recruiting and Marketing
One of Dell’s strong suits is combining their recruiting and marketing efforts into a streamlined force. When the two roles are separated, potential candidates see a conflicted message that weakens a company’s employer brand, not to mention that money could best be spent streamlining the two efforts. You don’t want recruiters creating their own ads when marketers are also creating ads.
Newbill was quoted on HR Open Source, “We thought about it differently. At Dell, we all own the brand, whether in an official marketing capacity or just being social media certified and talking about the company on our own personal profiles. So, while one team focuses on end users like customers of our products and services, another team focuses on our employee narrative for internal team members and candidates who may become team members. These are not in conflict with each other and, in fact, complement each other quite well.”
The writer on that same page said, “We began by forming relationships with our internal agency, Dell Blue, when we realized we needed a distinct employer brand campaign to communicate why Dell is a great place to work to candidates.”
“Dell Blue has put in a lot of effort into understanding the recruiting landscape as well as our employment value proposition and how we talk to candidates about working at Dell. From the beginning, they have agreed that having an authentic employment brand rooted in reality is the best way to show candidates who Dell is as a company. That approach has informed all of the content our team produces and shares.”
Also, “Partnering with Marketing has allowed us to support and maintain a consistent, globally relevant employer brand identity at an affordable rate with rapid turnaround times. It’s allowed us to move more quickly and innovate.“
“We have an employer brand that is rooted in our employer value proposition, is authentic and true to the employee experience, and aligned with our company look and feel.“
“What resulted was even better than we could have imagined – a collaborative partnership where both teams benefit from content and insight when it comes to marketing and recruiting best practices.”
In her Coachify interview, Newbill described this marketing and recruiting marriage, “Our team is all tasked with candidate attraction (messaging including digital and, print as well as technologies used) engagement (social media and employee advocacy in partnership with our marketing team) and analyzing and improving the overall candidate experience.”
And went on to talk about how Dell uses their varied social media platforms.
“Facebook and Twitter continue to have very inexpensive promotional solutions and we absolutely see hires through those platforms. Other social platforms are still important but play more of an influencing/branding role than direct hires. We don’t see people, for example, going to a