Debbie Harris — August 20, 2018 Workforce development and Facebook can be a good match.
As the economy continues to rebound, particularly in certain fields and in certain places, workforce development can be a challenge. Here in the Las Vegas area, construction is booming again and labor is hard to find. When the recession hit and hit hard here, people left to find work elsewhere. Many shifted their careers so that they could find work in something else. Now, we are building again. Any drive through the Las Vegas Valley and surrounding towns such as Pahrump will convince you that the recession is indeed completely over. Finding labor is difficult and many companies do not understand how to effectively use social media, particularly Facebook. Of course, finding talent is not just a challenge for the construction industry. Many business owners and HR professionals are scratching their heads thinking about how to attract workers, particularly younger ones. We are having great success with our clients who need workers. Here are some of the things we have learned about workforce development on Facebook.
Here are five tips to help you to use Facebook for workforce development:
- Make sure you have a professional looking Facebook Business Page. Fill everything out about your company. Make sure your profile picture and banner look professional and are sized properly. Have the company name so it is recognized in the profile pic when you post. Fill in your About Section, your Hours, your Description, everything that is asked.
- Post regularly but don’t overdo it. Posting 2-3 times per week is usually sufficient. Focus on WHY someone would want to work for your company. Let people know you are hiring. Use pictures, always royalty-free, i.e. Pexels.com, Pixabay.com or Unsplash.com. Recognize staff members who have done a great job. This shows you value your team members. Highlight anniversaries of employees who have been with you a long time. Again, showing that people stay with the company speaks well of management. Real pictures of real people from your company are always the best. People want to see people. People should be smiling too and look happy.
- Boost posts letting people know you are hiring. Facebook gives you the opportunity to spread the word. It is the most economical “advertising” you can do digitally. Set up demographics but here you must be careful. You must acknowledge that you will abide by the employment guidelines. For example, when you boost, you must select Men and Women and 18-65+. You cannot, in any way, discriminate with certain characteristics so don’t even try it. We always add to the posts for clients that “We are an equal opportunity employer.”
- Where are you sending people who are interested? Many people have absolutely no filter when it comes to social media platforms like Facebook. They will put inquiries in the Comments and will send you Direct Messages. It is important to have a system for those inquiring about jobs with your company. Are they completing a brief Contact form online? Should they call the office? Should they be sending a resume to someone? Keep in mind that if you are looking for unskilled physical labor, people may not have a resume to send in. Also, keep in mind that most people will be looking at your Facebook posts on their cell phones. Be sure everything you do is mobile responsive. Have a clear call to action.
- What happens next is so important. You are in competition for talent. The way people are responded to, treated and followed up with can make all the difference. Make sure that whoever is qualifying people is very responsive to inquiries. Be sure that the phone number you put out is answered promptly by a live person or there is an immediate call back to messages. Manage expectations by letting potential employees know the process and the time they should expect before hearing back. If you have requirements that must be fulfilled first, let them know, i.e. OSHA.
These tips are for any industry looking for employees. Whether you are hiring restaurant staff, a receptionist for your law firm, construction labor, management, etc. If you are looking for skilled and highly skilled talent, LinkedIn is a vitally important platform. One caveat, make sure you and your company look great on LinkedIn before using that vehicle to hire people. One more note, if you set up an Instagram page for your business and link it to Facebook, you can boost both at the same time. This is done through Facebook’s boosting process. Instagram is another great resource for you.
There are several other ways to utilize social media for workforce development. Stay tuned for more blogs on the subject.
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