HR Innovation for Boutique Luxury Hospitality | How to Use Recruitment Campaign Envy as a Force for Good

It’s a fair cop gov’nor. I confess. Slap on the bracelets. I am guilty of recruitment campaign envy – AGAIN!

Green with envy with a hint of puce around the cheeks is not a good look. But there you have it.Is recruitment campaign envy a legitimate emotional condition? YES IT IS!

The root cause: I have a thing for creative, human-centric, candidate-focused recruitment marketing campaigns. My last serious attack of recruitment - DreamJobbing for TOMS’ Dream Job Recruitment Campaign. Go HERE and collect 7 ingenious ideas for your recruitment swipe file. Always keep an eye out for inspiring work that pushes the boundaries of what is commonly accepted standard and industry best practise.

Psst! These are code for ‘sticking with what we have always done’, ‘can’t be bothered to try something new and different’ and ’don’t want to upset the apple cart.’
Psst! If you upset the apple cart you might reveal where the bad apples are hiding. Then you might just be compelled to take action.

I digress. Let’s get back to talking about envy.What it is: Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation.Why you do it: Because other people are so much luckier, smarter, more attractive, and better than you. Wise old sayings from many religious faiths and cultural beliefs, tell us that envy is unequivocally deadly;

“Keep yourselves far from envy; it eateth up and taketh away good actions, like as fire eateth up and burneth wood”.Muhammad

And even fatal to your peace of mind and progress.

“Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind. Buddha

But experiencing envy is part of being human. Critical to your survival is what you do when envy creeps into your mind.

Before he gets out of hand and starts to run amok in your brain, embrace envy as your friend. He is the gentle nudge or that painful jab which reminds you that you have relaxed and become too comfortable with the mediocre. Avoid mental disruption and pain by shaking off your stupor. Use envy to stretch you to do different and better. With smart and careful attention, envy can be a force for good and transformation.

The source: This time the source of my recruitment campaign envy is Digital Telepathy – a customer experience and UX design agency.Head to their Careers page. It goes way beyond simply filling roles and closing vacancies.

There you will find a treasure trove of creative HR, human-centric recruitment, organisational culture goodness.There are so many juicy inspiring bites from which to choose. I was spoilt for choice and giddy with delight. Itook some screen shots and made notes. I didn’t want to forget what I saw. After all seeing is believing.

Here are my top picks of 7 Steal-worthy Ideas that Will Boost Your Recruitment Results courtesy of the folks over at Digital Telepathy.

“Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay”. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Remember you are using envy as a force for good. Steal the ideas not the execution. Pinch the inspiration not the copy. Agreed? OK here we go.

1. The Big Story: Most recruitment marketing messages have the company as the star and use it as a platform for overzealous grandstanding.

Wrong! The candidate must be the hero of the story; not a bit part or a mere cog in the factory wheel.You need to present the story about who you are and the future you want to build. At the heart of the story there must be a quest that your candidates will believe in. It is a call to action to make a difference, crafted specially for the individuals to whom such a quest will appeal.In helping the organisation to fulfill this quest, the candidate has a say in how they can make a contribution and has the opportunity to fulfill their own purpose at the same time.

2. Show how important your employees are to your business: PLEASE don’t say “our employees are our greatest asset” or any version of this pile of Ugh!

Don’t pay lip service with meaningless statements. Put your team / tribe up front and centre. Show images of real employees doing real work and provide snippets of what it is like to join your organisation or and the kind of work they will do.Let your existing employees share their stories and experience of working and being a member of your organisation.

3. Plain Talk Only Zone: Be clear when portraying your organisation’s culture. Be direct about the values and behaviours that everyone is expected to hold and demonstrate. Reinforce your organisation’s genuine values through the images and copy.

4. The Role: For the love of all that is sacred DO NOT lift the role purpose summary and accountabilities from an ancient relic of a job description. Banish HR jargon and ditch the fluff in favour of meaning and relevance.

Write the copy in the language and tone of voice that is in keeping with the culture and the brand.Leave no room for confusion about the role, the requirements and where it fits into helping to achieve your organisations mission.If you like this description for a Senior UX Designer, check out this one for their Director of Strategy, served with scotch bonnet pepper heat.

"WARNING: this is not your typical hot shot agency job; we don’t have personal offices, we don’t have phones, and we don’t allow office politics. We’re looking for a crafty doer, a teacher, a leader, someone that has ‘been there, done that’ - someone so uniquely talented that they will inevitably be given an aggressive counter offer by their current employer after giving their 2 week notice. If this is starting to sound a lot like you, please read on…."

5. Benefits and Perks: High praise for showing the employee benefits available. Take the time to understand the motivations of your target employee community. Understand and offer the perks that will genuinely appeal, and benefits that are aligned with your organisation’s culture.Transparency is mandatory. Important HR-related information packed full with staid and unappealing HR-speak leaves your candidates cold.

6. Call to Action: At the end of each section, you will find a clear invitation to apply. “Interested in our UX position? [APPLY NOW]”.

This is followed by full disclosure of how to apply. This is super smart as not only is this helpful to the candidate; it also sends a polite message that only serious candidates need apply.It is a gentle nudge to those who do not meet the criteria to self-select out of the process.In this way more time can be invested in reviewing candidate applications which meet the criteria.

7. Keep it fun and relevant: The pop quiz is used as a fun and relevant part of the candidate experience. By keeping it in the ‘safe zone’ of a fun self-assessment, it takes away the test pressure and it provides the candidate with more information about what it takes to join DT.

There you have it; my 7 brainpokes from my recruitment idea book a.k.a. “Swipe File”. I am sure when you delve deeper into Digital Telepathy’s Career pages you will find even more ideas and inspiration for your own “Swipe File”.Times have changed.

The balance of power has shifted to the hands of the candidate.HR / Recruiters have an opportunity to play a lead role in brokering a healthy relationship between the employer and its employees. The place to start is at the recruitment stage of the relationship; by finding ways to connect the organisation’s mission to the individual candidate’s purposeIt’s time to step it up.

Candidates will continue turn their collective noses up at staid and unappealing recruitment marketing messages and cold and uninviting hiring processes.

Candidates will expect, (make that ‘demand’), intelligent, transparent communication that engages their brains, heart and values.

I pray that you ditch the dull, dreary dystopian job ads

.I urge you to choose creative, transparent and human-centric recruitment marketing stories that compel the right candidates to apply and, if offered, join your organisation.Use recruitment campaign envy as a force for good. It is your nudge to dig deep and tap into a new source of creativity and meaningful difference for HR.

“Envy comes from people's ignorance of, or lack of belief in, their own gifts.” Jean Vanier

Savvy Recruiter / HR Marketer, what story will your next recruitment advertisement tell about the work your candidate can expect to do and contribute?

Will you choose to tell facts or fairy tales about your organisation’s purpose and culture in your next campaign?

Let’s continue expand our HR/ Recruitment horizons.What are your top creative recruitment advertisements and campaigns that inspire you?

How to Use Recruitment Campaign Envy as a Force for Good

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