Executive Recruitment Marketing Keeps the Talent Pipeline Healthy: Says Paycor’s CHRO

“Organizations that use drip campaigns and talent communities separate themselves from the “have nots” when the pandemic ends.”

As Paycor’s CHRO, Karen Crone is responsible for leading the HR and learning teams. From scaling people practices to evolving the company culture, Crone supports a growth mindset at work. She believes that HR leaders never stop thinking about hiring – from the frontline to the C-suite. In this edition of HR Talk, Crone shows how employers can best prepare themselves and employees for a seamless transition into the workplace of tomorrow.

Crone focuses on the recruitment marketing strategiesOpens a new window HR leaders should employ to improve hiring efforts during a pandemic. She also highlights the competencies recruiters and HR leaders need to develop to make faster and informed hiring decisions.

Key takeaways on how recruitment marketing strategies keep the talent pipeline healthy:

• Build talent communities and create a pipeline of passive candidates for critical positions.
• Use intentional messaging (through email and LinkedIn InMailOpens a new window ) to personally connect with candidates.
• Increase the frequency and transparency of communication, to seek employee input at every turn.

Here’s the edited transcript from our exclusive interview with Karen Crone:

1. How can employers best prepare themselves and employees for a seamless transition into the workplace of tomorrow?

We have an opportunity to rewrite the rules of work. It is a chance to get creative, reshape boundaries, and shed practices that no longer have a purpose. The employee voice must be the guide. Employees want to believe that tomorrow will be better than today and that they have a say in it. As HR leaders, if we are not creating “Tiger teams” and employee pulse surveys, we are missing out on creating buy-in. It is also important to let people know it will not be seamless, we should expect bumps and restarts, or we are not pushing ourselves to be at our best.

1. Among the employers still recruiting, how is HR tech being leveraged in a smart way? Can you share some examples?

Paycor is an HCM provider and uses its own software. Our recruiters are building talent communities to create a pipeline of passive candidates for critical positions. It allows recruiters to nurture the relationship with content of interest to the candidate. For example, it might be sharing a new technology stack being used by engineers or a certification we are sponsoring for project managers. We are also using interview scorecards to save post-interview feedback automatically following Zoom interviews.

Also read: What are the Key Differences Between Recruitment Marketing and Employer BrandingOpens a new window

1. In what ways can recruitment marketing strategies empower business leaders to improve hiring efforts during a pandemic? Which recruitment marketing channels have you found most useful – email or social media or any other?

Recruitment marketing is critical to keeping the talent pipeline healthy. Organizations that use drip campaigns and talent communities separate themselves from the “have nots” when the pandemic ends. Business leaders, hiring managers and recruiters must at minimum organize their talent folders while readying for an uptick in the labor market.

They must use intentional messaging (through email and LinkedIn InMail) to personally connect with candidates, while direct sourcing on LinkedIn. The combination provides the best return on investment while readying for likely to be a competitive labor market as more organization shift to working from home entirely.

1. The challenges with managing and hiring workers will only get more complex in a post-COVID-19 world. What competencies do HR recruiters and HR leaders need to develop to make faster, more informed hiring decisions?

It is possible that many employers will hire completely virtually, with hiring managers and candidates never meeting in person. Competence in structured interviewing allows HR recruiters and leaders to go faster, especially when assessing skills and proficiency. When exploring past performance, introduce constraints that your company routinely faces. For example, scale, tight timelines, or information access. When you know the hiring bar, you make better decisions.

Also read: 8 Vital Recruitment Marketing Books for 2020Opens a new window

1. Engaged employees are critical to the success of a business. How can HR managers improve the wellbeing of employees who are working remotely during lockdowns?

One of the challenges many employees have faced is loneliness during the lockdown. HR managers can improve employee wellbeing by nudging managers to practice behaviors that create connection and belonging. For example, by encouraging “just because” check-ins outside of 1:1s or hosting virtual lunches and happy hours. HR can make it easy with a manager toolkit of ideas and best practices. HR can also encourage cross-functional teams to address topics like how onboarding changes for new hires or what technology improvements are needed to support collaboration. These teams create new connections and structure that ease the feelings of being alone.

1. What are your business continuity planning tips for HR in SMBs? How can they prepare to get back to growth mode in the wake of the crisis?

Sometimes with business continuity, we explore one avenue of prevention and recovery. For example, with COVID-19, we examined essential and non-essential job duties to be performed on premise or at home. It is important not to stop there. What if 50% of the essential workers became ill? What if an entire location had an outbreak?

One tip in business continuity planning is to ask “what if” until the worst-case scenarios have been explored. Returning to growth mode quickly for SMB means protecting your differentiators and pursuing the most strategic initiatives. Double down on what makes you great!

Also read: The Top 4 Recruitment Marketing Tools for SMBsOpens a new window

1. How is Paycor leading the way in making sure employee concerns are seen and heard when working remotely? Which are the top 3 strategies you yourselves are adapting to adjust to the new normal?

Paycor has always believed in the power of grassroots movements to promote positive change. Early on, we created formal and informal opportunities for employees to provide their views on working from home, to identify their equipment needs, and to prioritize communication interests.

One example, we turned a monthly, all-associate meeting called the Pulse into a weekly micro-Pulse highlighting COVID-19 business updates. Our top strategies have been to increase the frequency and transparency of communication, to seek employee input at every turn, and to be visible leaders.

Also read: Top 8 Recruitment Marketing Trends for 2020 and BeyondOpens a new window

1. Which key trends are you tracking in people management in 2020 and beyond?

One people management trend of interest to me, especially in a “Virtual First” work environment, is self-directed work teams. These teams create belonging for employees and use peer accountability to drive performance. The teams assign resources at the work unit level, prioritizing and problem-solving together. There is pride in ownership and outcomes. It is not a new idea, it is just one that makes companies feel a little smaller, almost like having a home room, while we navigate COVID-19.

About Karen CroneOpens a new window

Karen Crone joined Paycor in 2010 as its first Chief Human Resources Officer. Over her 9-year career, Karen has led Paycor’s workforce growth from 430 to 2,000 Associates while maintaining its strong culture across an expanding geographic footprint. Under her leadership, the HR function is considered a trusted advisor and is deeply embedded in Paycor’s lines of business as drivers of hiring, talent development, retention, and engagement strategies.

About PaycorOpens a new window :

Paycor creates HR software for leaders who want to make a difference. Paycor’s Human Capital Management (HCM) platform modernizes every aspect of people management. But what really sets them apart is their focus on business leaders. For 30 years, the HCM provider has been listening to and partnering with leaders, so they know what their partners need: HR technology that saves time, powerful analytics that provide actionable insights and dedicated support from HR experts. That is why more than 40,000 medium and small businesses trust Paycor to help them solve problems and achieve their goals.

About HR Talk

HR Talk is an interview series that features top people and talent leaders from HR tech and Fortune 500 companies who are redefining the future of work. Join us as we talk to these HR tech and people analytics experts to get in-depth insights, and some pro-tips on how HR tech can best work for you and your people.

If you are a people expert and wish to share your thoughts, write to [email protected].

Which recruitment marketing strategies do you use to keep your talent pipeline healthy during the pandemic? Share your thoughts with us on LinkedInOpens a new window , FacebookOpens a new window , and TwitterOpens a new window .