Brand Identity

Clients have a perception that recruitment is a commoditized service. This means distinguishing yourself from a competitor can be a challenge. Therefore creating a point of difference through the process of Brand Identity can become imperative.

When people use the term brand they are referring to a name, a design and even colours that help identify one company from another. A brand identity represents your company’s values, services and personality, cultivating trust and familiarity in the eyes of candidates and clients alike. A solid brand identity with a consistent message, from your website to your stationary, will position you as a credible service provider and elevate you from a cluttered competitive landscape.

Branding doesn’t have to be a costly exercise, which only big recruitment firms with deep pockets can afford. The key to creating a convincing brand identity commences with a well thought out action plan. You should start by:

1. Identify your firm’s features, and the benefits of using your service. This essentially means asking: “How will I improve the experience of my client or candidate?”
2. Conduct category research and see what your competitors are doing and what they aren’t. That way you can exploit any opportunities.
3. Examine your logo, colour scheme and tone of voice.
4. Consider every touch point. From stationary to presentations, to brochures and websites, you are ‘on show’ every time someone sees your name.
5. Ensure consistency across all these touch points.

Sometimes the smaller your business, the more critical it is for consistent branding because while advertising in magazines may be beyond your financial reach, HTML newsletters and job boards are not, and this is where the branded message is even more important.

With professional support, you can create a strong brand and build its awareness and profile. So that way candidates and clients alike can enjoy a positive association with your firm.

Tender Tips

The tender proposal

In our previous edition we looked at the importance of planning and preparation in writing a tender response. Now we’ll provide some useful tips on how to write the proposal.

It is important to note that in tender and proposal writing, the how is often as important as the what. A well written proposal does not use flowery language or waste words, should demonstrate the professionalism of the writer by using proper grammar and correct spelling, and most importantly, each claim made must be clear, factual and supportable.

It is also important to know your audience. Your analysis of the RFP and proposal planning should have provided you with the detail of what the purchaser requires and how it should be presented. Bear in mind that government purchasing is done with strict probity rules and assume that:

• Those reviewing your proposal know nothing about you and possibly little about your industry sector
• The reviewers will not have reference to your past performance and relationship with the client unless this information is specifically set out in your proposal
• Your proposal is likely to be split between reviewers with each section being reviewed separately and independently
• In addition to directly responding to the selection criteria you should convey the following key messages to the reader:
  • You are the lowest risk option for the purchaser
  • You have the experience, infrastructure and networks to deliver the requirements without delay or risk
  • You provide quality, best practice, evidence-based services and are aware of the current trends and practices being employed in your industry
  • You are collaborative
  • Your proposal represents good value for money (not necessarily the cheapest)

Your writing style should be non-technical, simple, consistent and concise and where possible you should use the language and jargon of the purchaser as set out in the RFP. And finally bear in mind that the tone of your proposal is also important, be human and businesslike rather than academic.

Social Media

The increasing role of technology in society has had a significant impact on the way that businesses market their goods and services. In particular, social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are becoming increasingly influential as a marketing tool, and it is important for recruitment organizations to examine the business potential of using social media as part of their overall communication strategy.

The reason social media is becoming an increasingly important marketing tool in a number of market categories including recruitment is the growing sophistication of consumers and their increasing cynicism towards traditional methods of marketing communication. While consumers are still voracious consumers of information about products and services they are interested in, they are more likely to rely on information from friends, peers, associates and spokespeople they trust, then traditional marketing collateral and for this reason it’s critical that your message flows through both channels.

So what are the practical implications for the recruitment industry?

You may be a member of a social network such as LinkedIn but only check in when someone connects with you. You may also have a company page on Facebook but only for fans; or you may have no involvement with social media at all. If you do not have a strategic plan for the use of social media in your business you should consider the many benefits to be gained from its effective use by a recruitment company including the ability of the medium to help build and manage a talent pool which can be a significant differentiating factor in marketing your services to clients.

Whether it’s time, apathy, anxiety or confusion stopping you from socially connecting, things need to change to market more effectively in the new social landscape, especially if your consumer comes from a younger social demographic (and for most recruitment companies, a significant proportion of your candidates will be members of this group).

Start with small steps. Depending on your business’ size, the duties may rest with you, your employee, or an advertising agency that possesses expertise in social media marketing; or perhaps a combination of all three. Social networking is not costly, thus removing any barriers to entry.

You can commence by conducting some audience research and understanding what sites your candidates, and even clients, are visiting. That’s where you can reach, and ultimately, connect with them.

In order to build a good network, you must start with an impressive online profile of your business giving candidates the reason to acknowledge, accept and finally follow you. When it’s time to connect, its important to engage with your audience as opposed to pushing them into a relationship. The online world is like the real world. People want to listen or follow you when you’re interesting, informative, even exciting. Through ‘posting’, ‘sharing’ or ‘blogging’, you can expose others to news articles, events, videos, seminars and items of interest that they couldn’t access easily themselves. If executed well, you become instantly relevant and your network, which will grow through word-of-mouth, is one that members / candidates can come to depend on.

Remember, with social networking you are effectively ‘soft selling’ your company by position it as the news and information authority. When it comes time for a ‘hard’ sell, such as a new job you need filled, your audience is much more likely to be receptive to your message.

Tender Writing

One of the most important and often overlooked steps in the tender writing process is the planning of your proposal and the arguments supporting it.

It is not uncommon for tender writers to go straight to the response schedule without first examining other relevant sections in the document. Don’t forget that information critical to your bid may be scattered throughout the RFP document in sections relating to selection criteria, pricing, scope of works and even contractual requirements.

It is critical to study the evaluation criteria including the weighting assigned to each criterion as this will be an invaluable guide on what to emphasize in your proposal. It is also important to closely examine the statement of requirement because the narrative you provide in response will largely determine the success of your proposal (assuming you comply with the basic requirements of the tender and your pricing structure is reasonable).

Once you have read through the proposal in detail it’s important to prepare a proposal timeline to ensure the RFP is completed on time. This step is best done with a team of peers, colleagues and stakeholders because it is rare that a successful proposal will be prepared by an individual, without input from other team members. In preparing a timeline work backwards from the proposal date leaving plenty of time for copying, binding and delivering the proposal (including considering any electronic submission requirements). Also bear in mind that not all members of the tender writing team will have equal time to devote to the proposal because of their varying day to day work requirements, so perhaps assign an overall project co-ordinator to help ensure you stick to the timeline.