Effective Job Descriptions Help Employee Referrals

By Author: Savio Vadakkan
Total Articles: 58
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A job description provides the benchmark to evaluate an employee’s success on the job, recognize his achievements vis a vis the stated objectives and in worst case scenarios let go of him for failing to meet the objectives laid down in the job description. A job description basically captures the skills, experiences, personal attributes and other characteristics required for a person to be able to perform the particular job effectively. Earlier job descriptions simply detailed out the position specifics including job title and function, responsibilities, grade level, qualifications and experience required etc in a rather prosaic manner. Modern day recruiting with its heavy focus on employee referrals and social media for recruiting has made it extremely important to create engaging job descriptions by emphasizing on key characteristics and opportunities.

The biggest nightmare for recruiters is to attract the right candidates to apply for open positions within the company. Also, a wrong hire can prove immensely costly to the company, a big reason why employee referrals as a source of hiring have gained so much popularity. ...
... Employees have first- hand knowledge of the job and culture of the company and are likely to recommended like minded people to the job who fit both the job requirements as well as the company environment. But getting employees to refer others is easier said than done and needs a well thought out process that makes it easy for employees to link jobs to people and to refer them internally with a suitable built in reward for them for the effort involved.

A successful employee referral program is the sum total of interconnected elements well woven together to make the whole process a win-win situation for employers and employees alike. However the starting point of any recruitment activity and which ultimately plays a large part in determining whether you manage to hire right is building a Job description which captures as accurately as possible, the requirements of the job.

Modern times demand highly focused and targeted Job Descriptions aimed at attracting a select group of candidates, unlike the long winded ones in vogue earlier. An ideal job description should go beyond the generic details to input the really important components of the job.
A typical job description aimed at motivating employees to refer their connections offline or through social media postings should cover:

• A typical day in office

• Include specific details regarding the job role and responsibilities in a format that is easy to read, understand and share

• Create a cultural context or image of the company and why they should choose to work with them over another. Include details on the work environment, ethics and culture of the organization to build a human connect

• Structure and Organize the job description to ensure information is structured and flows seamlessly from one category to another. Give suitable headings to structure different categories of information.

• Write creatively using captions and phrases to keep the employee or candidate engaged and excited about referring or applying for the position and the company

• Input Keywords and filters in job posting to ensure search is easy and relevant

• Include Criteria for measuring performance

• Mention the additional materials a candidate can submit, such as a work portfolio or a recommendation

• Specify who is in charge of hiring in case an employee or candidate has some queries regarding the particular job

• Detail out the steps in the hiring process

• Incorporate technology to ensure job descriptions are able to leverage the power of employee referrals and social media to attract the right candidates to the job. Use of interactive media, videos and graphics in job postings make the content shareable and increase the likelihood of employees sharing the job link with their connections enabling the content to go viral and attract talent.

Any form of content that is both engaging and easily shareable is what is ultimately going to attract job seekers and job descriptions will also have to follow suit to ensure that they manage to reach the largest pool of talent possible. Job descriptions in the form of blogs are also quickly catching on as part of this trend to make for quick reading and easy sharing on the job and company. Ultimately job descriptions are likely to make their way into social networks with blogs, status updates, tweets and texts to stay relevant to the next generation of job seekers who are more likely to expect interactive job descriptions which are able to provide them with instant answers to their questions.

Leave us a comment to let us know what you think about the importance of job descriptions while attracting employee referrals.

You can read more on latest trends and technologies in recruitment on http://www.zalp.com/theemployeereferralblog/

Author Bio

Savio Vadakkan is the Marketing Professional at ZALP, a unique employee referrals booster. ZALP helps organizations tap the full potential of their employee referral program using advanced social media for recruiting, employee referrals and social media and interesting features like gamification.