The wood pallet industry is made up of a wide variety of companies from the mom-and-pop pallet yards to the multi-national corporations with headquarters and branches in all parts of the world. Frequently the biggest thing these organizations have in common is the challenge of recruiting and hiring new talent. This article will explore some effective ways to make sure you reach potential new hires with your website.
A Responsive Website
A company website is the digital equivalent of the Swiss Army knife. It serves various functions like being a customer service portal, a communications hub, a showcase for your company, and a way for those seeking a new job to go and learn more about your organization.
In today’s digital world that job search is very often conducted with a smartphone in hand. In fact, more than 50% of worldwide users surf the internet on a handheld device now. Which means having a mobile-ready responsive website is vitally important.
Check the images on your website. They may render fine on a desktop or laptop computer but can look differently on a mobile phone due to the phone’s browser. Make sure to properly size and reduce the file size of the images. Large image file sizes can cause a web page to load slowly on a phone browser as well.
Job seekers expect a website to load quickly and display correctly on their device of choice. Slow load times are but a finger tap away for the user to move on to the next website. That is why you have to keep your site updated to serve the latest technology and ensure efficient loading speeds.
Navigation — Easy as 1-2-3
A fully customized website with eye-catching videos and text areas that scroll up and down can be a great showcase for your company, but it can also be confusing to navigate. Additionally, pop-ups may be great for capturing leads as they come to your website, but they can cause problems on a mobile browser and slow download speed.
The trick is to not bury company job listings in a hard-to-find link or sub-menu. Always have a menu bar or navigation tabs readily available on the website, either at the top or in the footer section (or both).
Why not include a “Careers” or “Apply Online” button or section on the homepage when trying to find that new candidate? This button or section can take visitors directly to the job listings page. It can be set up as a landing page with a call to action like an easy to complete application form or button to submit a resume.
Why Your Company?
Potential customers come to a website to learn more about the company. Those seeking a new job are doing the same thing. Job seekers are looking for basic information about the history of the company, the founders, important milestones and so on. They are trying to understand the culture of the company.
The website should provide a clear understanding of what the company values are and what the mission of the company is. This is a great way to show what is important to the company and how working there can be a great opportunity for a potential new hire.
A highly impactful way to incorporate this messaging can be accomplished with employee biographies and testimonials. These can be written and placed on the About page or even the Careers section where appropriate. Even better, try a video testimonial from a current employee and place it on the Careers page. This is a great way to give people insight into the experiences and skills gained by being an employee at the company. Videos can also effectively convey a sense of the company culture.
Connect the Network
Be aware that savvy job seekers will view more than just a company website. They will find the company on various social media channels and look at how the company interacts with the wider world. Those channels (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) should be updated regularly and can even be linked as a feed right on the company website.
One way to boost the value of social media channels is to provide a link from the social media page to a landing page on the website specifically designed for job listings and career information. This link and landing page combination can be easily monitored and will give clues on which channels are producing the most viable candidates for job openings
If the company website includes management and/or employee biographies or testimonials as mentioned above, these can be linked to their LinkedIn profile pages. Job seekers can use this to see who they may be working with at the company.
The company website is your communications hub with customers, suppliers, and job seekers. With a few minor tweaks that your website provider or manager can help you with, you can use it as a tool to connect with those looking for a new job opportunity.
For a small investment, your website can become your best recruiter – connecting you with new talent and improving the overall public image of your company.
Editor’s Note: Glenn Meeks is an expert on marketing and sales for the pallet and recycling industries. He currently offers website design and online marketing services tailored to the pallet industry. He can be reached at glenn.meeks@woodviewmedia.com or by calling 856-866-6055.
