Sprague’s multi-faceted online presence designed to attract top talent

Leila Haas

When seeking new hires, a company’s online presence is critical. Its website, social media posts, and reviews from customers and employees reflect whether a job there is worth pursuing.

Leila Haas, director of People Operations at Sprague Pest Solutions in Tacoma, Wash., says the 95-year-old company has long had a “Careers” page on its website. With 265 employees who serve nine states — Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana and California — a carefully crafted online presence helps attract a diverse pool of potential employees.

“It’s really helpful just to have an online presence,” she says. “People are going to search for employment across myriad platforms, so making sure you leverage all those different avenues is one of the best ways to get your name out there.”

While companies can choose how much to spend on online job postings, the amount doesn’t matter, she says, as much as implementing a strategic plan for hiring new employees.

“It’s really important to have a strategic plan, where you align all of those different facets so they clearly demonstrate your culture,” Haas says. “And that’s something that is not easily captured because it comes in many different forms.”

For example, potential employees will read reviews on GlassDoor.com, a website that features company reviews from former and current employees, to get a sense of employee satisfaction. They also will check out reviews on job search sites like Indeed.com. On many of these websites, it’s free for companies to set up a page and update company data, because these websites want companies to expand their presence there. It’s an opportunity not to be missed.

“In the past three years, there hasn’t been a single job interview that I’ve participated in where someone hasn’t mentioned our ratings that they’ve read online,” she says. “A lot of the smaller organizations miss out on the opportunities they have to get their names out there, and that’s one area on which they can have a huge impact.”

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT MATTER

LOGO: SPRAGUE

In addition, job candidates will visit your company’s website and social media platforms. Make sure your content appeals to the workers you want to attract. For example, if hiring more veterans is your goal, include text and photos that show them or highlights benefits in which they would be interested.

“Every picture and graphic you choose should be thought of carefully, to make sure you are helping convey who you are as a company and attracting the right talent,” Haas adds.

A company can help attract top talent by asking current employees to share their successes and positive experiences in testimonials. Letting the world know how much your employees love your organization will help attract even more high-quality candidates, Haas says.

In addition, Haas says she receives Google notifications whenever Sprague Pest Solutions is mentioned in a review, so she can see what job candidates are seeing. “You can choose to engage and write responses to reviews,” she says. “You also can Google other pest control companies to check out your competitors.”

For companies that do not have a dedicated human resources department, Haas says, all is not lost. She recommends joining the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) for a nominal fee. “It’s not just going to help you with recruiting, it will help with your overall business alignment with human resources, making sure you’re up-to-date,” she explains. “There’s an abundance of information that can be helpful, including trends, templates and webinars. No matter what size your organization, joining SHRM more than pays for itself.”

Consider all of your options, Haas advises. Because job candidates often seek out more than one source when researching companies, craft a plan that encompasses your company’s entire online presence. “If you want to focus on getting top talent,” she says, “it’s important to take a multi-faceted approach.”