5 Examples of Talent Communities in 2020

The way you attract top talent is one of the most critical components of a modern talent acquisition strategy.  And the way you present your employer brand and the opportunities you provide, set the tone for the overall candidate experience.

Enter: career pages and talent communities.

Career pages are one of the most valuable resources candidates use when researching a company. And like any other part of your website, people expect a high-quality web experience when they are considering your company as a potential employer.

A talent community on the other hand, is a medium enabling companies to connect with candidates who aren’t necessarily ready to apply for one of your openings but are interested in getting to know you more. Generally, talent communities are more focused on two-way engagements between an employer and potential candidates.  

When done correctly, talent communities convert career site visitors into a database where they are nurtured over time with content and when appropriate, funneled into your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) . The best are not one-way streets.

Here are 5 examples of companies who turn their recruiting efforts into branding opportunities by focusing on 1:1 interactions with prospective candidates:

1. Zappos Insider Program

Zappos launched a talent community, the Zappos Insider program, in 2014 as an effort to improve its outdated hiring practices. While Zappos was getting over 30,000 job applications, they were only hiring just over 300 of them. This meant a poor candidate experience, inefficient use of recruiter’s time, and a total missed opportunity to engage talent in more meaningful ways.

Zappos Insider program completely flipped the script on their recruiting goals and strategies. Their team now focuses on developing long-term relationships with prospects with the intent to keep conversations exploratory for as long as needed so that both sides get to know each other.

Rather than applying to a specific position, Zappos encourages prospects to become an Insider to better understand what it’s like to work at Zappos. Recruiters and candidates are having much more exploratory and open-ended conversations which leaves candidates with a lasting positive impression and greater affinity for the brand. And in return, Zappos is creating a pipeline of candidates for which to turn to when positions do become available. 

2. Under Armour

When we first started working with Under Armour, they didn’t want to just recruit more candidates. They wanted to diversify their applicant pool so they could recruit the absolute best candidates.

Under Armour’s campus recruiting efforts looked all too familiar – expensive and time-consuming with limited opportunities to engage with diverse talent across different majors, geographies and schools.

Through their Turazo talent acquisition network, Under Armour leverages their existing university relationships while also building strategic partnerships with schools that serve predominantly minority populations. Through these efforts and by leveraging their Turazo platform, they’ve gone from interacting with 20 schools a year to over 200. 

“Through the platform, we’ve been able to identify talented students who could be future interns in our programs. The platform has become an additional recruiting tool giving students the opportunity to have direct connections with our employees through real, one-on-one conversations. Many students have given feedback on campus that the conversations are meaningful, impactful and give them better visibility into their future career paths.” – Bryan Kaminski, Director of Talent Acquisition Programs, Under Armour

Once an invitation is accepted, student prospects and Under Armour employees are set up to engage one-on-one, immediately –  all from the convenience of their own phone or computer. 

Under Armour’s use of Turazo’s fully integrated suite of engagement tools, like content, newsletters, and video updates, have allowed UnderArmour to keep their prospective candidates engaged, before, during and after the point at which a job offer is made. It’s a true example of a talent community approach where both parties are active. Check out our recent Under Armour Case Study below. 

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3. Corning

One of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, Corning’s career page has a plethora of resources. From videos to articles to awards and more, they make it very easy to see real humans that work there and what the culture is like. 

For those looking for a little more, Corning’s talent community is called Corning Talent Connect. Members of Corning Talent Connect receive exclusive invitations to join in online discussions with Corning employees and other thought leaders in the industry, hear the latest Corning news, participate in learning opportunities, and be the first to know about career updates at Corning.

4. IBM

Like Corning, IBM ‘s employment page is pulling double duty. Not only does it have a robust career page that introduces you to employees, but there is also a talent community option that gives prospects a chance to connect with the company before they apply. They even have a very helpful FAQ where they are fairly transparent about the application process. 

According to a study conducted by Clear Company, transparency matters—applicants who feel more well-informed about the company they’re applying to, the hiring process itself, and the status of their application, are 35% more satisfied with the process.

5. Dormify

Dormify, an online retail store specializing in stylish dorm room decor and furniture, has a unique student ambassador program called Dormifam. High school, college students, and post-graduate students are encouraged to apply for the program in order to receive $20 in Dormify cash for every person they refer. 

What makes this ambassador program unique is that they give Dormifam members first access to job and internship opportunities. Amanda Zuckerman, co-founder of Dormify said “we post roles on The Muse job site, and then let our Dormifam Facebook group know about them a few days before we post them to other job platforms like LInkedIn.” She goes on to say “That has helped us fill customer experience associate roles and countless internship positions.” 

Dormify’s talent community is a great example of how to leverage your most loyal fans into helping you spread the word about your products and producing a talent pipeline for when you need to fill important positions.

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These five examples of company career pages and talent communities all have one very important thing in common: the crux of their programs rely on 1:1 interactions between potential candidates and current employees.

Building authentic relationships with candidates – often before they are even considering employment – allows these companies to more effectively share all the reasons they are an ideal place for someone to begin their career.

In today’s hyper competitive job market, you can’t rely on the best talent to organically apply for your open positions. Long term success requires a proactive recruiting strategy that focuses on building real relationships and nurturing candidates earlier in the process. 

Does your company create a system where you nurture interested candidates and actively build a relationship with them? We’d love to hear about it! Drop us a note in the comments below or contact us directly.