Key takeaways:
- Consistency in metrics: Even during hiring freezes, tracking key metrics like engagement rates and cost per quality application (CPQA) is crucial for proving the value of talent marketing efforts.
- Maximize internal resources: Leverage employee brand advocates, internal creative teams, and partnerships with other departments to maintain brand visibility while minimizing costs.
- Long-term employer branding: Maintaining a strong employer brand during hiring slowdowns builds a pipeline of engaged candidates, which reduces time-to-hire when recruitment resumes.
In times of hiring freezes or slowdowns, the role of talent marketing becomes even more critical, though often more challenging to justify.
With fewer immediate hires, talent marketing leaders are tasked with proving the long-term value of their initiatives to maintain essential resources and executive buy-in.
During our panel on sustaining talent marketing initiatives during hiring slowdowns, heads of employer brand and recruitment marketing shared their insights on how to effectively demonstrate the ROI of their initiatives when hiring is paused.
We’ll provide actionable strategies from Talent Marketing Board members on how to navigate hiring slowdowns while continuing to showcase the impact of your efforts.
1. Leverage Key Metrics During Hiring Slowdowns
Even when hiring slows, the key metrics talent marketing teams rely on remain crucial to demonstrating ROI.
For organic social, the biggest metric for us is engagement rate, which is computed by all the comments, reactions, likes, etc., divided by impressions.
Len Abbazia, Verizon
Len Abbazia, Associate Director of Recruitment Marketing at Verizon, emphasized that despite a hiring freeze, “metrics don’t really change.” Len stressed the importance of holding media accountable, using engagement rates for organic social media and cost per quality application (CPQA) for paid campaigns.
“For organic social, the biggest metric for us is engagement rate, which is computed by all the comments, reactions, likes, etc., divided by impressions,” Len said. “That gives a good indicator of how our content is resonating.”
He also noted that, on the paid side, Verizon focuses on quality applications by tracking CPQA — those applications that meet or exceed job requirements.
Even when hiring slows down, there are so many other things impacted other than hires.
Keshama Hart, Ally
Similarly, Keshama Hart, Talent Sourcing and Diversity Recruiting Manager at Ally, highlighted that her team prioritizes the same key metrics.
“Even when hiring slows down, there are so many other things impacted other than hires,” she said.
2. Highlight the Power of Employer Branding Beyond Immediate Hires
According to Allie Amenta, Vice President and Head of Employer Brand Marketing at Citizens, hiring pauses provide a valuable opportunity to optimize career sites and test content strategies that may not have been possible during busy hiring periods.
“We tend to spend more time looking at our career site with content we haven’t touched in a while,” Allie shared, highlighting the importance of maintaining a strong online presence.
Len added that his team places emphasis on referral traffic from social platforms, pointing to their career site or careers blog to gauge interest and brand health.
“We measure some of that referral traffic as well and have strong SEO presence to draw organic eyeballs to our career site,” he explained.
Building talent pools is another key strategy during slowdowns. Keshama pointed out that even if immediate hires aren’t being made, tracking job alert sign-ups and CRM growth helps maintain a pipeline of potential candidates.
“While that might not be a hire right now, those individuals are in our pipeline with interest,” she explained, underscoring the value of nurturing relationships for future recruitment efforts.
Metrics like impressions, follower growth, and engagement still offer a way to track brand resonance, even without immediate hires.
3. Maximize Internal Resources to Sustain Talent Marketing
During hiring slowdowns, many organizations are faced with tightening budgets, making it essential to maximize internal resources. Len shared how his team relies on employee advocates to promote the employer brand across social channels.
We have a very close partnership with our enterprise social team. They sometimes offer budget to boost career content, which helps us extend our reach without spending additional dollars.
Allie Amenta, Citizens
This strategy allows them to continue showcasing their employer brand authentically, without additional spending.
“We have a whole pool of employee brand advocates that have strong social influence, and we guide them to promote our employer brand across their channels. That’s like free advertising,” Len explained.
He also highlighted the use of internal resources such as videographers and photographers to create authentic content, noting that Verizon’s career site has 100% employee-generated imagery, eliminating the need for stock photos.
Allie added that leveraging internal creative resources is key. Her team uses an in-house studio for photo and video content, reducing reliance on external agencies.
“We take a lot of pride in our authentic employee photography,” Allie said. “It adds real value to the brand while saving on external costs.”
Another cost-saving strategy involves collaborating with other departments, such as social media teams, to boost career content without increasing the talent marketing budget.
“We have a very close partnership with our enterprise social team. They sometimes offer budget to boost career content, which helps us extend our reach without spending additional dollars,” Allie explained.
4. Maintain Leadership Buy-In During Hiring Freezes
Maintaining leadership support for talent marketing initiatives is critical when hiring is slow. Both Len and Allie emphasized the importance of keeping executives informed and involved in the progress of recruitment marketing efforts.
Len stressed the value of consistent communication with leadership, even when there’s no immediate hiring need.
“You don’t want to just tap your executives when you need something,” he said. “Bring them along for the full ride. Keep them informed about what recruitment marketing efforts are happening throughout the year, so they can be your advocates.”
Allie shared similar sentiments, highlighting the importance of leadership understanding the value of employer branding.
“We have strong buy-in from our CHRO and other leaders who believe in the value of our EVP and brand,” she explained. “Having a solid relationship with leadership makes it easier to secure resources when you need them.”
Keshama reinforced the need for data-driven conversations to maintain leadership interest.
“We have a monthly cadence where we bring all the data, lay out our wins, and show how the work we’re doing now will impact hiring in the future,” she added. “Even during a hiring slowdown, we showcase how the employer brand efforts today will pay off when positions open up again.”
We demonstrate how our employer brand efforts build awareness and build a pool of quality applicants, which decreases the time to fill jobs later on.
Len Abbazia, Verizon
5. Demonstrate the Long-Term Value of Employer Branding
Proving the long-term value of employer branding efforts is crucial when immediate hiring isn’t happening. During the panel, Len emphasized the importance of showing how branding efforts contribute to building a pipeline of qualified candidates.
“We demonstrate how our employer brand efforts build awareness and build a pool of quality applicants, which decreases the time to fill jobs later on,” Len explained.
Keshama also pointed out how the work done now can have a significant impact later.
“We know that response rates are higher when candidates are already engaged with your employer brand,” Keshama said. “So, when our sourcing team looks for passive talent, they often turn to candidates who have already interacted with our content.”
Allie added that data from platforms like Glassdoor can also be valuable in demonstrating long-term ROI.
“We constantly look at Glassdoor as a sounding board,” Allie said. “Is the work we’re doing actually resonating with candidates? Are reviews on Glassdoor in line with our messaging?”
This ongoing measurement ensures that the brand message remains consistent and credible.
6. Benchmark with Your Peers Leading Talent Marketing
Proving the ROI of talent marketing during hiring freezes requires a focus on long-term goals, data-driven insights, and the ability to maximize internal resources.
By maintaining strong employer branding, nurturing talent pipelines, and communicating regularly with leadership, talent marketing leaders can demonstrate the ongoing value of their efforts.
For heads of employer brand and recruitment marketing looking for more actionable insights on navigating their top challenges, the Talent Marketing Board provides an exclusive, vendor-free space to benchmark with your peers.
Our members meet daily to share best practices for navigating hiring slowdowns, managing talent communities, and other top talent marketing initiatives.
Apply to learn more about joining the Talent Marketing Board.
