Making Connections, Modernizing Recruitment

When it comes to recruitment, government has a wonderful story to tell, but trouble getting people to listen. And yet individuals, especially from younger generations, want mission-oriented careers that align with their personal priorities. The government “brand,” so to speak, would be a natural fit.

To attract and retain a dedicated, talented, modernized workforce, agencies must say “the right things to the right people at the right time,” said Charlotte Lee, Strategic Lead for Customer Experience and Innovation, Granicus Experience Group (GXG), Granicus, a team within Granicus that helps government entities connect with customers using its digital citizen-engagement platform. “There has to be more of a concerted effort to … make people aware of … the impact and mission of government…”

Strategic Communication

In general, major federal programs need roughly 6,000 job applicants in order to hire eight candidates, Lee said. So, if you think of the hiring process as a funnel, agencies must broadcast job opportunities to a very wide audience and then use what she calls the “power of nudges” — i.e., reminders and status updates — to guide people down through the hiring process.

It’s a broad yet targeted strategy, and it breaks down into what Lee calls “four phases of communication” that trace the employee experience: awareness, consideration, decision, and engagement and retention. Granicus supports public agencies through all four stages, she said.

For instance, Granicus helped the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) modernize its external recruitment efforts for specialized roles, such as bridge engineers, by using Granicus’ govDelivery, network benefits, and solution consulting.

Recruitment messages became more engaging, featured personal employee stories, and generated a more enthusiastic response from recipients. It was an innovative approach that reached audiences in modern ways, and it ultimately made hiring easier.

The Role of Data

Granicus also helped ODOT with other constituent communications that benefited the public and modernized the work of department staff. Engagement rates jumped by 64% — in part, because ODOT analyzed data to understand what resonated with its audience.

Engagement also creates a positive experience “when employees are given technology and information that is relevant at the right time,” said Lee. Audiences soon see that agencies are respecting how people want to receive and submit information and actually remember the information that people already provided. It’s the idea of “respect me, remember me, respond to me,” she explained.

And survey responses are only one way of gauging sentiment. Lee suggests that looking at live metrics actually better indicates who’s being engaged and how they are responding.

While government will always struggle with bureaucracy, and public-sector hiring may lag that of private industry, agencies often can do more to draw talented people to government and compel them to stay.

The employee experience can be personally and professionally transformative, Lee said. Individuals just need to know what’s available.

This article appears in our guide, “How to Kickstart Modernization.” For more ideas about how to make the case for modernization that agency leaders and legislators find compelling, download it here:

Image by Drazen Zigic on Freepik