When you’re in the market for a new ride, you ask a car nut for advice. When you’re looking for a good cookie recipe, you go to grandma. When you want to learn more about a career with a certain company, you ask someone who works there.
This “ask-the-expert” approach has worked well for the IRS Recruitment Office. From YouTube to universities, our employees are on the front lines of our recruitment and marketing efforts.
The IRS has several employee testimonial videos on YouTube – all starring actual employees. Rather than hired actors, these employees give first-hand accounts of what it’s like to work at the IRS in several positions – including a revenue agent or criminal investigator.
Then there are all the people posing on our website and in our brochures. Those aren’t models staring back at you – they are IRS employees. Using employees has several benefits. First, it shows how diverse our work force is. It also engages employees in our recruitment and marketing efforts. Finally, it’s less expensive than hiring professional models.
When it comes to recruitment outreach, our employees aren’t just posing for us, they are also promoting us. The IRS recently launched a new program allowing employees to attend job fairs or other career events with our recruiters around the country.
Including employees in our marketing and recruitment outreach has been a win-win for everyone involved. People currently on our payroll get the chance to discuss their passion for public service, and prospective personnel get a first-hand account of an IRS career from the people who know it best – our employees.
How does your organization involve employees in marketing?
Recruitment 411 is the official blog of the IRS Recruitment Office.
Great post, Julie. US Geological Survey is doing some innovative things with Facebook, placing their employees on the front lines of the conversations: https://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/usgss-new-approach-to-facebook
Another Facebook example comes out of the UK: http://www.facebook.com/teach