The classic printed job advertisement in the business section of national newspapers has been dead for a long time – at least in some professions. While online job portals such as Monster and Indeed initially made life difficult for them, career networks such as Xing and LinkedIn are now also being used in personnel marketing – and increasingly also classic social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Can print shops also benefit from this “social media recruiting” trend?
It’s not easy to find the right people as employees. They have to have experience and, of course, plenty of expertise – and they also have to fit in well with the team. Someone who only understands his job in terms of trading time for money is usually out of place. Today, employees are needed who identify with the company, are enthusiastic about the cause, and are committed. The search for personnel is becoming increasingly complex, not only due to the requirements of companies, but also and above all due to the media usage behavior of potential candidates. The more multimedia a generation grows up, the more naturally it moves in the digital world, the more readily it can be reached via career networks and social media.
It’s no wonder that in the “Recruiting Trends 2020” study conducted by the Centre of Human Resources Information Systems (CHRIS) at the University of Bamberg and the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, both channels are highly favored by job seekers: At 32.3%, career networks such as Xing or LinkedIn make it into second place behind Internet job boards. And at 13.5%, social media platforms are already in the top ten of the most-used channels.
This has also been recognized by companies, which are increasingly positioning themselves in this area. For example, nearly two-thirds employ dedicated staff to maintain their social media channels, more than 61% align their recruitment efforts with social media, and over 40% have even said they have an explicit strategy for using social media in recruitment. Moreover, depending on which generation is to be addressed with a vacancy, the mix of channels turns out to be quite different. While Generation X mostly uses Xing and LinkedIn, Generation Z mainly relies on Facebook and Instagram to be reached by job offers.
But anyone who now believes that using Xing, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram is only something for the really big companies or those from certain industries is mistaken. In the printing industry, too, there are already numerous examples of successful employee recruitment via social media. For example, BaurOffset Print GmbH & Co. KG in Villingen-Schwenningen has had good experiences. “We chose the short and fast route via the social media channels in order to be able to achieve a result as quickly and unbureaucratically as possible. Through the sharing function, a great many people have also seen it,” explains Dirk Wöbcke, Managing Director of the company. The company, which is active in both offset and digital printing, relies primarily on Facebook and Instagram. “You can create a post relatively quickly without much effort, even from your cell phone – and at any time of day or night,” he says, describing the advantages.
And the disadvantages? There are always the occasional unflattering comments under the posts, “which don’t exactly contribute to advertising,” says Dirk Wöbcke. But you have to expect that in this day and age and with the choice of medium. Nevertheless, he would definitely recommend the use of social media for recruiting to other companies in the printing industry.
Texsib GmbH, a digital and large-format print shop in Beiersdorf in the southwesternmost corner of Saxony, also found its new “texperts,” as the company calls its employees, exclusively via Instagram this year. “We communicate very clearly online who we are and what we offer. This allows prospective employees to get a deep insight and check for themselves whether they really fit in with us,” explains Marketing Manager Judith Riecker. She has been on board at Texsib for just under two years and has – among other things – driven the development of the social media channels. Today, she regularly provides insights into the company’s everyday life with posts, reels, stories and short video clips on Instagram, YouTube and the like.
Because that’s part of it, too: Transparency, openness and authenticity. After all, social media is not just about simply posting the job ad on a new platform, but about showing yourself as a company, personally. After all, you are operating on a channel that people primarily use privately. For Texsib, at any rate, recruiting via social media has two positive aspects: Firstly, the platforms overcome regional, rural boundaries. In addition, “we only get cool, high-quality applications,” says Eric Bradatsch, second-generation managing director. That makes the selection more difficult in the end, but on the other hand, no position is filled just because of a shortage. And another nice side effect, which Texsib says it is already feeling, is that the effort required in the HR department to process applications is becoming more manageable, while growth is faster thanks to reduced management effort.
And along the way, companies like BaurOffset and Texsib are bringing the printing industry up to speed with their involvement on social media channels.
