You’ve worked hard to find the right college hires this past Fall on campus and now you have 6 to 9 months before they begin as your employee. A lot can happen between now and onboarding. You don’t want to lose this student to another organization so it’s crucial that you build a deeper relationship with these new hires by showing personal interest in them. Make them feel a part of your organization during their last semester in college. This continued proactive communication is even more important today. We share some ideas on how to “love” those senior new hires, so you don’t “lose” them.
Here is the WHY:
Staying in Touch:
- Offers your candidates, with offers accepted, a great experience to share positively with others.
- Demonstrates to your campus partners that you are committed to a best-in-class recruiting program that nurtures the new hires.
- Builds relationships to enhance your hiring pipeline for tomorrow.
It will take some creativity to plan proactive connections. We are challenged with the use of virtual recruiting and no campus visits to use coffee chats, company presentations, and other in-person events. Yet, we can implement proactive communications during this pandemic with fun, engaging and informative group activities. Today, we need to commit to a process of continued contacts through a cadence of communication with monthly touchpoints to showcase both your company culture and your interest in the career success of these students.
Some HOW Ideas:
- Set up a Facebook or LinkedIn group so the new hires can meet and connect with each other.
- Host live events for this group and connect them to others at your company.
- Assign a peer buddy for additional connections.
- Share information about handling finances and insurance:
- It’s tax time for everyone, including students. Host a live Q&A session about filing income taxes.
- Discuss the benefits of medical insurance and how to analyze different plans.
- Have a fun live Trivia Game, with prizes. Company branded swag is always popular!
- Let the group know ahead what the Trivia topic will be to build some healthy competition.
- Have each person share one Fun Fact with the group.
- Ask them to show images, pictures of their activities or fun fact.
- Collect and publish a song list of everyone’s favorites
- Send Care Packages with tangible items in the mail with a handwritten note.
- Include relevant and helpful items in Care Packages, like “The Power of WHY” by Simon Sinek.
Summary
Keeping your College Hires engaged over the extended time between Hire and First Day is key to your college recruitment success. It will take some planning, time, and input for your company leaders, yet your efforts will be rewarded with positive experiences connecting with them AND enhance your success rate for Onboarding First Day Shows. Remember, College Recruiting doesn’t stop after the offer is accepted and if you don’t take the time to “love” them, you may “lose” a few of them. You are building meaningful relationships for your future workforce and contributing to your company’s growth.