The B2B marketing world is moving fast.
New skills gaps are appearing at an increasing rate (how quickly can you produce, edit, publish and share a podcast episode?) – while the trusted skillsets of old are slowly becoming obsolete (just look at how search engine giants like Google have changed their algorithms, voiding numerous legacy SEO practices).
In short, what’s your strategy to stay ahead?
With a complex mix of skills to balance – spanning creative, analytics, digital, MarTech, planning and more – sourcing candidates in B2B marketing can be a long and delicate process. Throw increasingly savvy candidates who are getting harder to reach into the mix, and you have yourself a situation that could really make or break the future success of your business.
Here are just a few tips that won’t go out of date. Ask yourself these questions whenever you’re expanding your team to get the most out of your recruitment investments.
1. Do you know exactly what you need – and are you communicating it clearly?
Speak to your teams to clarify exactly what role you need to fill, and with what skillsets. Then be really clear about what you need – it will save you hours of pouring over poorly matched CVs and needing to brief recruiters multiple times. Failing to be clear and confident in your direction can give a bad candidate experience and burn bridges with prospects and recruiters.
2. Are you looking for people even better than you?
It can be easy to fall into a habit of hiring people who are the same as you; it’s what you know and trust after all. Break outside of your comfort zone to drive growth and, like Steve Jobs said; “Hire smart people and let them tell you what to do.”
3. Are you keeping your company culture front of mind?
Yes, skills are important. But don’t let this alone cloud your judgement if the cultural fit isn’t there. Building your business on the right culture can really help promote growth from the inside out.
4. Are you looking beyond the B2B community?
The B2B community is small and sometimes looking outside of the market can bring fresh ideas and new approaches. Don’t be afraid to consider candidates with a background in B2C or the third sector – a passion and understanding of B2B can be nurtured as part of their role with you.
5. Do you go by gut instinct alone?
Make sure each of you and your team work from the same script of questions so you don’t use unconscious bias when selecting candidates – ensuring your choice is based on facts.
Finding good candidates is much like reaching B2B buyers – see it as demand generation for new talent. By working with skilled recruiters who are at the forefront of sourcing strategies you can leap-frog some of these many challenges, and build the workforce you need to achieve your business vision.
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