The Social Recruitment Monitor places Marriott in the top ten for recruiting on both Facebook and Twitter. The SRM also ranks the hotel chain as 21st in the country on YouTube and 38th on Instagram. Last week, its six Facebook posts garnered a total of 1,889 likes, 180 comments, and 336 shares. Let’s check in to Marriott and check out how they engage job-seekers in such successful and innovative ways.
Making a game of it
In 2011, Marriott was one of the first major brands to embrace gamification in its talent acquisition. Rather than just explaining what it’s like to work in a hotel, the company created My Marriott Hotel, which simulates a day in the busy hotel kitchen. Players must hire and train chefs, buy ingredients and cookware, and field meal orders, while keeping within a time limit and a fixed budget. The goal was to “recruit staff with little exposure to the lodging industry,” as the Washington Postput it, and it worked: The game attracted more than 50,000 users from 120 countries.
The Takeaway: Marriott’s game accomplished two things — it helped the company stand out from its competitors and it gave job-seekers a glimpse of what their job would actually be like. Differentiation and transparency are important pillars for successful employer branding, so look for opportunities that can apply to your own organization. What sets you apart? Is your brand young and hip? Classic and stable? Bold and curious? And how can you accurately convey what it’s like to work for you? Think about a “day in the life” video, employee testimonials, a blog from the C-suite, or a photo gallery on Pinterest.
Expecting the best from employees
One of my favorite things about Marriott’s social recruiting is that it’s fearless. The company poses difficult questions, on its public Facebook page, to its employees and job-seekers (both audiences are served by the page). A Facebook post such as “It’s Bill Marriott’s 82nd birthday! We’d like to leave him 82 birthday wishes below,” is virtually begging for inappropriate or sarcastic responses from workers. But all I see is a lot of love for the man and his namesake company — and for the job itself. And I also see 1,378 likes, 175 shares, and dozens of nice, fun, sincere replies from a proud, satisfied workforce.
Sure, birthday wishes are one thing. But Marriott posts a series of work-related questions in a series called #WhatWouldYouDo? In January, the question was: “You receive a phone call from a guest complaining about a baby crying in the room next door, but the hotel is at 100% capacity and you can’t move them. What Would You Do?” Did employees take the opportunity to complain about hotel policy or unreasonable guests? No — they suggested all sorts of remedies. I count 45 replies, some of which generated their own replies from other employees. And 79 Facebook likes.
The Takeaway: Another one-two punch from Marriott. These questions and unedited answers engage employees and serve as powerful internal engagement. But it also shows candidates the sort of respect and honesty they can expect when they join the company, and the challenges they’ll face on a daily basis. It even speaks to me as a hotel guest, showing me that Marriott’s staff look at problems from every angle. Can you be as bold as Marriott in speaking to employees and potential employees? What do you want to ask them? What do you want to say to them? Try it!
Eye-catching visual content for any audience
Marriott has scores of videos on its recruiting YouTube channel. Some are immensely valuable to job-seekers, such as How to Prepare for a Job Interview and How Long Should My Résumé Be? I’m a huge fan of the Ritz-Carlton “The Art of the Craft” series, beautiful-looking videos that show what it’s like to be a concierge, housekeeper, chef, steward, and other positions in the hotel. Interestingly, the most popular video on Marriott’s channel is Applying to a Job @ Marriott: How to Set Up a User Account (93,538 views).
Marriott is one of the few big brands recruiting on Instagram as well. The company takes full advantage of its picturesque locations, with photos of beaches, sunsets, and gorgeous buildings. But it also shows employees at their jobs, attending events, and having fun, and runs a #CaptionThis contest for funny pictures. How many recruiting websites show their employees sleeping on the job?
The Takeaway: A picture is worth a thousand words; a video is worth maybe a million. How can you use YouTube, Vine, Instagram, or Pinterest to speak to job-seekers? Consider interviewing your employees, giving a tour of your office — or your neighborhood; where do employees have lunch? Show off your products, your successes, your employee events. Anything that seems like a “sneak peek” behind the scenes of your workplace or factory is always attractive. If you want to have a little fun and add some music, your video might even go viral. That kind of recruitment advertising is priceless.
From clever games to honest communications to compelling videos, I name Marriott a Social Media Recruiting Superstar!
My agency, Brandemix, specializes in employer branding, social media recruiting, and online talent acquisition. If you’d like to discuss using innovative strategies and targeted content to target your top talent, contact us.
Jason Ginsburg is Director of Interactive Branding at Brandemix.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
