Recruiting practices impact brand image?

Over the past several months I have been fortunate to have seen a different side of some of my (once) favored brands… their HR departments. As I have waded through the crowded waters of the Bay Area’s funemployed pool of candidates, my resume and always hand crafted cover letter have gone out to a handful of new to me companies as well as some of my tried and true, known and loved brands, the latter of which are the focus of this post. There is a LinkedIn Q&A thread here as well… similar sentiments.

I believe in the simple notion of a Net Promoter Score… basically, if you are a big fan of a company or product, you will recommend or promote it. If you are blah, then it is a wash. If you are less than happy you detract from that brand and likely steer anyone who will listen away.

Some companies I really like did nothing but make me a stronger net promoter (ie move from 9 to 10 out of 10). Others have shown disregard and not even provided a polite ‘no thank you’ email in response to my request. I know they are busy, but really? That busy? They can’t even send a one-liner to an enthusiastic supporter? That is tough… especially when most of them tout an amazing work culture and very supportive atmosphere…

So who got it right? PopChips is a local to SF company that puts out a great product I enjoy… they are also a company that lives up to the fun brand image even behind the scenes. While they politely said no to employment, they turned me on to free samples & coupons (which I have shared) and included me in product surveys for upcoming options. HELL YES this company is cooler in my eyes because of that. HELL YES if they call tomorrow and say, “Hey, still looking for work? We want to hire you.” I will answer a resounding “where do I sign.”

Who else?  Zappos, of course.  They are basically the ambassadors of strong company culture.  It even says ‘Powered by Service in their logo.  And they really live it.  One of their recruiters spent time with me reviewing interview strategy to look for company culture traits, something very important to me (and them) even though I was not going to move to Vegas and work for them.  Further, they sent me a book on their company culture (put out annually), and asked me to go for a scholarship to a culture retreat (which, unfortunately, I did not win).  But all that combined make me enthusiastically supportive of their brand.

My hat is off to these two great examples of creating a positive experience even if a new job is not the end result.

Who got it wrong? Lots of folks. Digg hasn’t responded further than an automated ‘resume received’ notification from their application site, even though I followed up directly with them a few days later. Twitter, similar story. I know both of these companies are internet wonder-kids and likely very busy… but come on! They are also alleged champions of dot-com culture and cool, fun work environments. But not just super famous names: Atlassian, a software company focused on WOW customer service? It took several follow-ups to get a one liner several weeks later. A recruiter CONTACTED ME and then couldn’t even tell me the name of the hiring company… NOT EVEN AFTER A WEEK, FOUR MORE EMAILS AND A PHONE INTERVIEW.  All I know is that a some software company in Denver is not very comitted to their employees but trying to hire a rep in SF… sorta, anyway. What is this? How is it that a company is willing to leave so many potential enthusiastic promoters (hell, potential employees) out in the cold?

What will the fallout of this be?  I think that companies that treat people like people and not a piece of paper to be tossed aside amidst the others will win big… not only will they be more likely to reel in prime candidates, but they will be able to use their HR department to cultivate supplemental marketing by creating supporters of the brand.

Which would you prefer:

“Sorry, John Doe, it doesn’t seem a great fit… but here are some companies we work with that might be better for you.  If you know anyone that may fit here (or shop here or buy our widget or whetever), please feel free to send them along.  We offer referral compensation!  Good luck!”

or:

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Have fun out there, I am trying to… ~N