Let’s face it, hybrid working is here to stay. Employees want it, organisations recognise the value of it and technology allows it. This means that many roles no longer need to be advertised or based in a specific location, making the London-centric charity market a thing of the past.

None of this probably comes as a surprise but it is backed up by the stats. In 2021 the Office of National Statistics reported that the proportion of working adults who did any work from home in 2020 increased to 37% from an average of 27% in 2019. Of those working adults that were homeworking, 85% wanted to use a “hybrid” approach of both home and office working in the future.

The current candidate market

As an advertising agency and recruitment consultancy, we are uniquely placed to understand the current job market from both sides of the spectrum. We know that there are more roles on the market than ever before, with over 4,700 adverts per month being added specifically to the Charity Job website up 10% from 2020. At the same time, we have seen an increase of 400,000 people in employment compared to pre-pandemic. This is what we call a ‘candidate-led’ market, with more roles on the market than there are candidates to fill them.

If a hybrid role is in demand you need to do what you can do to stand out to these candidates in a crowded market. So, how do you reach these candidates?

How to reach more candidates in your recruitment advertising

Check your job posting categories

In the past, most job boards have only offered the option to post a job in a particular location. However, with the realisation that hybrid working is here to stay, job boards are starting to include options to advertise roles as ‘remote’ and ‘hybrid’ as well as location-specific. This gives you the chance to reach audiences that you previously may not have been able to target.

In February 2022, Charity Job presented a market update to Prospectus, highlighting that one of their most searched locations on the site is now home-based/remote. So, we know if you can give candidates the option of remote and hybrid working you are going to get more eyes on your job adverts!

It’s also important to consider the language you use in your advert with ‘home-working’ and ‘remote working’, as well as the word ‘hybrid’ all being increasingly used.

Targeted social media advertising

You might have already explored targeted social media advertising as part of your recruitment campaign, but what the hybrid approach means now is your reach can go even further for the same amount previously spent. For example, Facebook allows for location targeting so if you wanted to target Leeds you can reach 1.3m potential candidates, now you can extend that reach. If the role is hybrid working candidates may be willing to commute longer distances and just by increasing that location targeting you could open up the role to over 8m potential candidates.

Email Marketing

According to Charity Job research, the cause an organisation supports is the number one motivator for 76% of candidates. By using bespoke candidate mailers, you are able to share your mission while targeting an audience based on their registered job preferences such as job type, salary expectations, and location (we are able to target candidates who are interested in hybrid/remote working). This is a great way to reach a relevant candidate audience and with the new hybrid/remote workforce, you get the advert in front of candidates that may not have seen the role previously.

Creative

Our internal design team supports our clients with bespoke creative advertising content such as banners, skyscrapers, and MPU’s (mid-page units) to name a few. Previously we have targeted these types of candidates on editorial pages of websites by locations but with the change in workforce behaviours, we need to change the way we reach this audience. So rather than targeting locations, we can target certain pages on websites that we think candidates might be viewing.

Design examples

If you would like to discuss how to advertise to a hybrid workforce in more detail or have any other questions about recruitment advertising please do reach out to Nick, Senior Account Manager on the Advertising Team.