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In 2021, King County began to see a trend in which the total number of qualified job applicants decreased significantly while the number of open positions increased. At the same time, human resources professionals are transitioning to new roles or leaving the county, part of an industry-wide trend that is largely related to burnout. This resulted in key recruiter positions being left vacant for long periods of time, which in turn slowed down the recruitment and hiring process.
To better understand this challenge, HR managers were surveyed in early 2022 to gain insights and feedback on their recruiting needs and priorities. The top findings were providing recruiting assistance upon request, branding King County to candidates, and more in-person representation at job fairs and community events.
To address recruiting challenges, the Department of Human Resources (DHR), with the support of Department Director and Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams, has proposed a pilot program that includes increased participation in community activities and new A media campaign to enhance King’s image to showcase the county brand to new audiences and hire additional designated personnel to support the program.
From social media to mass media
Beginning in May 2022, the newly formed Recruitment and Outreach team will begin creating social media blocks posted by team members on King County employee LinkedIn and Twitter (X) @kcemployees Account for the DHR Communications Team.
Social media themes vary, highlighting important events such as Black History Month, International Women’s Day and Mental Health Month, which are specifically designed to highlight King County’s commitment to equity, inclusion and belonging, as well as National Pi Easy themes for Days such as Star Wars Day and National Ice Cream Day.
The team also worked with the DHR communications team and leadership to create a new marketing slogan, “Thriving at Work,” and created blocks to highlight images of King County employees, #GoPublic and other ready-to-use designs. Special activities.
HR recruiters leveraged their LinkedIn accounts to expand the campaign’s reach, with the help of several internal contests, where the social media block has generated tens of thousands of impressions and more than 1,500 applicants.
Throughout 2023, the Recruitment and Outreach Team pilot also ran promotions through The Seattle Times Diversity Careers website network and El Rey Radio, resulting in a more than 20% increase in Hispanic/Latino applications. The team also increased King County’s participation in in-person events at Kent’s ShoWare Center and local community and diversity events.
2024 and beyond: iHeartMedia and more social media activity
The success of the initial pilot allowed DHR to extend the program through 2024 through funding. The new strategy focuses on reaching underrepresented populations such as Hispanics/Latinos and Native Americans. In this new iteration, current activities will continue to focus more on the information media and social media sectors.
The program recently launched an eight-week iHeart Radio campaign, which will run ads on podcasts and streaming music services. The outlet will publish announcements on English and Spanish-language platforms, garnering more than 800,000 impressions. iHeart Media campaigns leverage the effectiveness of intentional outreach efforts to help connect the county to our communities and potential employees in new ways.
Social media and iHeart campaigns help make the recruitment process more successful, attracting the best talent from the broadest possible applicant pool. We strengthen our efforts to attract applicants and strengthen ties to the community, ultimately delivering services and programs that make King County a welcoming community where everyone can thrive.
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