General Electric hired marketing expert Shaunda Zilich to head up the company's efforts to build a branding strategy and improve recruiting effectiveness. Her background working in various jobs in different organizations made her especially well-suited to manage the recruiting efforts at General Electric. In particular, she heads up several groups that focus on establishing General Electric's global brand so that it appeals to a variety of job applicants. Zilich believes that her background in marketing shapes the way she approaches global recruitment because sales and staffing are so linked in practice. Many employers use the employment brand and the marketing function together to hire excellent employees.
Zilich offers helpful advice for positive and effective recruiting. In addition to developing a positive brand, employers need to be people-oriented. They can connect with others by getting to know job applicants better, and identifying their interests and professional goals. Recruiting professionals should also understand how to effectively interact with candidates to determine exactly what they want from an employer. Once these characteristics are identified, then recruiters can start matching individuals to open positions. Such a matching process can result in a long-term career in a company, or it can result in a more short-term career but still beneficial employment situation.

Zilich also believes that organizations should encourage current employees to be ambassadors of a company's brand, spreading the word about the available opportunities. Part of this message includes the kinds of experiences that interest job applicants. For example, corporate sustainability and social responsibility are important to potential employees, and these issues can be included in recruiting messages to generate interest. Zilich claims that successful recruiting is tied to good messaging that is delivered at the right time. Doing this allows the company to identify good talent that is interested in the company's mission, even if individuals are not actively looking for new work opportunities.

General Electric is taking the right steps to build a successful recruiting program. The company seeks to build a bridge between marketing and HR, which has enabled it to more broadly define how people are recruited, hired, and matched to particular work opportunities. By highlighting the company's unique culture, it generates interest among job candidates, even the passive ones who aren't looking to leave their current jobs.91 Given these strategies, consider the following questions:

QUESTIONS
1. How would you evaluate General Electric's decision to hire an individual with a marketing background to lead the company's recruiting efforts? Do you think this approach would work in other organizations?
2. What are some ways that employers can use their brands to enhance the recruitment of employees? What current issues could be connected to a brand in order to recruit qualified and motivated employees?