Louise's last post on the impact of fuel costs on recruiting ended with a pertinent question about the social responsibility of recruiting. The reality is that it is everyone's responsibility and we should start to incorporate "green-ness" into everything we do, even recruiting.
I've just finished a section on green recruiting for our up and coming 15-minute Guide to Graduate Recruiting. I'll share some bits of it here. If you have any suggestions or ideas that have worked for you, please leave a comment here and I'll make sure they get in the guide.
Go green, and ethical, and don't underestimate how important "being green" is to graduates - this is an area where you can really differentiate yourself from your competition and make your company stand out.
Many companies have developed varying degrees of "green" strategies. Some of the more forward-thinking companies, like The Bodyshop, use their green-ness in their marketing strategy. So why not tout your environmental agenda in your employment brand?
Some ideas:
- Make sure your potential graduate hires know about what your company does to help the environment.
- Include corporate social responsibility statements like this one from Merck on your web site, in literature and you can even include a blurb in offer letters and job descriptions.
- Keep printed materials to a minimum. What little you do print, use recycled paper and design materials with minimal graphics so you don't use a whole ink cartridge to print.
- Offer subsidies for employees who drive hybrid cars or participate in ride sharing, and give them premium parking spots.
- Offer rewards for employees that follow a green agenda.
- Have your cafeteria serve locally sourced, organic food.
- Contribute to "green" charities.
- Recycle and compost on site and encourage your employees to do the same.
- Reward employees that use public transportation or walk/bike to work.
- Made a video that shows how your employees are environmentally minded, and post it on YouTube and your career site.
- Give hiring managers background documents that explain how your company is environmentally conscious.
- Enter your company in environmental awards and contests.
- Add environmentally friendly footers, such as "think before you print" to your email signature.
Of course it helps if your strategy is driven from the top. But every little bit helps. Do you really need to print out 500 CVs and all those spreadsheets?
This post wouldn't be complete without some kind of product plug, so here's a quick list of how we can reduce your environmental impact through the recruitment process:
- All ATS/RMS systems ensure that you don't need to send '000's of letters – just offer letters. Use emails and text messages – they are cheap and carbon neutral.
- We have an "easy-to-use-on-screen" screening system and a voting system that ensure that you don't end up printing applications to score and mark them.
- All software delivered as service (SaaS) is greener than all other alternatives whilst performing admin tasks.
- Susanna
Times Online just published an article on the best green companies. If you are interested in how some companies put these ideas into action, read on ... http://tinyurl.com/6fxhdl
Posted by: Susanna Cesar Morton | June 27, 2008 at 07:45
Hey Susanna!
Interesting post. And thanks for dropping by my blog and commenting on my recent post about how HR is going green.
I'm curious to know what you think about Utah's recent decision to have all state workers go to a 4-day work week in an effort to lower fuel consumption and reduce their state's impact on the environment.
Check it out and let me know your thoughts!
http://blog.generationrelations.com/?p=40
Bye for now,
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa Orrell | July 06, 2008 at 23:15