Public Safety - Recruitment & Hiring Modernizing to a Digital Platform

Recruitment has always been a challenging feat, but now more than ever, public safety agencies are facing setbacks across the nation. Long-established ways of recruiting are becoming obsolete as the new generations emerge, making it difficult for agencies who aren’t up to speed in their digital processes and communication. Salesforce has created a platform for its customers that allows them to streamline and improve their entire recruitment and hiring lifecycles.

In the past, these agencies have been flooded with applications, and the process would begin to flesh out the most qualified applicants. Traditional pipelines of recruits recently separated from the military or younger generations of youth whose family members served long careers in public service are not joining the forces as they've done historically. Some of this response is due to the political climate, less interest by younger people in remaining at the same job for more than a few years, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbates many issues within the industry. Additionally, a lack of fast, adequate communication between all members of the hiring process and the applicant can drive candidates to seek employment elsewhere. In an era of instantaneous contact, new hires expect more.

To mitigate these issues, Salesforce created a strategic program for recruitment efforts, which includes marketing, application management, and onboarding streamline the entire process. Here’s the breakdown:

Marketing:

• Multi-channel Journeys
• Advertising
• Social Media Engagement
• Drip Campaign Management
• Triggered Communications
• Lead Generation Scoring

Application Management:

• Online Applications and Portals
• Application Review
• Stage Processing
• Scheduling and Communication
• Task Management and Forms
• Workflow Automation

Onboarding:

• Onboarding Journey
• Orientation/In-house Training
• Mentoring
• Real-time Visibility

There are three main pillars to gain more interest through the application and recruitment process that agencies can follow, while also elevating their brand and improving operations: Marketing, Recruitment and Application Management.

A digitally focused marketing strategy—phasing out of traditional recruitment tactics and turning to digital marketing channels—is the second of the main pillars to establishing continued progress and modernization within law enforcement agencies. For example, typically in law enforcement billboards, wrapping police vehicles, distributing print materials, and attending many jobs fairs aren’t sufficient ways of spending a marketing budget because they can’t be measured. With digital platforms, tracking tools can be used to understand what advertising is working and where it can be improved. These channels of advertising don’t provide a return on investment anymore compared to digital tactics. Instead, email campaigns, social media, and other digital platforms reach a wider, more targeted audience and create a stronger ROI. Moving toward a more digitally personalized strategy for recruitment and hiring can increase candidate interest for agencies across the board, and ensure organizations are attracting the best of the best.

Today’s interested candidates, no matter the industry, want better, more immediate communication on their application status and next steps. They’re expecting rapid response and extensive coordination and feedback, or they’ll become impatient and move onto the next opportunity. A transparent, speedy, application management process will keep people engaged along the way, keeping them from straying to the competition, whatever the competition may be.

Over time Salesforce has begun pivoting to a more proactive approach to recruitment, creating personalized targeted campaigns and marketing for communities. For example, defense agencies use Salesforce’s platform to recruit qualified personnel, and higher education institutions use this platform to recruit students for admissions. Now, Salesforce recognizes an increase in law enforcement agencies seeking help to to build their brands.

Previously, once a recruiter has sent an applicant through to HR, the relationship between the recruiter and applicant becomes lost. More often than not within law enforcement, recruiters may not know applicants had made it in and through the academy until they arrive for their first day of field training. With the Salesforce Platform, candidates, recruiters, HR specialists and command staff can have insight into any stage of an applicant’s status, allowing for more visibility and communication between the hiring team. Additionally, this platform can be integrated with other solutions already active within an agency’s HR department. This is the kind of progress and innovation entrants are looking for when applying in any field.

Salesforce’s modifiable platform creates a holistic experience throughout an entire organization. It improves the process and outcomes for applicants and new entrants into public safety, while also expediting operations for employees managing and shepherding the process for recruiters, HR, and trainers. Everyone involved is more connected to do their part of the work, without spending all of their time managing systems and moving information manually, creating a unified and smooth hiring process.