When we encourage companies to engage their young professional talent, the first thought that comes to mind is typically not polling them using social media channels.
What if this became a tool for retention at your business? Let’s walk through how to make that happen.
You’ve heard us say time and time again that social media is where young professionals are, right? Since we know your young talent is already on digital channels such as Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and more, how can you utilize these channels to access information that will help you in your retention efforts?
Here are 5 tips for your team to initially set up polls through social media as a retention tool:
- Create a strategy or plan with your social media and marketing team to get started. In other words, discuss why you want to do this, your goals, and what results you’d like to see come out of initiating this.
- Establish the channels you wish to set polls on (hint: we recommend starting with Instagram and LinkedIn). Not all social media channels include polling widgets, so do your research first before you begin planning. Additionally, think of which channels are best for your audience and where you will gain the most important information to your talent needs.
- Next, establish the cadence in which you will share polls. At YPK, we poll our audience weekly and have found Fridays at lunch to be a great time for peak engagement, but it might look different for your team, depending on your industry and core audience.
- What do you want to know from your young talent? Set up a list of questions you’d like answered in your polls for the year, and then get that information to your Marketing and HR teams. Some examples of questions might include: A) Would you rather…choose a 4-day, 10 hour work week or 5, 8 hour days? Or B) What professional development opportunities would you look for?
- Last but not least, establish where the data is going to go and how your team will delegate to ensure it is acknowledged, if not applied. Asking the questions is one thing, but analyzing and applying what you learn (or what you don’t apply) is also important. Without establishing this piece, it’s irrelevant for you to do this in the first place.
You might be wondering how you can collect this information from your team when it’s on a public page. We encourage you to think of two things here; 1. Can you use these questions for future talent as well? 2. Can you create internal channels to poll your teams instead of posting this on public channels?
The results we have seen from companies that start to implement this include the following (quotes from clients):
- “Learning what your young talent and future talent are looking for is invaluable to us.”
- “It engages them in a way I did not think was possible.”
- “For not a lot of time on our end, it has significant benefits.”
Consider trying this out in your 2024 Marketing and HR goals today. If you have questions, consider downloading your own customized roadmap today to see if we can support your goals.
Did you like this week’s post? Then you might like these posts below.
Free Report: What You Can Expect from The Current State of Young Professionals
How To Keep YoPros Engaged In The Workforce
How to Remedy Generational Communication Barriers
What’s Next?
For innovative organizations seeking to hire, engage and retain YoPros, our consulting and coaching arm will partner with you to create a captivating culture where prime candidates thrive long term. To learn more about how our services can help you uncover the power of social media in recruiting and retaining young professional talent, schedule a discovery call today!
