Social media enhances recruiting efforts

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Social media can enhance the recruiting efforts of hiring managers. Because college students and recent graduates love social media, recruiters should use it to highlight their companies in a positive light. That doesn’t just mean the work itself but also the company culture. One company using social media this way in college recruiting is Lockton.

More than 5,600 professionals at Lockton provide 48,000 clients around the world with risk management, insurance, employee benefits consulting, and retirement services that improve their businesses. From its founding in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri, Lockton has attracted entrepreneurial professionals who have driven its growth to become the largest privately held, independent insurance broker in the world and 10th largest overall. For seven consecutive years, Business Insurance magazine has recognized Lockton as a “Best Place to Work in Insurance.”

Kelly Dippold, Senior Recruiting Specialist at Lockton, discusses how her company uses social media in college recruiting to reflect its company culture.

“At Lockton, we recently launched two social media programs to help recruit college students.

First, we created the hashtag #LocktonLife and began using it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and in all of our college recruiting materials. Our goal is to show college students what it’s really like working at Lockton and that insurance is more than writing policies and processing claims. Photos and posts with #LocktonLife show associates giving back to the community, having fun inside and outside of work (think ping pong and Mardi Gras), and engaging in wellness activities like Lockton 5k events.

Then, we invited associates from across the country to join us as brand ambassadors. Using their own personal social media networks, these brand ambassadors shared even more photos and posts using #LocktonLife and encouraged others in their offices to do the same. We now have about 30 brand ambassadors in cities like Washington, D.C., Denver, Houston, and Los Angeles posting pictures of charity events, happy hours, team-building activities, and more.

On Friday March 4th, we hosted Lockton University Day at our headquarters in Kansas City. Students met, mingled, and learned from young Lockton Associates and leaders, and were encouraged to post on social media using #LocktonLife and tagging us (@Lockton, @LocktonBenefits, and @Lockton_Retire) for the chance to win fun prizes. We hope our social media campaign added some excitement to the event and helped spread the word that Lockton is a rewarding, fast-paced, and fun place to work.”

If you’re looking for more information on using social media for college recruiting, visit our blog and follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

Kelly Dippold, Senior Recruiting Specialist at Lockton

Kelly Dippold has more than 10 years of experience in recruiting and human relations in both the telecommunications and insurance industries. She joined Lockton in 2010, where she leads teams of college recruiters and has excelled in the company’s entrepreneurial, competitive, and empowering culture. Kelly earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas. Her professional designations and affiliations include Professional in Human Resources (PHR), SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and Member, National SHRM.