Bold Brands Win: You’re Hired – Part 3
(The following is the third of a four-part series on recruitment strategies and tactics recently used by Madison+Main for our clients. Over the last three months, Madison+Main has been supercharging recruitment campaigns. The results have been amazing. Hope you find it useful.)
With almost one in five U.S. restaurants closing permanently due to COVID-19 (and subsequent government restrictions), one might think that there are plenty of cooks, servers, and hospitality staff across the country, just waiting to be hired. #CoughCough Um, no. The reality is, that many of these former food service folks left to take jobs in other sectors. Others stayed home for safety concerns and some “sat on the sidelines,” taking extended unemployment and stimulus checks as opposed to paychecks. Many folks stayed home to take care of kids or aging parents because schools and other facilities closed.
There are many contributing factors to the current labor crunch, but the hospitality industry has been hit the hardest. Recent billboards promising higher wages (Burger King pays $15/hour in some markets) and sign-on bonuses (Wawa briefly paid $500 to every new hire) were signs of a desperate shortage of human capital.
As an owner of two restaurants, I know the struggle has been real. Early in 2021, the Texas Inn relied on help from Madison+Main for our help wanted needs. We replaced Indeed listings with Facebook ads and the results were impressive. Of 11 new hires in 2021, 10 came from Facebook, and only one from Indeed.
We took some of these lessons and applied them in the fall for our client Williamsburg Landing. The peninsula has historically had trouble filling hourly roles, but in October things looked dire for the Life Plan Community.
M+M created targeted ads for Google and Facebook and then created a customized landing page for dishwashers, servers, and line cooks. The ads ran for five weeks, getting astounding results. The Google and Facebook ads had more than 1 million impressions and drove 1,400+ job seekers to the landing page. The results? 13 new hires in 28 days. #WhoopWhoop
Lesson: Is your company spending money on sign-on bonuses for new employees or do you think a few bucks spent on creative recruitment marketing might work better?
MONDAY:
A NEW FACE AT MADISON+MAIN
On Monday, the team welcomed Account Executive Taylor Peoples to our team! Taylor is a George Mason University grad, but I didn’t hold that against her. #GoRams. She was born in Ohio but moved to beautiful downtown Chester, Virginia in high school. We’re very excited to have Taylor on our team. Once she’s settled in, we will share her new headshot and bio with you. In the meantime, you can connect with her on LinkedIn.
TUESDAY:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE WONDER TWINS – KATIE AND CAITLIN
On Tuesday, the team celebrated two Madison+Main birthdays — Client Services Manager Katie Rossberg and Jr. Copywriter Caitlin Sherman! These two rockstars are a great addition to our team. The entire company sang an off-key rendition of” Happy Birthday To You” on Tuesday after these two were back from their celebratory days off. FYI: When 26 people sing Happy Birthday to you at one time on Zoom it’s an absolute disaster. Happy Birthday, ladies. My gift to you is that I will not sing to you until next year.
WEDNESDAY:
THE CORE SESSION WAS…WAIT FOR IT…EPIC.
On Tuesday, six of our team members conducted a CORE session of epic proportions with our new client EPIC Pharmacies. CORE is designed to get to the core of a client’s brand and hone in on marketing messages and target audiences. On Wednesday, the team worked to compile their findings and share them with the rest of the company. From what I‘ve gathered so far, EPIC Pharmacies is a great company with a great team and we’re excited to work with them.
In other news, the Washington Football Team, formally known as the Washington Redskins, unveiled their new name on Wednesday — and the world went “meh.” I have said for many years that bold brands win and it looks like the Washington Commanders, solely based on their new name, will go 4-12 in the upcoming season. There are only two things that could fix the Redskins brand — going to the playoffs in their first year as Commanders and Dan Snyder selling the team.
THURSDAY:
CHIMBORAZO ELEMENTARY
Despite having the coolest name of any elementary school in Richmond, Chimborazo Elementary is in dire need of a new outdoor play space for the kids of Church Hill. As you know, all school facilities are not created equal, so that’s why Madison+Main is supporting the Chimborazo PTA (a local 501c3 organization) and their reimagined playground project. You can donate your time, or more importantly, you can donate cold hard cash. We’re doing both and encourage you to help these deserving kids get the recess space they deserve.
FRIDAY:
#EVENTS
ICYMI, I was on Richmond’s Morning News with Gary Hess this morning, talking about the great events going around this weekend in Central Virginia. Here is a link to the WRVA segment in case you want to take a listen.
Speaking of great events, Fort Monroe, our client in Hampton, hosts a lot of events throughout the year. But I wanted to bring your attention to a very special event on February 18, 2022, in honor of #BlackHistoryMonth. Fort Monroe and the The Underground Kitchen present: Evolution of Freedom; The Food! UGK Culinary Director ErikSmith will be preparing three of his favorite dishes, followed by a Q&A session on the relationship between freedom and food. The virtual event is free and recipes will be shared with participants following the event. Sign up today.
A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE EVENTS
$8 Tuesdays at COMPASS Entertainment Complex
Irvington, VA
Every Tuesday, All Day!
Enjoy an $8 Movie Tuesday at Compass Entertainment Complex! No matter the movie or the time!
GangstaGrass at The Perk
Chester, VA
Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
GangstaGrass is a dynamic bluegrass/hip hop fusion group (yep, you read that correctly) that was prominently featured on the most recent season of America’s Got Talent. If you are a fan of FX Networks’ hit series Justified, you already know their unique, awesome sound — they created and performed the theme song “Long Hard Times to Come.” Tickets start at $20.
“Recruiting should be viewed as a business partner, someone who is critical to the success of your business.“ — Mathew Caldwell