8 Ways Your Website Can Make or Break Your Online Recruiting

What’s the first thing a potential driver, or customer, does when they hear your company’s name for the first time? They go online, look at your website, and size you up.

After all, that’s probably how most of us vet products and services too. Many times, it’s the first contact a prospect may have with your company. People judge you by your website and that makes it a vital part of your overall presence on the web.

What factors should you consider when you build or refresh your recruiting website? 

1. Mobile First

That’s right, mobile should be your first consideration. Why? Because more than 80% of drivers are hitting carrier websites from their phones. This means that to reach truck drivers, your website must be maximized for mobile phone viewing.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, you risk losing up to 80% of your traffic simply because sites built for desktops can be hard to navigate and hard to read on a mobile device. This makes for a frustrating viewing experience. Reach drivers where they are and make a good first impression – on their mobile phones.

2. Ease of Applying for A Job

When a driver prospect is filling out an application on their mobile phone, the process needs to be super simple and fast. He or she should not have to click around the site hunting for the application. 

The applicant should have no hurdles or roadblocks as they fill out the application. Something as simple as too many screening questions can cause your next hire to get frustrated with the form and move on to another job opportunity. Applications should be easy to find and “falling off a log” easy to submit. Make applying easy.

3. Making Follow-up with Candidates Easy

Making sure drivers can apply easily is important, but unless you can easily access and use the contact information a driver submits, it’s not worth much. This is where out-of-the-box instant online websites can fall short and professionally-built recruiting sites can soar. So how do you configure your site so you can get the most out of the information that’s submitted? 

The best way is to use an online applicant tracking system (ATS). If you’re not using one, you are missing one of the most fundamental needs of any recruiting department. The information from a driver is collected using a short application. Then it’s sent via the internet to the ATS where it’s processed and stored.

Within a few seconds, you have access to the applicant’s information and can contact them. Further information can be added to the applicant’s online profile. All your applications will be available, at your fingertips, ready for your recruiters to contact.

4. Intuitive and Easy to Navigate

Before a candidate decides to apply for a position with your company, they will, more than likely, want to look closely at what you offer. What pay can they expect? What types of jobs do you have available? What benefits do you offer? What can they expect your company culture to be like? These are a few of the questions they may have.

Your site should be intuitive and easy to navigate. Potential drivers should be able to trust the menu to find exactly what they are looking for, quickly, easily, and in a way that makes sense. A well-organized site reflects a well-organized company.

5. Consistent Branding and Style

Ok, so you have a website, and it has been cobbled together by four different internet developers, three different designers, and the nephew of your last assistant recruiting director’s aunt, twice removed. And even worse, someone took the cheap route and built the site using one of the dozens of online “instant website” builders.

Chances are, you are not on-brand at least somewhere on the site. If you are off-brand, you send a signal of confusion about your company that can speak louder than the actual content on the site. Take the time to formalize your brand and use it consistently throughout the site, on all your advertising, social media, and any printed pieces. And don’t forget to make sure your copy is on-brand. A simple rewrite can make a world of difference.

6. Up to Date with Your Latest Information

Is your site three years old? Older? Then it needs a content upgrade. Keep your site relevant by changing central photography and front-page information at least once each year or more frequently.  Some recruiting sites update quarterly or with the seasons. And chances are your keywords could use fine-tuning as well.

Best case, your site was built to be dynamic and change as your information changes. Some sites specifically have sections that change with frequency to stay exciting and up to date with information. Keeping your site fresh makes your company look dynamic, vital, and attractive.

7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

You want your site to be at the top of search results and you need potential drivers to find exactly what they search for regarding your company, whether it’s pay, benefits, or top equipment. Getting your site to the top of a search means paying attention to details like keyword framing, online optimization, site structure, mobile-friendliness, user experience, and load speed.

As you well know, competition is fierce among trucking companies for drivers, so use every advantage you can to set yourself apart and ahead of your competition. Being above the fold or at least on the front page of a potential driver’s web search gives you the edge.

8. Safe and Secure

Website security is a growing concern for those who have a website and for those who visit websites and share personal information online. But even with a secure website, you still need secure hosting, especially if you plan to send and receive personal information from potential drivers.

Make sure you have a secure and up to date server hosting your site, running the latest software versions. Don’t overlook this aspect of your web presence, chances are someone has already tried to hack your site at some point and will again.

Your website is the hub of your online presence. Take some time and consider carefully what it tells potential recruits about your company. How does it rate considering the eight points we’ve just shared with you?

We encourage you to put what you’ve read into action; update your site, keep branding consistent, make it easy to navigate, make it mobile-friendly, make sure your site is secure, use SEO effectively, make it easy for drivers to apply, and make following up with candidates easy.

Hightower has been building leading-edge websites for over twenty years. Last year alone we launched ten websites. We have experienced developers and designers on staff to do the work and the secure servers necessary to keep our customers’ websites safe. If you’d like to contact us or if you would like to have us evaluate your site, it’s free, just use the contact form below or you can email us at letstalk@hightoweragency.com.