PR and Recruitment Have More in Common Than You Think
I am a big fan of David Yelland and Simon Lewis’ podcast, When It Hits the Fan on BBC Radio 4. Yesterday I was in the car listening to an episode where David and Simon discussed the golden rule of public relations: build the relationship before you need it. If the first time you speak to a PR team is in the middle of a crisis, you are already on the back foot.
It struck me how true that is for recruitment.
Both industries are sometimes seen as a necessary evil rather than a valuable partner. They are often viewed as a cost rather than an investment. And in both cases, there is a degree of mistrust. You can find poor operators in PR just as you can in recruitment.
But when you work with a good one, you realise very quickly they are worth every penny.
The best PR agencies are not there to churn out press releases. They are there to understand your business, protect your reputation and help you achieve your goals. The best recruiters are not there to throw CVs at you and hope one sticks. They are there to understand your needs, protect your employer brand and help you build a team that will deliver.
Knowing the business inside out
PR works best when the agency knows your organisation in detail. They understand your leadership team, your culture, your market and your tone of voice. That depth of knowledge means they can respond quickly and accurately when opportunities or challenges arise.
Recruitment is no different. When a recruiter understands how your service operates, what a realistic caseload looks like and what kind of person will fit with your team, they can filter candidates more effectively. This is how you avoid the costly mistake of hiring someone who looks good on paper but is gone within a year.
Seeing the world from both sides
A strong PR partner can see your world from two perspectives. How you see yourself and how the outside world sees you.
In recruitment, the same skill is critical. You may think you are offering a brilliant opportunity with great benefits. From a candidate’s perspective, they may be weighing up travel time, leadership style and the reality of the workload. Understanding both viewpoints allows you to position your role in a way that attracts the right people.
Planning ahead, not reacting under pressure
PR teams build relationships and plan campaigns before they are needed. That way, when the spotlight falls on you, they already know what to do.
Recruitment works the same way. If you only start looking for candidates when someone hands in their notice, you are already behind. A talent plan that looks months ahead means you can start conversations early and avoid being forced into a quick hire that is not the right fit.
Protecting your reputation
PR protects your reputation in the media. Recruitment protects your reputation in the talent market.
Poor candidate experiences travel fast, especially in Occupational Health where networks are tight. Being approached by multiple agencies about the same role, waiting weeks for feedback or enduring a messy interview process all damage your standing. A trusted recruiter protects that brand by controlling the process and ensuring candidates see you at your best.
Measuring and improving
PR agencies track coverage, sentiment and engagement to learn what works. Recruiters should do the same with time-to-hire, acceptance rates and retention. These measures show where the process can improve and where bottlenecks need to be removed.
Time, trust and partnership
PR campaigns fail without client input. Recruitment is no different. The more time and information you invest in your recruiter, the better the results.
And trust matters. Just as a PR agency will sometimes challenge you to see an issue differently, a good recruiter will push back if they think a different approach will bring a better outcome. That kind of honesty only comes from a genuine partnership.
The moment you realise the value
In PR, the moment of truth often comes when a crisis hits and your agency handles it seamlessly. In recruitment, it is when a key role is filled by exactly the right person without the process draining your time or damaging your brand.
I know this might sound a little like marking my own homework, but that episode of When it Hits the Fan really struck a chord with me. It reminded me of a recent conversation with a client who said our value was not just in the service we deliver, but in the role we play as a long-term partner. Someone who understands the bigger picture, helps shape the strategy and occasionally acts as a sounding board when decisions are tough and they were “up against it”.
That is what makes the work rewarding. And if you have experienced both the bad and the good in recruitment, you will know how much of a difference it makes when you have the right people on your side.
At Recruiting Heads, this is what we focus on every day. We work with leaders in Occupational Health, Wellbeing, Health & Safety and Clinical Governance to help them find the right people for the right roles. We are passionate about the long-term value of a good hire, about building partnerships that last, and about being a safe pair of hands when the stakes are high. Sometimes we are strategists, sometimes we are problem-solvers, and sometimes we are just here to listen.
