In 2021, King County began to identify a trend showing the overall number of qualified job applicants significantly decreasing while the number of open vacancies were increasing. At the same time, HR professionals were transitioning to new roles or departing the County as part of an industry-wide trend largely tied to burnout. This resulted in prolonged vacancies in key recruiter positions, which in turn slowed the recruiting and hiring process.

To better understand this challenge, HR Managers were surveyed in early 2022 to obtain insight and feedback on their recruitment needs and priorities. The top survey results were recruitment assistance upon request, building the King County brand for candidates, and more in-person representation at career fairs and community events.

To address the hiring challenges, the Department of Human Resources (DHR), with support from department directors and Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams, proposed a pilot program that included an increased presence at community events, and a new media campaign to enhance the King County brand to new audiences, plus hiring additional staff designated to support this program.

From social media to mass media

Beginning in May 2022, the newly formed Recruitment and Outreach team began creating social media blocks to be posted by team members, and on the King County Employee LinkedIn and Twitter (X) @kcemployees accounts by the DHR Communications team.

The social media topics vary, highlighting important events like Black History Month, International Women’s Day, and Mental Health Month, specifically designed to highlight King County’s commitment to equity, inclusion, and belonging, as well as light-hearted topics such as National Pi Day, Star Wars Day, and National Ice Cream Day.

The team also worked with the DHR communications team and leadership to create a new marketing slogan “Thrive Where You Work” and created blocks to highlight the campaign featuring images of King County employees, #GoPublic, and other designs that could be used anytime.

With the help of a couple of internal contests HR recruiters expanded the reach of the campaigns using their LinkedIn accounts, where the social media blocks have generated tens of thousands of impressions and over 1,500 applicants.

Throughout 2023, the Recruitment and Outreach team pilot also utilized promotional campaigns through the Seattle Times diversity network of career websites and El Rey Radio, which increased Hispanic/Latinx applications by over 20%. The team also increased King County’s presence at live events at the ShoWare Center in Kent and local community and diversity events.

2024 and beyond: iHeartMedia and more social media campaigns

The success of the initial pilot allowed DHR to extend the program with funding through 2024. Among the new strategies is a focus on reaching underrepresented people such as Hispanic/Latinx and Native Americans. Under this new iteration, the current campaigns will continue with even more focus in the information media and social media spheres.

The program recently launched an eight-week iHeart Radio campaign with commercials playing on podcasts and streaming music services. This media will run announcements on English and Spanish platforms, achieving over 800,000 impressions. The iHeart Media campaign capitalizes on effectiveness with intentional outreach efforts, helping to connect the County with our community and prospective employees in new ways.

The Social Media and iHeart campaigns help the recruiting process be more successful in attracting the best talent from the widest range of applicants possible. The increased efforts to attract applicants and increase connection to community ultimately result in services and programs that make King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive.