Posted on: 21/08/2025

Thought Leadership

Private companies are raising the bar in recruitment, using marketing strategies, brand storytelling, and digital platforms to attract top talent. Chloe Herrmann explores how the public sector can respond, blending strategic marketing with purpose-led messaging and collaboration to build a stronger, more competitive workforce.

By Chloe Herrmann, Principal Consultant – Resourcing

How strategic marketing approaches and multi-level collaboration can transform talent attraction

The public sector is facing an unprecedented recruitment challenge, but we’re not the only ones hiring. The private sector is targeting the same limited talent pool.. Skills shortages affect critical areas like digital specialists and social workers, while private sector employers target the same talent pools with increasingly sophisticated recruitment campaigns. To compete effectively, we need to learn from private companies’ recruitment marketing successes, while also making the most of our sector’s unique Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and our ability to collaborate at national, regional, and local levels.

The Private Sector Playbook: Marketing Your Organisation

Private sector employers have mastered the art of attracting talent. They see recruitment as a marketing challenge, where you need to attract, engage, and convert candidates through strong employer brands and real storytelling.

Here’s what we can take from their playbook:

Showcase your unique purpose. Your EVP should highlight what truly matters: your organisation’s culture, purpose, and the opportunities you offer beyond pay.

Let your people tell the story. Encourage staff to share their experiences in ways that feel real, for example through videos, blogs or social media posts.

Meet candidates where they are. Use a mix of platforms, from job boards and social media to careers fairs and outreach, to connect with the talent you’re looking for.

Make every interaction count. From job adverts to interviews, each step is a chance to show candidates why your organisation is a great place to work.

Together, these approaches help you build authentic connections with the candidates you want to attract.

Building Your Employer Brand: National, Regional, and Local

National level: Get involved in national recruitment campaigns such as the LGA’s ‘Make a difference: work for your local council’ and DHSC’s ‘Make care your career’. These promote local government and social care careers broadly while bringing opportunities closer to local talent pools.

Regional level: Collaborate on shared EVPs and campaigns that show what makes your region’s public sector special. Think community impact, career progression, work-life balance, and jobs that really matter. The WMJobs regional campaign launching this autumn reflects our sector’s regional EVP, shaped with input from our WMJobs Recruiter Network.

Local level: Create content that highlights your workplace culture, your people’s experiences, and your community connections. Real stories about career journeys, meaningful projects, and local impact bring this to life.

Practical Actions for Authentic Recruitment Marketing

Develop your personalised EVP:

• Start with WMJobs’ regional EVP, which will be available to WMJobs’ shared service subscribers through our member network soon!
• Survey your employees about what they value most about working in your organisation.
• Identify unique benefits, like flexible working, learning opportunities, community impact, and job security.
• Create messaging that helps you stand out from both private sector and other public sector employers.
• Test your EVP with potential candidates through focus groups or on social media.

Master authentic storytelling:

• Get involved in regional initiatives - nominate people to share their story here
• Create "day in the life" video content featuring real employees discussing specific projects and achievements
• Develop employee testimonials highlighting career progression and skill development
• Share impact stories showing how your work directly benefits local communities

For example, Staffordshire County Council, supported by Tribepad, won the Recruiter Award 2024 for 'Most Effective Employer Brand Development and Candidate Experience'. They launched a refreshed EVP including 20 team members sharing authentic stories via video and text, used for young person outreach, job fairs, and social media.Results included over 50% increase in careers website traffic and LinkedIn followers growing from 16,562 to over 21,000. New starters also report using these resources to better understand the council, helping them settle in more quickly.

Strategic social media engagement:

• Choose platforms where your target candidates spend time e.g. LinkedIn for professionals, Instagram and TikTok for early careers
• Post a consistent mix of job opportunities, employee stories, and organisational achievements.
• Encourage your team to share positive workplace experiences on their personal networks

The Power of Strategic Collaboration

When you work together, you amplify your efforts, share expertise, and reduce costs. National and regional partnerships give you access to professional assets and toolkits that would be expensive to create alone.

Shared resources: Access campaign materials, content creation, and promotional support.

Market presence: Boost visibility and strengthen your competitive position through collective effort.

Cost efficiency: Benefit from resources developed and promoted at scale.

Consistent messaging: Deliver a joined-up experience for candidates while still showing your local identity.

Your Action Plan

Start immediately:

• Audit current recruitment materials against private sector standards
• Begin developing authentic employee testimonial content
• Engage with regional recruitment platforms and collaborative campaigns
• Review and strengthen your organisation's unique EVP

Build strategically:

• Create regular content calendar mixing job opportunities with culture and impact stories
• Get involved in national campaigns and show how your local roles offer people the chance to make a real impact.
• Work with schools, colleges, and universities to build a strong talent pipeline that supports your future workforce and gives young people clear pathways into the sector
• Measure and track effectiveness of different recruitment marketing approaches

The future of public sector recruitment is about blending the best of private sector marketing with what makes our sector unique: a strong sense of purpose and the power of working together at national, regional, and local levels. By sharing real stories and working in partnership, you can do more than fill vacancies. You can create lasting connections with talented people who want to make a difference.

We’re here to help. If you’d like to explore how to strengthen your recruitment marketing, just get in touch. Let’s take the next step together.