Job boards are a unique tool to grow your organization. When you create a job board you open the door to new industry partners, increased community engagement, greater brand awareness, and sometimes—you uncover an additional revenue source.
As a program manager, HR representative, or marketing director, it may feel pretty obvious why your organization would benefit from a job board. However, as with all internal processes, you probably have to run it up the flagpole and convince the higher-ups it’s worth the budget, time, and resources.
We’re going to walk you through how to navigate the buy-in process so you can get the internal green light to launch a job board for your organization. Before you head into the meeting, it’s essential you know what to expect and what roadblocks will most likely arise.
Let’s talk through 3 questions your team will inevitably ask and how to effectively answer them.
“How will a job board help our organization grow?”
There are a myriad of reasons why a job board can aid in your organization’s growth. Here are a few job board benefits that may come in handy during your pitch:
✓ Audience Support — Prove you’re committed and invested in your audience by doing the job research legwork for them.
✓ Relationship-building — Have a reason to reach out and introduce your organization to industry partners and credible businesses looking for talent.
✓ Community Engagement — Create more engagement opportunities and ask your audience to explore your job board so they can land their dream job.
✓ Increased Credibility — Be known as the go-to [INSERT INDUSTRY HERE] organization that successfully matches organizations with top-tier talent.
✓ Brand Awareness — Drive more traffic to your website by creating a new pathway to your organization, therefore increasing your visibility.
✓ Additional Revenue — Create paid job listings and earn a new stream of revenue to reinvest back into your marketing efforts.
In short—there are a lot of ways a job board can grow your organization. In order to get the big green light at the end of your pitch, make sure you understand your organization’s business objectives first. Then cherry-pick the main 3-4 job board advantages that help meet those objectives. It’s the easiest and clearest way for higher-ups to understand the benefits of a job board.
“How much does a job board cost?”
If you work for an association, institution, or membership-based organization, you’re most likely working on a lean budget. Your organization’s primary objective is to thoughtfully serve its members and it’s considered a big leap—and risk—to introduce something new, especially when there’s budget on the line.
In a crowded job board platform market, it can be overwhelming to evaluate different pricing structures because it’s not like comparing apples to apples. The most important decision you will need to make is whether or not your organization needs a standard or customized job board.
How much customization does your organization’s future job board really need? We find that most first-time job boards can be extremely successful with a standard job board functionality. The standard job board still allows you to add your branding elements, and integrate your favorite apps like MailChimp, Appcast, and Linkedin Login. Most often a standard job board can be set up and managed by one person—all that’s required is basic computer skills. Standard solutions can be paid on a monthly or annual payment plan so it’s a great option to explore if you want something cost-effective, simple, and easy-to-learn. The pricing can range from $99-$1,000 a month.
If you do decide to go with a custom solution, you’ll have a more sophisticated platform that allows you to create a custom-tailored board. You will likely require a full team of developers to help you get your custom job board up and running. This could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So, our advice to you: Know if your organization would benefit from a customized or standard job board solution. If you want an easy way to compare pricing options, save yourself some time and check out Job Board Doctor’s 20/21 Job Board Software Buyers Guide.
“How do we know a job board will be worth it?”
Gratefully job board software has become more intelligent so it’s a pretty turn-key experience to get up and running from day 1. This means you get faster results—which higher-ups appreciate.
Most job board platforms give you the power to brand your job board. So in minutes you’ve got your logo, colors, and design elements all plugged in. It makes your internal team happy to see your organization’s brand featured in a new space and it gives them confidence that their audience will feel immediately welcomed.
As soon as your job board is operating, start reaching out to companies to feature their latest job listings. Once you have a growing supply, it’s easy to merchandise the board to your audience and drive demand. Announce on your marketing channels that your job board is now live and you’re excited to match job seekers to their dream job.
Collect early feedback from job seekers and employers on what they love/hate about your new job board. Iterate quickly on what’s not working and stay in close communication. Those early-adopter users are key to your job board success.
When you receive positive feedback, make sure you share it with your team. For the left-brained skeptics, it’s also a good idea to showcase positive data points. You can spotlight engagement metrics like traffic and conversion to show that your job board is a working asset driving growth for your organization.
So, when you go into that pitch meeting, ensure you have a plan and make a commitment to demonstrate early job board success. Your higher-ups will be at ease and more willing to sign off.
If you didn’t get buy-in quite yet, consider signing up for a job board platform trial to get early results before heading into your meeting. We’re happy to help you answer any tough questions your boss may throw at you. Feel free to reach out to us at support@smartjobboard.com.
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