This year’s Creative Excellence Awards show that Alstin Communications is continuing its winning creative ways.

Congratulations to our graphic designers, copywriters, account executives, administration — and of course, the clients — who make it possible for us to be one of the top dogs.

 Our 2011 Award Winners

1st PLACE

Non-Print Advertising/Promotions (Video/Film, Movie Slides)

2nd PLACE

Self Promotion (Multimedia) – Click Here to View!

2nd PLACE

Employee/Internal Communications (Referral Program) – Click Here to View!

3rd PLACE

Self Promotion (Online)

 We’ve all seen promotional products done poorly. The sloppily printed smiley face squeeze ball that ends up rolling around your office drawer. The pen that doesn’t write. The letter opener that you’ll never use. But when promotional products are done correctly they can be one of the most memorable and inexpensive ways to make an impact. In fact, recent studies show that promotional products have the lowest cost per impression of all media. That’s a lot of bang for your buck. And that’s where YourHRStore comes in.

www.yourhrstore.com

 YourHRStore is our new custom promotional products electronic storefront. We’ve developed a convenient venue for HR professionals to find the right products for their very specific needs. A well-chosen and professionally executed product can undoubtedly add impact to your HR initiatives. The new hire who is greeted with a gift that reflects your corporate identity. The career fair materials that draw applicants to your booth. The customized giveaways that reinforce the importance of retaining your employees. These are smart ways for HR to effectively use promotional products.

Take a look at our site and then add YourHRStore to your list of go-to vendors. It’s a smaHRt way to make a big impact.

Beautiful spring weather has hit the Philadelphia area–finally! Hopefully, the warm weather will also coincide with a thawing of frozen recruiting budgets, icy austerity programs and the glacial pace of economic recovery.

With the start of the new season, it might be time to look at how you communicate with candidates and employees–and do some tidying up. Here’s a few places that might need a good cleaning:

Career Pages of your Website
Most organizations spend so much time, energy and money driving people to the career part of their website. So what happens when they get there? Is there engaging content that reinforces your employment brand? Can they easily find the information they need? Do you have videos and podcasts? ‘Day in the life” pages for key positions? How’s that application process? Little improvements to your website can net big returns in visits and applications.

Employee Referral Program
Readers of our blog know what a huge believer I am in ERPs – see my previous articles on ERPs here: Part One and Part Two. Nearly every recruiting study will tell you that ERPs are simply the best way to get the highest quality candidate. But be careful: the manner in which your ERP is promoted, administered, rewarded and communicated says volumes about your recruiting department and your entire organization.

Social Media
Perhaps you’re getting tired of all the buzz about social media for recruiting–or maybe you’re apprehensive because there’s so much to learn, and you’re not sure what’s hype and what’s real. Whatever your feelings, there are undeniable benefits–and undeniable pitfalls–to recruiting using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media tools.

Metrics metrics metrics
Maybe the arrival of spring is happening at the same time your organization is ramping up its recruiting efforts. One thing is for sure: you’re going to be held accountable for every dollar you spend, so make sure that your recruiting initiatives come with detailed tracking of results.

Employer Branding
The big question: what is the value proposition you are offering candidates, and how are you communicating that offer? In 2009 I think too many companies put branding and employee communication on hold when hiring needs slowed down. If the previous sentence describes your organization, the time to get back on track is now, not when you have 50 open positions and hiring managers breathing down your back. The recruiting landscape has changed dramatically since 2008. What do you want candidates to think about when they hear your organization’s name?

Spring is here, and it’s time to clean up the cobwebs and get moving! If you need more information on any of the above topics or if I can answer any questions, just drop me a line at trosato@alstin.com