Firstly on the suggestion that I should have written about ‘Why you should NOT have a recruitment blog’ – well for a start I think there’s enough negativity out there in the world without me adding to it, and then there’s the fact that I believe a corporate blog, deployed well, is a very powerful tool (for the reasons stated in the original post). So that’s not my style, nor do I think it all that constructive to rubbish those where I can see the initial effort that stretched beyond the first couple of months, even if of late things have ‘slowed” in regards to recent updates.

I praise the blog for trying – and in an organisation like PwC (where I’d imagine there’s a fine line between actions that may be career propelling or career limiting, as well as having to constantly consider client confidentiality) then that’s something in itself. And I praise the people who have, if you read into it, tried to give a real glimpse of themselves in what they’ve written about.

In one particular post I recall reading a lady was writing about her pregnancy and what that meant to her re-maternity leave etc etc That in itself conveyed some real personality and truth about the employer brand (in a good way) – however unfortunately her next post explained how she’d lost the baby but how she felt the company had supported her through this difficult time. It was authentic and heart-felt. It was a subject that this lady, and PwC, could easily have decided to not comment on and just removed earlier posts – but they didn’t. And I applaud them for that.

In that action alone they demonstrated they understood the value of a genuine human voice sounding louder than all the fanfare corporate writing can muster. And that’s what corporate blogging, particularly in the recruitment sphere, is all about. Isn’t it?!

Is the blog interface/ blog pages very poorly constructed? Yes.
Are some of the participants a little tardy in writing up their thoughts of late? Yes.
Should there be a more persuasive impetus from senior management to encourage/incentivise people, once committed to blogging, to keep up their efforts or else the recruitment team work smarter to move the responsibly around? Clearly.
But do I feel there are aspects of their effort that are worthy of some praise at least for their initial approach, whilst hopefully also balancing the argument later by explaining the areas in which they have fallen / are falling down and therefore highlighting the pitfalls too? Yes.

As I said previously – if you have any good UK based examples then please do let me know (Sodexho USA doesn’t really fit that bill). It’s a big ole market and I’m always interested in being pointed to new and exciting corners of it – thanks ☺

I had to comment on this one! Just because PWC are the ‘best’ you know of does not make them worthy of praise IMHO. I do not think they are trying at all and there are a few others doing just as much in the same sector.

Sodexo USA have a very active recruitment blog but to be honest, blogging is a time consuming activity and needs to be thought about before starting with – as we all know!

A better post would be @Why you should NOT have a recruitment blog’.

Peter

Only thing is though that we actually agree that the PwC is far from what it could or indeed should be. All I’m saying is that it’s the best I’ve come across – but kinda hoping other people will point me in the right direction of other instances (ideally UK based) where blogging is being done as it should be done. I’m currently pulling together a post on a US company I am smitten with in regards to their overall approach (Employer Branding through true employee engagement), so perhaps I should have just pointed at their work, but at the same time if you look back through some of the posts on the PwC blog I think they’ve made a real effort to allow people to talk from the heart.

Do they post frequently enough? no.
Is it particularly engaging? no (but then they are mainly accountants?

So we’ll absolutely agree it’s no nirvana – but in a very poor market in which to compare I’d give it 7/10 for initial effort and best intentions, but you’re right that it’s recent activity demotes it to a 5/10 for ongoing effort (and that’s only that high because the competition is so woeful).

Here’s to the day when we can join forces and help a client get it right from start to end & deliver compelling and engaging content along the way, showing the rest just how to do it.

It amazes me that everyone heaps praise on that blog as the nirvana of corporate blogging. Yes it might look nice, but essentially it is jusrt another corporate website, artificially called a blog.

For me it is the IBM principle here – no one is going to be ‘embarrassed’ or ‘look stupid’ if they recommend PWC as THE corporate blog to go to.

It is a shame that there is still a lack of appetitie within the corporate world for corporate blogs, because they are such a powerful tool.