Imagine if we applied the same principles we use in our marketing to our process for recruiting new employees.
At IMPACT, we teach our clients that marketing is about education. Answering your customers' questions openly and honestly, and you'll build trust and shorten the sales cycle. Now, think of your applicants the same way. Just as your buyers are trying to gather information so they can make the right purchase, your job candidates are gathering information to find the right fit.
In this episode of Endless Customers, I talk with Executive Coach Allison Riggs about one of the toughest challenges businesses face today: high turnover and low retention. Allison explains why transparency in the recruiting process is the key to attracting the right people, setting accurate expectations, and preventing new hires from walking away after only a few months.
A 2018 Jobvite study revealed that a third of all new employees quit within 90 days. This costs businesses billions each year in recruiting, onboarding, and lost productivity.
Allison believes the root cause is a lack of transparency. Companies oversell roles, gloss over challenges, or delay discussing critical details like pay and workload. The result? New hires feel blind sided and leave.
Allison recommends treating recruiting like marketing by educating candidates throughout the process. This means being upfront about:
Salary and benefits: Don’t make applicants guess, share ranges and perks early.
Day-to-day responsibilities: Show what the role actually looks like beyond the job description.
Challenges and realities: Talk honestly about workload, expectations, and potential frustrations.
Company culture: Share not only the highlights but also the quirks and demands of working with your team.
When companies build transparency into recruiting:
They attract better-fit applicants who know what they’re signing up for.
They reduce turnover, since employees don’t feel misled.
They protect company culture by hiring people aligned with expectations.
As Allison explains, “Companies are not leading with transparency and trust in their recruiting process. If we start educating candidates the way we educate customers, we’ll have better-fit hires who stay longer.”
Need help applying these principles to your recruiting? Book a call with our team. We’ll show you how to apply the Endless Customer SystemTM to hiring, reduce turnover, and attract the right people for your company.
As a head coach at IMPACT, Allison Riggs helps businesses improve the way they market, sell, and hire.
Learn more about Allison on her IMPACT bio page
Connect with Allison on LinkedIn
Should I publish salaries on job postings?
Yes, whenever you can. Sharing salary ranges shows candidates you value fairness and transparency. It also helps you attract applicants who already know they are a financial fit for the role, saving everyone time. Even if you cannot list an exact figure, a realistic range builds trust and sets clear expectations.
Won’t transparency scare candidates away?
It might turn some people off, but those are usually the candidates who would not have been the right fit anyway. The right applicants will view transparency as a strength. It signals honesty and respect, and it makes your company stand out in a job market where many organizations still hide pay.
What kind of content helps with recruiting transparency?
Content that gives an inside look at what it is like to work at your company makes a big difference. Examples include employee bio videos, a “day-in-the-life” video, clear FAQs about benefits and career growth, and job descriptions that highlight your culture and values. These resources answer the questions candidates are already asking and help them picture themselves on your team.
How can small businesses start without overwhelming HR?
You do not need to overhaul your entire recruiting process overnight. Start small. Choose one role that is typically hard to fill and create a few simple pieces of content around it, such as a video from a team member in that role and a short FAQ page on pay and benefits. Test how it impacts applications and candidate quality before expanding to other positions.