In today’s competitive talent landscape, senior living organizations are searching for innovative ways to attract and retain top talent. As someone deeply immersed in HR trends, I’ve been seeing growing buzz around one approach that combines flexibility, impactful storytelling, improved user experiences and cost-effectiveness: employer microsites.
For executives interested in the broader impact of turnover and staffing costs on recruitment strategy, we share detailed attrition data and solutions in our related blog on building an Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
The Rise of the Targeted Approach
Traditional career websites serve their purpose, but they often try to be everything to everyone. This comprehensive approach, while thorough, can sometimes dilute the specific messaging needed for the most hard-to-fill positions. This is where the strategy of an employer microsite shines.
Rather than overhauling or developing a full-fledged career website, forward-thinking Life Plan Communities can create focused microsites that spotlight their culture, lifestyle and unique employee experiences. This approach gives you the freedom to craft compelling narratives around specific roles or departments helping candidates find and apply to jobs with fewer clicks—a proven method to increase conversion rates.
Aligning with EEAT Search Strategies
This microsite approach perfectly complements the EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) framework that has become crucial for search visibility, as I discuss in detail in our webinar Update Your Content Strategy for Better Demand Generation:
- Expertise: Showcase the specific expertise you’re seeking in candidates
- Experience: Highlight authentic cultural experiences through employee stories
- Authority: Demonstrate your organization’s authority on career development in your field
- Trustworthiness: Build credibility by transparently sharing benefits, career paths and employee testimonials
When these elements come together on a focused microsite, they create a powerful recruitment tool that resonates with both search algorithms and human candidates. This alignment with EEAT principles creates natural synergies with a topic-based marketing approach to your broader recruitment strategy.
Beyond Recruitment: A Retention Tool
What’s particularly valuable about this microsite approach is that it has bonus value as a retention tool. It provides a dedicated platform to celebrate employee achievements, career milestones, certifications and retirements—whatever special cultural touchpoints that will mean the most to your CNAs, DONs, culinary staff or other priority roles. Recognition sections can even be tailored to specific teams or positions facing higher turnover, directly supporting retention goals.
While these recognition moments might not warrant placement on your main website, featuring them on your employer microsite sends a powerful message about your organizational values. Current and prospective employees alike can see what your company celebrates and recognizes as exemplary.
This visibility into your culture answers the essential “what’s in it for me?” question that candidates inevitably ask—read more about this critical question in my discussion of employee value propositions in Build Your Workforce By Strategy, Not By Chance. When recruits see how you honor commitment and achievement, they gain insight into their potential future with your organization.
Cost-Effective Storytelling
One of the most appealing aspects of this approach is the potential cost savings. Many senior living providers realize that a typical job posting or career page on their website is not enough so they take the strategy of building a separate career website. While this may be an ideal strategy in many cases, it requires a significant investment. Maintaining a comprehensive career website requires significant resources. A microsite, however, allows you to start smaller while still making a substantial impact on specific teams or positions frequently facing higher turnover.
By connecting these microsites to your website (typically using a subdomain like careers.companyname.com), you maintain brand consistency while creating a dedicated space for recruitment storytelling. Rather than directing candidates to a general careers page, you can point them to a targeted experience that speaks directly to their interests and career aspirations.
A Stepping Stone Approach
For organizations seeking immediate impact without major spending, microsites offer a data-driven intermediate step and allow precise targeting for hard-to-fill or high-attrition roles.
Rather than creating a potentially overwhelming experience that showcases every available position, you can craft targeted messaging for the roles that truly need a recruitment boost. This focused approach often delivers better results than trying to address every hiring challenge simultaneously.
Moving Forward
As recruitment marketing continues to evolve, employer branding microsites represent a strategic tool that balances cost, effectiveness and flexibility. Driving traffic from digital and social ad campaigns directly to role-specific microsites rather than general career portals offers a more personalized user experience for high-attrition and hard-to-fill roles. This targeted approach helps reduce application friction and increases applicant conversion rates by making it easier for candidates to find and apply to key positions.
So, whether you’re dealing with hard-to-fill positions or those chronically high-attrition revolving door positions, this approach provides a platform for the authentic storytelling that highlights your unique culture, as well as a user-friendly platform that enhances the overall experience to encourage resume conversions. In short: It’s a cost-effective and manageable place to take the first step to a more effective and comprehensive employee recruitment strategy.
Of course, a great microsite strategy requires more than digital know-how. It takes an understanding of a Life Plan Community’s unique value propositions relative to mission-minded culture. At Love & Company, we work exclusively in the senior living field and understand the types of recruitment and retention challenges you face. We’d love to hear your story and explore if this microsite strategy might be right for you.
Ready to accelerate your hiring for hard-to-fill roles?
For organizations seeking results, developing a focused microsite strategy for high-priority roles is among the most cost-effective steps you can take to strengthen your talent pipeline and build retention. If recruitment and retention are high on your priority list, contact Wayne Langley to schedule a time to jump on a Zoom call.
