Hosting a forum for customers to help each other can significantly reduce support requests — and save companies heaps of money.

I have yet to find a professionally satisfying "talent community." Why? Because "community" speaks to two-way conversation and most talent communities are email blasting tools with new labels on the tin. But I have to imagine that we must (by now) be on the precipice of actually getting talent communities right. Why? Because companies around the world are finding the value of building communities of customers and prospects, so that thinking will trickle down to us at some point. Right?

I will admit right now that I have yet to see a "talent community" which is actually more than just a mailing list and job posting spam. A community is a place where there is two-way interaction including between members, not just a set of targets to blast with email. (By the way, if you read that as "that's why I shouldn't build a community, you're missing the point: there's a huge opportunity here to build a community because everyone wants one and no one's done it right yet!) So it might make sense to take this opportunity, as you pivot the brand and figure out your strategy going forward, to think about getting serious about your own community.

Has anyone come across a legitimately good (not “good enough”) talent community? I still haven’t. But I have hope that it can be done, especially when I see consumer-side communities grow. Here are some examples on a strong community and how they got that way. P.S. the word “community” suggests two-way communication. P.P.S. If you think spamming people with open requisitions is a “valuable service,” try again.

Speaking of community, we’re not the only ones struggling with the idea that we want to get people excited to learn more about us before we have the right role open. Turns out, consumer brands are trying to figure out the same puzzle. The first question you should ask is: what can I help my community members do?