New Year's Resolutions for HR and Talent Acquisition Professionals

Welcome to 2014. The economic outlook predicts that competition for talent will increase, making this one of the most challenging years for recruiting in recent memory. How can your company stand out and attract the most talented workers?

For friends of Brandemix in talent acquisition, I've analyzed some recent trends and found there are three pressing issues for recruiters in the coming year. Make one, two, or all three of these your New Year's resolutions and watch your company make better hires.

Invest in employer branding
An employer brand is the promise your company makes to employees. It communicates your vision as an organization and the employees' role in realizing it. A strong, compelling employer brand attracts top talent, retains them, and helps them perform to their best abilities. It also increases referrals, decreases turnover, and drives profits. 

The best employer brands come from research. Communications audits and anonymous surveys make a good start; employee focus groups and executive interviews are even better. From these findings, you'll discover why employees choose to work for your company, why they stay, and even why they leave. You'll learn the C-suite's long-term goals. And you'll see the company's values clearly emerge. None of this has to cost a lot of money: a basic research plan's price is around $10,000. This can be the year you make a bold statement to job-seekers and take a unique position in the job market. Download a FREE copy of our Employer Branding Strategy Guide.

Add social media to your recruiting
78% of recruiters have made a hire through social media, and 29% of job-seekers found their favorite job through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Social media is a great way to communicate your employer brand, keep your company top of mind, and engage with the most attractive job-seekers -- even passive ones. Make 2014 the year you put a significant effort into social recruiting.

Already on Facebook? Add Twitter. Already on Twitter? Take the next step to Pinterest or Instagram. Mastered those? Get on YouTube and start creating videos. Reach out to job-seekers by showing and telling how your employer brand differentiates you and you'll create a unique connection with your desired audience. Download a FREE copy of our Social Media Strategy Guide for Talent Acquisition.

Make your careers site mobile-friendly
Here are some amazing facts: 31% of searches for "jobs" come from mobile devices. But many careers sites aren't optimized for mobile -- and 65% of job-seekers will simply leave a site if it's hard to use on their mobile device; 40% will even have a negative opinion of that company. This doesn't just apply to entry-level positions, either, as 65% of applicants to executive positions use tablets.

As phone, tablets, and "phablets" become more popular, this demographic is only going to increase. If your site isn't optimized for mobile (also known as "responsive design"), you're conceding a large pool of talent to your competition. This year, it's time to not only to match your competitors but to leave them behind, with a mobile site that's clear, easy, and even fun to use.

Ready to rock 2014?
If you'd like to learn more about how Brandemix can help with your employer branding, social recruiting, or mobile websites, contact us, and one of our experts will be in touch.

I hope you and your entire recruiting team have a great year.

Busting Employer Branding Myths

Considering how important employer branding is, I still encounter a lot of confusion and misinformation about it. So, as a public service, I thought I'd bust some of the myths about employer branding.

Myth #1: Employer branding is unnecessary

Some clients tell me, "We're an employer of choice; great candidates will find us." And yet you never hear executives at Apple or Disney or Coke say "Everyone knows our products; customers will find us." In fact, those brands have massive marketing budgets. You can't assume that your exact desired demographic, whether it's MIT grads or truck drivers, will actively seek you out. Or think about this: What if great candidates do know you -- and don't like what they see? Employer branding can increase awareness and engagement by refocusing your messaging on your company's mission, vision, values, and business strategy.

Myth #2: Employer branding is expensive

Good employer branding actually saves you money, through lower recruiting costs, higher engagement, and increased productivity/sales. Depending on the plan goals, a basic research project can be launched for as little as $10,000. You can start small with communication audits and internal surveys, and then add executive interviews and employee focus groups. If you can secure a larger spend, we recommend surveying external constituents to provide context to your internal findings. 

Myth #3: Employer branding is completely separate from consumer branding

It better not be! An employer brand must be absolutely aligned with and inspired by the consumer brand. After all, candidates are customers, investors, and influencers. One of the first things we do on any employer branding project is break through organizational silos and align the employer brand with the company's current messaging. We try to get all stakeholders -- Marketing, HR, Internal Communications -- into the same room to make sure we have a consistent brand that's authentic on both sides of the house. Along the way, we often help Marketing and HR become friends!

Myth #4: Employer branding research can be done in-house

It can, but it's much more difficult. Employees are reluctant to share their true feelings with their HR department for fear of reprisal. Executives interviewing each other often leads to an "echo chamber" effect, where no one advocates change. And external constituents, such as customers and former applicants, think surveys are a marketing ploy and stay away. Brandemix is a neutral third party; we take empathetic listening to the next level by listening, probing, and processing. An outside set of eyes can reveal things about your employer brand that you never saw.

Myth #5: Employer branding only helps the hiring managers

Au contraire! The entire company benefits from a strong employer brand. You'll attract employees who are a good fit for the culture, who stay longer, perform better, and recommend the company to others. More referrals and lower turnover makes for a happier, more stable workplace. HR will have more time to work on other initiatives, like workforce planning, talent management, or diversity. Eventually, you'll have weeded out the underachievers and filled your roster with satisfied employees, which studies have shown create more profit for the entire organization.

Don't let these myths fool you. Employer branding is crucial to the success of any company, from a nonprofit to a regional chain to a global corporation. It cuts costs, generates profits, and can turn your company into a true employer of choice.

Any other myths you want busted? Drop me a line.

Brandemix Bonus Reel: The Importance of Employer Branding

A strong employer brand can lead to more engaged employees, which leads to great productivity, which leads to higher profits. So why do so few organizations have one? Director of Interactive Branding Jason Ginsburg explains how an effective employer brand is created.

If you'd like to learn more about Brandemix's employer branding services, write to employerbranding@brandemix.com.

How to Build an Employer Brand

Many organizations pay attention to branding but overlook the importance of an employer brand, which defines who you are as an employer. Just as your consumer brand tells the public what your brand stands for, an employer brand speaks to your employees – from the newest hire to the CEO – and to your potential employees, the job-seekers whose first encounter with your company may be through your employer brand.

Employer brands also help job-seekers self-select, help HR recruit and train to the brand, and help the entire workforce promote the brand through their actions and communications. The effect it has on quality of hire can separate a good company from a truly great one.

A few statistics from Employer Brand International

With that in mind, here is a brief overview on the process to create an effective employer brand.

An employer brand deserves the same study and due diligence as any other major decision your company makes. That means embarking upon a solid research plan that involves employees from every level.  Typical research plans include quantitative, in the form of an objective, anonymous survey; qualitative, in the form of focus groups and one-on-one interviews; and ideation sessions, workshops for collective brainstorming. Participants can include employees, potential employees, executives, customers, and even vendors. Be sure to align the findings with your company’s mission, vision, business objectives, and consumer brand.

Once you’ve discovered how people feel about your brand, you should find your niche, the areas where you deliver a singular employee experience that no one else can match.

These concepts can be illustrated through an “employer brand architecture.” Your organization’s vision is the foundation of the structure. Your differentiators make up the “pillars.” The “roof,” your employer value proposition, is the single-minded expression of the benefits of working for your organization.

All this work isn’t just to have a catchy slogan on Monster.com. An employer brand positively affects a number of talent management concerns, from attraction to retention to employee referrals. A strong employer brand creates more engaged employees, which leads to higher profitability.

In 1994, a group of researchers from Harvard University published a study (and later a book) on the Service Profit Chain, arguing for a direct link between employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profit. Some subsequent studies put the difference between the best “chains” and the worst as high as 20% – which could mean billions of dollars. More recently, a study by Aon Hewitt found that companies with engaged employees outperformed the stock market by 22% in 2010.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a non-profit, a local business, a national chain, or a global powerhouse; every organization succeeds with the best talent. Build your employer brand and you’ll enjoy greater profits, happier, more productive employees, and a great culture that attracts and keeps the talent you need to fulfill your business objectives. Ready to create or refresh your employer brand? Contact me.

The 6 Essential Steps to an Effective Brand Plan

The Brand Plan.  

The first step in any successful branding or rebranding effort is the creation of the brand plan. The brand plan provides a roadmap for creating, marketing, launching and promoting your brand, and is relevant for both your internal and external activations.

How do you create a brand plan? It can take months of research, discovery, analysis, and creative development, but here's a slimmed-down version to help get you started:  
Start With a Vision
Your vision statement is aspirational. It’s about the future, not the present; it’s who you want to be as a company and where you want to be in the marketplace. It’s a goal that you will try to attain for the next three, five, or 10 years. Don’t be timid! A vision statement can be grand, bold, and optimistic. It should be an ideal worth aspiring to. This step involves research and discovery from everyone in the organization, as they’ll all be asked to contribute toward the goal.

Plan the Mission
The vision is where you want to be; the mission is how you get there. How will you achieve your goals and how will you know when you’re successful? At best, a mission statement also includes a brief version of your company’s philosophy and purpose. As Entrepreneur.com says, “Your mission statement doesn't have to be clever or catchy – just accurate.” Spend time fine-tuning every single word, since your mission statement will be your guiding principles for the life of your vision.

It's all right to have your head in the clouds when writing your vision and mission.

SWOT it Out   
A brand plan includes an analysis of your company’s place in the market, broken down into four parts: Strengths – including your expertise, uniqueness, resources, or anything else that gives your company an advantage. Weaknesses – issues that may be holding you back from your potential; what knowledge or capabilities are you missing? Opportunities – such as an emerging customer need that you can meet, a new technology that will change your market, or a reduction in regulations or costs. Threats – problems on the horizon such as a customer need, technology, or law that make the market worse for your company.

Strategize Tactically
You now know where you want to go, how you’ll get there, and your current and future advantages and disadvantages. Now you can create a strategy that will help you get from here to there, using your strengths to take advantage of the opportunities and avoid the obstacles. This means creating a strategy, the large-scale plan for success. Within this are tactics, the individual programs, products, and initiatives that contribute to the strategy. In war, strategy involves which battles you’re going to fight; the tactics are how you fight them. Don’t get them mixed up or you can find yourself wasting resources on a tactic or overlooking the importance of a strategy.

Bring in the Numbers
Visions and missions can be “touchy-feely,” but a brand plan should include numbers. If you’re launching a new product, how many will be in your first shipment? What are your metrics for success – sales, hires, press mentions, social media responses? What’s the minimum ROI that will allow you to move on to the next step? And what’s the budget for each of your tactics? Don’t let your enthusiasm make you neglect the most important numbers – time and money!

Some brand plans are measured in months; others in hours

3, 2, 1, Launch!
The plan is in place. Now it’s time to execute. Put that new budget to use and start designing, writing, creating, and activating. After so much discussion and preparation, everyone will be eager for results. Help them out with a quick win, an easily achieved goal that boosts your employees’ confidence and builds momentum for the next round. Quick wins silence doubters and give you something to point to at the first few status meetings and say, “This worked.”

Your brand plan is finished. Guided by your mission statement, you’re implementing your strategy and tactics, making your vision a reality. You’ve made some quick wins, you’re analyzing the metrics, and you’re aware of both the perils and the promise of the future. You’ve put in place a solid foundation for success.

At Brandemix, we specialize in brand planning, brand architecture, brand positioning, and branding initiatives. If you’d like to learn more, contact me. I’d love to share our knowledge with you.