Intelligence

Employer Branding. Just Do It!

I wanted to share my thoughts on the potential evolution of recruitment.

Stop for a second and think of a popular sports brand. Come on. Just Do It!

I’m guessing that most of you thought of Nike? ✔

The power of branding is not a new concept – companies invest millions (if not billions) into product branding, designed to create a strong connection to their product. And it works.

Now consider this, up to 6o% of a company’s spend is designated to employee wages. Surely companies invest significant funds, time and effort into employer/talent branding? After all, we’ve heard countless execs say, “Employees are our greatest asset”.

Wrong!

The brutal honesty is, the concept of attracting and hiring people hasn’t really evolved since the 90’s. Companies still rely on reactive job adverts.

What if you were to say the same of marketing? Visualise it for a second. If marketing hadn’t evolved would people honestly pull an all-nighter to get their hands on the latest trainers, gadget or ‘in thing’?

No! Because 90’s adverts wouldn’t appeal in today’s market

Do these adverts honestly, make you want to run out and buy a pair of Nike trainers? (excuse the pun)

Employer branding (or Talent branding) has never been more important. Yet so many companies overlook it.

In today’s market, a strong employer brand IS the game changer. So what is it? Simply put, it’s allowing people to take a peek behind the curtain to see what it’s truly like to work at the business day-to-day and get a feel for the company, behind the name.

We all know Nike as a brand, we may have even engaged in buying their products. However, unless we know someone employed by Nike, we cannot visualise what working for Nike would be like. Company brand VS Employer Brand.

Companies with strong and attractive employer brands appeal to people proactively and are relatable. Therefore they attract the best talent. Most of us will have seen the Heineken campaign by now – would you ever have considered investing that much effort, money and creativity into hiring a graduate intern? Do you reckon it was worth it? (+279% traffic increase on Heineken’s HR sites and +317% increase in resume’s submitted after campaign launch within 3 months)

Ok, so maybe it’s tricky to get budget approval for a multi-million dollar marketing campaign. I’ve also heard renting stadiums can be quite costly… but ideas aren’t. When was the last time you showcased your company on social media? Ever taken a picture of an employee to welcome them to the company? Better still, ever interviewed the leaders of your company, discussing this year’s growth plan?

These investments attract talent.

Challenge yourself. Take a look at the last advert you’ve produced (or produced by your company)… does it reflect your brand? Can potential talent easily identify what it’s like to work for your company? Or is it another, “fantastic opportunity with a market leader, offering excellent career progression, ZZZ zzz”.

Just so we’re clear, I’m of the opinion that talent branding is the future of recruitment. This is why I’m writing this article. It’s really encouraging to start introducing these concepts to the market, better still watching customer adopting these approaches.

Partnerships are crucial. Engaging multiple departments and third parties will make the difference and is an important first step in fostering change.

As a partner, we are an extension of our customer and act as true brand ambassadors, working closely with marketing, in-house recruiters and management to secure the best talent in the market.

We all live in a mobile age. Whether we’re chasing Pokémon, or actually making a call, we’re rarely without our mobile phones. Is a job board really the best place to find talent? Do you actually need a job advert? Similar to the rarest of Pokémon (I’m told), maybe it’s time to chase talent. Just remember to treat them well when you catch them… I hear it’s best practice not to trade them in the schoolyard.

It’s time for a change. Just Do It!