Be Strategic with your Employer Brand

Employer branding equals emotional connection between employees and the organization they work for. Emotion is often left out of the business strategy, but in fact, there is a direct link between how connected employees feel to the organization and their level of engagement. 

The talent market is fast evolving and never has current and future talent been more important to business success. Today we see organizations talking about having a “top talent” focus. We also see the evolution of new titles like the “Chief Talent Officer”. It is clear that attracting and retaining the right talent is becoming a key organizational capability.  We are moving away fast from a short term recruitment focus to a long term employer branding focus.

 Companies that take a long term approach to developing their employer brands in a direction that is aligned with long term business needs will gain a competitive advantage.

Here are a few steps they are taking to get it done: 
 
1. Understand the business needs
Without fully understanding the long term business needs, employer branding activities may be misdirected. It is about understanding the type of competences the organization needs to deliver on the business plan.

2. Understand your target audience
Based on the business needs and the critical competences, this step is all about defining the weight between current and future talent, i.e. how many resources should we spend on attracting new talent versus retaining and developing current talent; and about defining the main and secondary external target groups that we need to reach. After defining the main and secondary external and internal target groups, we need to fully understand them. Based on research, one should understand what is attractive to them and where we can find these target groups. We should also know their current perception of our organization as an employer and which stage of the decision process they are in. The deeper the understanding, the more effective the communication will be.

3. Optimize the Employer Value Proposition
An Employer Value Proposition should be the foundation for all external and internal communication with talent. Optimizing it means we ensure it includes attributes and communication themes that are attractive, true internally, credible, sustainable and which allow for differentiation in the long term.

4. Define organizational metrics and set objectives
We now know what is important to our business and we have understood the target groups. It is time to find ways to measure our impact and to set objectives. By selecting the right KPIs that measure, for example, our attractiveness and brand association, we can set annual goals which, when met, mean that we are moving our brand in a direction that is fully aligned with our business needs.

5.. Define an optimal communication mix
Through our research we know which stage of the decision process our target groups are in and we should therefore be able to define if our main focus should be on driving awareness, consideration or desire. This fundamental knowledge will allow us to optimize our selection of communication channels and will lead to the best possible ROI.

6. Create annual plan
We now have many of the components in place to create our annual employer branding plan. By including the business needs, the target group’s definition and insights, the communication mix, the objectives, the main strategies and the metrics, the plan becomes very solid. To this we should only add the activities plan, i.e. which activities we do when.

7. Develop communication ideas
Based on the selected communication channels, we now need to develop communication ideas that will create the greatest possible impact on the target groups as well as set us apart from the competition. These communication ideas and concepts should of course be tested with the target groups before being executed.

8. Execute and follow-up
With the plan and communication ideas in place it is now time to execute and continuously follow up. Using the right metrics and by regularly updating them against the objectives, one will be able to correct and optimize when needed, and ultimately to deliver on the company’s business needs.

Recruitment Tip: Anticipate the Counteroffer

The Counteroffer-- Don't Be Blindsided by the Final Objection

For a recruiter, no disaster compares to an accepted counteroffer. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that most of us would rather suffer a year’s worth of phone rejection than face those four fateful words, “I’ve changed my mind.”

To protect your investment in time, money and hiring managers needs, it makes sense to closely monitor the entire placement process. If you discover that your candidate lacks sufficient motivation to make a job change—or is using your hiring manager’s job as career leverage—you should immediately place the potential for a closed position on a heightened state of alert.

Remember that even a properly vetted candidate can catch you by surprise and jilt an otherwise “perfect” placement. To protect against a counteroffer that may be bubbling beneath the surface, look for these common warning signs:

1. Delays or interruptions. If the candidate breaks the interviewing cycle in midstream (as evidenced by persistent rescheduling or unavailability), it could indicate a renewed affection for his current employer.

2. Prolonged indecision. A passive-aggressive candidate who takes forever to make up his mind—or constantly needs more information—never wanted the job in the first place.

3. Inappropriate consultations. When a candidate discusses your client’s job with a workplace peer (or worse, a supervisor), it’s a sure sign he’s angling for a counteroffer.

4. Surprise reviews. It’s funny how quickly a candidate’s boss will fork over a raise, especially when the candidate telegraphs that he’s looking around.

5. Mixed-message resignation letters. When possible, review a draft of the “goodbye” letter, especially if you’re working with an inexperienced or high-risk candidate; and strike any solicitous phrases such as, “I hope there may be an opportunity here for me in the future,” or, “This has been a difficult, heart-wrenching decision for me.”

To win the war against counteroffers, vigilance and preparation are your most powerful allies. If a closing begins to smell funny, close the candidate once and for all—or find another candidate for the job. Otherwise, you could be in for a rough ride, with little control over the outcome of your search.

   
 Sample Resignation Letter:

Dear (Supervisor):

This letter is to inform you that I will be resigning from (Company) to pursue a new position with another company. My last date of employment will be (Date). I will continue to support the projects assigned to me until that time.

I have enjoyed working under your supervision, and I appreciate the opportunity you have given me to apply my experience.

Sincerely,

(Candidate’s name)

Employer Branding: 4 Must Haves (and a 5th bonus tip)

Jody Ordioni shared these great thoughts on ERE recently.  

Employer branding is the new black.

LinkedIn is spreading the word about the significance of having a strong employer brand, and at the same time providing more tools and resources to help companies promote one on their platform.
This is great news for talent acquisition professionals who are on the front lines of trying to win the hearts and minds of top talent everywhere. And while there are many who question the economic recovery, U.S. unemployment levels have dropped to a three-year low and in the IT sector, many companies are offering employees up to $10,000 in referral bonuses. The message is clear: it’s time to look at your employer brand.
So you’re not Apple, Amazon, Deloitte, or Disney. Don’t despair. That doesn’t mean you can’t have an employer brand or employer value proposition of your own.

Here are four things to tell your boss when you’re putting it into your 2013 budget.

1. It’s not a headline or tagline within your recruitment marketing materials. Your employer brand is the essence of the employer/employee contract. It’s the reason people join your company and the reasons they stay. (Intuitively this information may be known to some or all of your organization, but going through the exercise of defining your brand architecture — your differentiators and employer value proposition — will make sure that you’re all speaking in one voice.) Once this is defined, it may never appear in any of your recruitment marketing materials or internal communications. The essence of the employer value proposition can be communicated in a multitude of ways, varying by business unit, country, or corporate initiative.
2. It makes the company money. A well-defined employer brand will be integrated with the business strategy and articulate the shared responsibilities for achieving success. The ROI is not an HR metric (cost-per-hire, time-to-fill) but rather revenue growth. In March 1994, Harvard Business Review wrote about the service-profit chain. Employee satisfaction drives customer satisfaction/loyalty and revenue growth. This relationship still holds true today. Employer branding fuels employee engagement, engagement fosters productivity, and productivity fuels profitability.
3. It saves the company money Good employer branding connects employees with cultures — and the chance of a hiring misfire is greatly reduced. There is transparency in the employer-employee contract and everyone knows the deal going in. Turnover goes down. Recruiting costs go down.
4. It doesn’t cost a lot of money. Communication audits and employer branding surveys can get the ball rolling, and executive interviews and internal focus groups can be selectively added. For a small research plan, costs can be as low as $10,000 – $15,000. If you’re lucky enough to get a bigger budget, I recommend you survey or speak with external constituents to really provide context and color to your internal findings.
5. You will have more fun at work. Yes, it’s true. Once you have gone through your branding exercise and embedded the essence of your competitive differentiation into your careers website, videos, recruitment, and social media marketing, and internal communications, you’re all set to reap the rewards. Happy hiring managers, increased employee referrals, more unsolicited resumes coming in from top talent, lower turnover, and greater retention. You’ll have more time to work on other critical initiatives like workforce planning, talent management, or diversity and inclusion.

Work Smarter: Make your To-Do list work for you

Do you keep a to-do list at work? And if you do is it a source of happiness at work or an endless source of frustration, overflowing with unsolved tasks – as it is for many people?
One blog post sums it up like this:

I hate my to-do list because

1. I feel so overwhelmed when I see this long list of to-dos.
2. Items not crossed off on the to-do list are a reminder that I didn’t finish what I set out to do and that I could have done more with my day.

If you feel the same way, here are 3 simple tips to help you use your to-do list in a way that creates happiness at work rather than frustration.

1: Change your to-do list to a could-do list

This is something I’ve been doing for several months now when I noticed my ‘To Do’ list was generating a sense of frustration.
Now, I write a ‘Could Do’ list, instead of a ‘To Do’ list. When I draw up my daily lists of tasks I refuse to see it as stuff I have to get done. When I did that in the past, I’d feel a sense of dissatisfaction at the end of the day when I didn’t have everything ticked off, despite the fact that I knew when I wrote it, it was highly unlikely I’d get to everything.
It’s a tiny shift, but by viewing it as a list of things I could do today, I’m relieving the pressure to get them all done. It feels like there’s more of an element of choice around how I spend my time – I don’t have to do x today, I could leave it till tomorrow and focus more attention on y today instead.
Now, at the end of the day, I don’t mind how many ticks I do or don’t have against the items on my list, and I feel better about my day’s work because there is no shadow from what I should have done and didn’t.

I think that’s a fantastic idea. It’s a subtle shift inside your own mind that is likely to help you get started. In my experience, taking the pressure off yourself makes you more likely to get stuff done. Which is of course a sharp contrast to traditional business thinking which holds that greater pressure = greater performance.

2: Add everything you do to the list

Let’s face it, most of what you do during the day probably isn’t on your to-do list. Many tasks just arise during the day in an ad hoc manner. So add those to the to-do list as well.
For instance, after writing this blog post (which was NOT on my to-do list, inspiration just suddenly grabbed me) I will add an item to my list that says Blog about to-do lists, set the deadline for today and immediately cross it off my list.
It may seem redundant, but there is actually a sense of accomplishment (and a release of dopamine, the brain’s own motivation drug) from crossing it off the list) even if I’ve just now added it.
This also makes sense in light of the third tip:

3: Once a week, look at all the tasks you’ve completed

In my opinion, the major problem with most to-do lists software is, that they only show you what you haven’t yet completed. As soon as you finish a task it disappears from the list forever.
One of the major sources of happiness at work is getting stuff done and seeing the results of your work. A to-do list that only shows you everything you haven’t yet done, is likely to make you less happy at work.
But there’s an easy hack for that: Once a week go into your to-do list and look at everything you got done in the last week. This may be a good thing to do on a Friday afternoon. If you have trouble remembering to do it, you could even put this on your (yes) to-do list and then cross it off once you’ve done it!

The upshot

To-do lists are an effective tool to make sure you remember to do everything you need to do at work. However, they tend to make people unhappy at work because they only focus on what we have not done. Fortunately, we can hack that.
Here’s a bonus tip:
When you’re deciding which task to do next, don’t necessarily pick the first one on the list or the most important one. Instead, pick one you feel like doing right now.
This is not always possible and sometimes there are critical tasks that you simply need to do right now. But often you have the choice of what to do first and in that case, go with the one you want to do.
That will make you much more likely to get it done and give you more energy to apply to the less fun tasks. If you start with the hardest, the most important or the most boring task, that may steal your energy and motivation completely.

Your take

What do you think – could any of these tips work for you? Do you have any other good ways to effectively and happily use to-do lists? Please write a comment, I’d love to hear your take.

Leadership Tip: Client Relationships

Start Your New Client Relationship Right

A client often decides whether to trust you, rely on you, and ultimately give you more business based on your first few days or weeks of working together. Here are three ways to set up the relationship for success:

• Make an accurate first impression. Make them feel comfortable, but also set clear expectations about what you can and can't offer. Don’t oversell your skills.
• Be responsive. React to client requests quickly or you risk giving the impression you aren't really listening. If you really need them to wait, tell them why and offer a next step.
• Keep up the pace. If you don’t continue that responsiveness, your client may wonder what's wrong. Consistency implies stability, and clients always want to feel like they're in good hands.