Strategic Employer BrandingLessons learned and key objectives now and in the future

2015-11-30 Yves Schneuwly, Managing Director Switzerland & CEE

Present in 60 countries with

regional offices in New York

City, Paris, Shanghai,

Singapore and Stockholm.

Serving more than 1 700

clients globally, including

Fortune 100 companies.

Full service Employer

Branding partner, taking

clients from identifying

challenges, engaging talent

to measuring success.

Helping the world’s leading

organizations strengthen

their Employer Brands for

over 25 years.

Surveying more than

1.3 million career-seekers,

partnering with thousands of

universities and

organizations.

Thought leaders in Employer

Branding, publishing content

on C-suite level subjects.

Our Employer Branding

content is published yearly in

renowned media, e.g. WSJ,

CNN, Le Monde,

BusinessWeek.

Why are Employer Brands and EVPs important?

2,4X

1,8X

Revenue

growth

Profit margin

increase

The employer brand matters more

(Research shows that a company’s employer brand is twice

as likely to drive job consideration as its corporate brand)*

Lower turnover

(Companies with a strong employer brand have a 28%

lower turnover rate than companies with a weak employer

brand)*

A competitive advantage(Only 69% of companies work with employer branding from

a strategic perspective)**

Lower cost per hire(The cost per hire is more than twice as low for companies

with strong employer brands)*

*Linkedin Whitepaper, Why Your Employer Brand Matters, 2012

**Talent Attraction Barometer 2012 (How does you organization approach employer branding?)

***Boston Consulting Group, Creating People Advantage 2012, Mastering HR Challenges in a Two-Speed World

The Benefits of a Strong Employer Brand

4

Global Trends

Strategic Employer Branding

9 Rules of Engagement for next steps

Agenda

5

Global Trends

6

Employer branding

is hot right now

In top firms, reactionary marketing has been replaced by more forward-thinking recruitment marketing strategies -employer branding in particular to better engage candidates

TOP PRIORITYTo strengthen employer brand

SECONDARY PRIORITYTo strengthen employer brand

TERTIARY PRIORITYTo strengthen employer brand

Source: Brandon Hall Group, 2014.

State of Talent Acquisition Study

Capturing the right talent and retaining it is the key to future growth and staying

ahead of the competition!

Källa: Juergen Daum, Ocean Tomo

Tangible assets

Intangible assets

Corporate Value Creation has Changed

40%

1982 2010

85%60% 15%

8

Global Talent Shortage

Source: Manpower Talent Shortage Survey - 2015

The % of employers reporting hiring difficulties is returning to its previous War for Talent high

point

Growing CEO Concern

2008

2009

2010

2011 201

2

2013

2014

61%

46%

51%

56%53%

58%

63%2015

73%

Source: PWC Annual Global CEO Survey - 2015

% of CEOs concerned over availability of key skills / talent

High demand for digital talent

9 of 10

CEOs have a

”pressing need”

Source: PWC Annual Global CEO Survey - 2015

of Swiss students use Social Media to learn about potential

employers.

47%

Hours per week online

Minutes per day on social media

Minutes per day with our pets

23

3940

http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Usage-Involves-More-Platforms-More-Often/1010019

There is a social media land-rush happening now

with employers

YESTERDAY

WORK

GOAL

MANAGER

INSTRUCTIONS

DOGMA

AVOID MISTAKES

NATIONAL

HIERARCHY

DEPARTMENTS

TODAYLIFE

PURPOSE

MODERATOR

VALUES & CULTURE

CURIOSITY

GENERATE INSIGHTS

GLOBAL DIVERSITY

MERITOCRACY

NETWORKS

1616

L

C

Pu

Pr

I

S

Be data-led, human and purposeful.

“So what are you doing for a living?”

“I realize my great potential with a world leader. With drive and a spirit of collaboration, there are no limits

so together here at <insert random company name>we create a better and sustainable world.”

“So what are you doing for a living?”

“I do cool things that matter. I work for Google.”

of surveyed HR Leaders believe that differentiation is the

biggest challenge in their talent attraction work

Strategic Employer Branding

24

ALL EMPLOYERS HAVE

AN EMPLOYER BRAND

Even if employers don’t

actively manage the brand,

it exists and it influences

whether or not students

and young professionals

choose the employer.

THERE IS AN INTERNAL

AND AN EXTERNAL

PERSPECTIVE

A strong employer brand is

as relevant to employee

loyalty, engagement and

retention as it is to

attracting external talent.

THE CORE OF THE

BRAND IS THE EVP

To influence how talent

perceives and experiences

the employer brand,

organizations need an

Employer Value Proposition

(EVP).

AN EFFECTIVE

STRATEGY NEEDS A

SOLID FOUNDATION

It is important that the EVP

is developed using in-depth

research about current

employees, management

and external talent groups,

in order to create a

compelling and sustainable,

and effective brand.

2525

Influence Your Employer Brand in the Right Direction

Defining the Employer Value Proposition

What is an EVP?

The purpose of an Employer Value Proposition

(EVP) is to define the qualities an organization

would most like to be associated with as an

employer. It provides the key attributes and

themes that underpin your employer brand

communication and activities.

The EVP development is strategic.

What it is NOT?

The EVP is not a tag line or a visual expression. It

is the underlying content that is transformed into

messages and a communication strategy for

different talent groups and countries. The choice

of words, images and channels will depend on the

target group and might vary across countries.

The EVP implementation is operational.

E V P

Our strategic approach to Employer Branding

Are your brand building

activities actually attracting

the right talent and

enhancing your brand

perception?

What are their key career

drivers and how do those

align with their perceptions

of you and your key talent

competitors?

How do you successfully

activate your brand to

engage both current

employees and external

talent?

What are your current

engagement drivers and

key potential strengths

and differentiators as an

employer?

Where, when and how do

you communicate your key

messages using a

consistent voice to achieve

goals within your budget?

How are your

organizational purpose

and objectives impacting

your talent needs?

What unique selling points provide the most attractive, credible,

true, distinct and sustainable foundation for your employer brand?

- - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - -- - - - - -

- - -- - -

--

-

Attractive

attributesStrategy &

internal identity

External image

1. What is sustainable in relation to

the strategy & what is the true

identity?

3. What is associated with this

specific employer?

2. What is attractive to the specific

talent target group?

4. What is differentiating compared

to the competitors?

How to define the Employer Branding strategy

28

EVPEMPLOYER

BRANDING

STRATEGY

• Degree of change?(Current strengths vs. Future aspirational stretch)

• Degree of consistency?(Global consistency vs. Local adaptation)

• Degree of differentiation?(Competitive parity vs. Competitive differentiation)

• Balance of expectation?(What you give employees vs. What you expect in

return)

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Attractive

True

Credible

Distinct

Sustainable

Key Strategic Questions and Balancing Acts

Strong and consistent profile

Universum recommends that employers develop one EVP to be used on a global level for

all target groups and business units.

Select the attributes that define the

Employer Brand and can be

communicated as the global EVP.

Tweak the actual communications

and messages (the examples,

stories and reasons to believe in

the organization, for example) for

the target groups.

The Global EVP

Tailored Messages

USA Sweden etc.

Engineering

Students

Business

Students

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One Global or Many Local EVPs?

What are you looking for in an attractive employer?

What do you associate with Company X and its competitors?

EXTRINSIC INTRINSIC

HA

RD

SO

FT

Employer Reputation & Image

Job Characteristics

People & Culture

The attributes of the employer as an organisation

• Attractive/exciting products and services

• Corporate Social Responsibility

• Environmental sustainability

• Ethical standards

• Fast-growing/entrepreneurial

• Financial strength

• Innovation

• Inspiring management

• Market success

• Prestige

The social environment and attributes of the workplace

• A creative and dynamic work environment

• A friendly work environment

• Acceptance towards minorities

• Enabling me to integrate personal interests in my schedule

• Interaction with international clients and colleagues

• Leaders who will support my development

• Recognising performance (meritocracy)

• Recruiting only the best talent

• Respect for its people

• Support for gender equality

The contents and demands of the job, including the

learning opportunities provided by the job

• Challenging work

• Client interaction

• Personal control over my number of working hours

• Flexible working conditions

• High level of responsibility

• Opportunities for international travel/relocation

• Professional training and development

• Secure employment

• Team-oriented work

• Variety of assignments

Remuneration & Advancement

Opportunities

The monetary compensation and other benefits, now and

in the future

• Clear path for advancement

• Competitive base salary

• Competitive benefits

• Good reference for future career

• High future earnings

• Leadership opportunities

• Overtime pay/compensation

• Performance-related bonus

• Rapid promotion

• Sponsorship of future education

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The Universum Image Framework

How to localize the EVP

Part of the Company X

EVP, but not attractive

and not associated with

Company X – no focus!

Part of the Company X

EVP, attractive and

associated with Company

X – is it differentiating

from your Competitors?

Part of the Company X EVP, not

attractive, but associated with

Company X – not too much focus!

Not part of the Company X EVP,

not attractive, but associated with

Company X – not too much focus,

but keep in mind that talents expect

this from Company X!

Not part of the Company X EVP,

attractive and associated with

Company X – more focus? Localize

the EVP?

Not part of the Company X

EVP, attractive and not

associated with Company

X – more focus? Localize

the EVP?

Part of the Company X EVP, attractive

and not associated with Company X –

More focus? Why is this not associated

with Company X? Is the communication

not conveying the intended message?

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Attractive

attributes

Company X

EVP

External

image of

company X

DISTINCTIVE

COMPETITIVE

THRESHOLD

The employer’s unique

selling points

Attributes where the

employer is as strong as

the peer group

Attributes where the

employer meets the

students’ general

requirements

On par with average

employers

On par with leading

talent competitors

Clearly differentiated

from key talent

competitors

DESCRIPTION GOAL

Competitive parity vs. Competitive differentiation

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9 Rules of Engagement for next steps

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1. Define your purpose

2. Have a clear EVP – that is attractive, credible, true, distinct and sustainable

3. Do not only base your strategy on internal

findings

4. Have management involvement

5. Localize/adapt – one size does not fit all

6. Dare to be different and clear in your messaging

7. Always be data-driven, human and purposeful in your communication

8. Leverage and master Social Media

9. Track the success/development – what gets measured gets done!

Thanks…until next time

Yves Schneuwly

Managing Director Switzerland & CEE

yves.schneuwly@universumglobal.com