The first in a series discussing how young, growing technology companies can develop an employer brand to compete with the global technology leaders

1. Protecting the Employer Brand you may
or may not have
Employer Branding
Workshop #1

2. • “.. communicates the employment experience you offer. It is
not just a look, statement, style or a list of jobs with good
creative. An employer brand is the essence of what your
organisation stands for. It communicates your culture,
values and beliefs. It reflects the personality of your
organisation. It defines what makes you unique and what
you stand for. It attracts the people you would like to hire,
and makes them want to engage with you”
– The Value of a Managed Employer Brand in an increasingly
Competitive Landscape (TMP Worldwide)
Employer Brand – What is it?

3. • Greater numbers of higher quality applicants including
referrals
• Higher performing employees & increased retention rates
• Stronger reputation in the marketplace
• Increased ability to attract specialist talent in a difficult
market
• 42% reduction in third party recruiter spend*
• Decrease in cost per hire
*The Value of a Managed Employer Brand in an increasingly Competitive Landscape (TMP Worldwide)
Benefits

4. Employer Brand
The unique and
differentiating promise a
business makes to its
employees and potential
candidates
Employer Brand
The unique and
differentiating promise a
business makes to its
employees and potential
candidates
Employee Experience
Actual delivery of the
promise throughout the
employee lifecycle
Employee Experience
Actual delivery of the
promise throughout the
employee lifecycle
Brand strength
Attraction of the right candidates
Employee engagement and
retention
Differentiation from competitors
Customer engagement and
retention
Brand strength
Attraction of the right candidates
Employee engagement and
retention
Differentiation from competitors
Customer engagement and
retention
+
 Word of Caution:
The Employer Brand and Employee Experience must correlate
with each other – otherwise it is an empty promise
Employer Brand Strength

5. • The development of an employee value proposition (EVP)
• EVPs seem to fall into two categories. The first is a set
of reward/value statements about the attractiveness of
the employer in terms of pay, benefits, career
development, training etc. The second is a statement
about what the company believes in.
• Both attract employees, but one will provoke applicants
who want good pay and training and the other will
encourage people to join who believe in what the
company believes in.
Where to start?

6. • It is a long term investment, do not underestimate!
• Stage 1 Tactical Organisations (~ 33%)
– Little progress in defining the coherent set of factors that make up the value
proposition to employees and candidates
– Provide rewards and have cultures, but employees and candidates are on their
own to understand and interpret these
• Stage 2 Integrated
– Have a formal EVP and integrated Talent/Reward Programs
• Stage 3 Communicating and Delivering
– Communicating and delivering the promise consistently
• Stage 4 Differentiation and Segmenting
– Customised EVPs for workforce segments
How to Start?
The 4 Stages of the Employee Value Proposition – Thomas Davenport

7. Protect the Employer Brand you may or may not have!
• We are going to start with the Candidate Experience
– 83% of candidates will tell their friends and family about a poor recruitment
process experience and 64% will also share on social media
– ~ 19 touch points where the employer brand is revealed
• From application through to interview through to offer and onboard
– 58% of candidates did not receive regular updates
– 52% felt they were not treated like individuals
– Only 36% of new joiners felt the recruiting process accurately reflected the
working environment they entered
Employer Brand – Tactics!
The Candidate Experience(TMP Worldwide)

8. Mystery Applicant Infographic

9. Employer Brand Drift
• The parts of the recruitment process that can be totally controlled
(website, job adverts etc) are best aligned to the brand
• However, the further along the recruitment process a candidate
progress and the more human interaction there is, the more likely
the experience drifts away from the brand
• The effort and cost of attracting and converting candidates becomes
at risk
• The proposition that has attracted the candidate to the company
dissipates the further the candidate progresses
• The further they progress the more likely they are to be relevant and
talented individuals
• 94% of candidates agree that the way they are treated during the
process will ultimately effect whether they want the job or not

10. The Human Factor – Face to Face
• 93% of people going through the application process
say the person conducting the interview influences
their view of the organisation as an employer (this
extends to the recruitment partners as well)
• 83% of companies believe the Line Managers are
critical to communicating the employer brand
• Candidates who get to interview are likely to be very
relevant for the role yet Line Manager access and
preparedness is always a pressure point
The Candidate Experience(TMP Worldwide)

11. The Human Factor – Feedback
• Candidates want feedback yet just over 50% of candidates
received it and just over 50% of those found it useful!
• Only 11% of companies ask candidates for feedback yet this
actually improves a candidate’s feeling towards an
organisation
The Candidate Experience(TMP Worldwide)

12. The Human Factor – On-boarding
• Almost 60% of
candidates feel doubt
between offer
acceptance and start
date!
• Counter offers and
other offers become
attractive!
• Keep in contact!
The Candidate Experience(TMP Worldwide)

13. What to do? Focus on the human beings!
• Find out what your employer brand is
– Ask your employees why they chose you and why they stay
– Ask your candidates what attracted them to you at the beginning and how do
they feel at the end of the process. Include rejected candidates as well as new
hires!
• Share your employer brand
– Educate your hiring managers and your recruitment partners on your employer
brand
– Educate your hiring managers about the consequences of a poor candidate
experience
• Design feedback into your recruitment process
• Do the simple things well and all the time
– Be welcoming, be organised, be prepared

14. The Broken Glassdoor
• 53% of candidates begin job search focusing on
companies they know or respect
• 63% of candidates research a company prior to
application
• 52% research a company before an interview
• 33% research a company before accepting an offer
• 67% would accept an offer from a company at 5% lower
salary level if the company had exceptionally positive
online reviews
• So what do you do when things go wrong!
CareerBuilder 2013 Candidate Behaviour Study

15. Fixing the Glassdoor
• Don’t panic and don’t argue
• Accept the criticism as valid – perception is reality
• Respond as an individual, not as a nameless corporation
• Demonstrate you care, express regret, ask for more
feedback, engage and publically close the loop “Thanks
James for the feedback, glad we were able to talk”
• Be transparent within your organisation – let your team know
and ask for support, because negative reviews are best
countered with positive reviews from peers within the
company

16. Telling your story – the importance of your personality
• “For people like me” is one of the most important factors for
potential applicants in considering a company (Using Branding to
Attract Talent, McKinsey Quarterly, 2005 No 3)
• People want to work with people
• No need for perfection – sometimes organisations try too
hard to seem perfect. People motivated to contribute can’t
easily see themselves making an impact in a perfect
environment
• Great Employer Brands are linked to great personalities
– Virgin / Richard Branson
– EngineYard / Eamonn Leonard
– Google / Larry Page

17. Using your personality to build your EVP
• Creating an EVP and expressing those intangible
aspects including what is unique about you is
difficult, will take time and evolve over time
• Yet every company’s has a unique story to tell
through their key people’s stories
• Use those people’s stories as the foundation for
your EVP
• Stories should be on how they’ve gotten to where
they are not why they are there!