1. WWW.UNIVERSUMGLOBAL.COM
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Harmonizing A Multi-generational Workforce With
One Employer Brand
William WU(william.wu@universumasia.com)
VP, Asia Pacific

2. Which Generation Do You Belong To?
Post 70s
(born between
1970 and 1979)
Post 80s
(born between
1980 and 1989)
Post 90s
(born between
1990 and 1999)

3. 1. 2. Understanding the Multi-generational Workforce
3. Let’s talk about Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
3. Creating One Attractive Employer Brand to Multi-generational Talent
Overview about Universum
Agenda

4. WHO WE ARE
PRESENT AROUND THE WORLD
Universum has been helping the world’s leading
companies to strengthen their Employer Brands for the
past 25 years. We employ approximately 200 people
with regional offices in New York City (Americas), Basel
(Europe), Singapore (APAC) and Stockholm (Nordics)
GLOBAL LEADER IN EMPLOYER BRANDING
We serve more than 1.200 clients, including the
majority of Fortune 100 companies and annually publish
the World’s Most Attractive Employers
PROVIDE INSIGHTS AND KNOWLEDGE
We survey over 400.000 students and
professionals annually in close to 30 countries.
The surveys are the foundation of our IDEAL
Employer Rankings published around the world,
for example in partnership with the New York
Times, Le Monde, BusinessWeek and others
SPREAD THE WORD
We publish more than 150 career publications in
10 countries and have 10 career sites with over
1.500.000 visitors/month. We organize 40 events
with over 3.000 participants in 14 countries
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5. OUR APPROACH TO STRATEGIC EMPLOYER BRANDING
Are your activities
effective in building a
strong brand? Are you
attractive enough to meet
your recruitment needs?
What is important and
relevant to your target
groups? What makes
an employer attractive?
How do current
employees see you?
What are perceived as
strengths and
weaknesses?
How can you improve
your career website and
ads? Is your message
getting across as desired?
What should you emphasize in
the communication to maximize
its effectiveness? Where is a
repositioning needed to create
your desired employer image?
How should you communicate
the employer offering to the
target group? What channels
are most effective?
5

6. 2.
3. Let’s talk about Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
4. Creating One Attractive Employer Brand To Multi-generational Talent
1. Overview about Universum
Understanding the Multi-generational Workforce
Agenda

7. Generation Timeline in China and the US
7
Post-60s
Generation
1970 1980
Post-70s
Generation
Post-80s
Generation
Post-90s
Generation
1960 1990
Baby Boomers Gen X Gen Y
1950 2000
China
U.S.
1940
Sources: “Talking about whose generation”. Deloitte review “How generation Y works”.

8. What Caused Generational Differences Among Talents
Sources: “Talking about whose generation”. Deloitte review/ “How generation Y works”.
• First generation of college
graduates enjoy choosing
their own career with job
opportunities from
multinational companies
• Last generation being
raised in multi-children
families
• Free housing from
employers no longer
available
Post-70s Generation
(1970~1979)
• One-Child Policy
• Fast growth in China’s
economy
• Wide use of broadband
internet since 2000
• Chinese universities
increased enrollment
dramatically since 1999
• Estate property prices
jumped since 2004
Post-80s Generation
(1980~1989)
• Wide use of mobile
technology creates a world
of tighter connection
anytime anywhere
• Grew up in affluence with
doting parents
• Great spending power
• Information explosion age
• Popularity of education
aboard
Post-90s Generation
(1990~1999)
8

9. What are the Differences among Different Generations of Talents
Post-70s Post-80s Post-90s
On Values and
Attitudes
Collectivism,
Self-sacrifice
Independent,
Pessimistic,
Open-minded,
Innovative
Self-centered,
Optimistic, Sociability,
Morality, Emphasis on
personal interest and
experiences
On Education Possible to work their way
up with little formal
education
Placed more emphasis on
education
Higher education is
common, even
education abroad
Work is… “for living”
- Teamwork oriented
- Tend to look for a stable
work
- Willling to sacrifice self-
interest
- Hard-working, aligned
with company value and
goal
- High loyalty to company
“for career development”
- Emphasis on long-term
career development and
self-fulfillment
- Strong desire for quick
advancement and
significant financial
rewards
- Little respect for
authority
- Innovative, open-minded
toward new ideas
“for fun”
- Self-centered
- Demand constant and
immediate feedback
through social
networking instead of
face to face
communication
- Value career
opportunities to serve
a great good for
society
Sources: “Talking about whose generation”. Deloitte review
9

10. Post-70s, Post-80s and Post-90s at Work
10
61%
49%
40%
35%
28%
16%
3%
7%
22%
10%
28%
36%
Post-70s Post-80s Post-90s
Feel happy and comfortable at work
Salary&Benefit is the most important factor
of a job
Change job because "Pesornal
suggestions/ideas are not taken
seriously,can not perform individual ability"
Can not accept overtime without overtime
pay
Sources: “70s, 80s, 90s Career Evolution”. Survey conducted by Tianji.com
How different generations think differently at work?

11. What Different Generations Feel About Working Together
Source: “Harnessing the potential of Singapore’s multi-generational workforce”. TAFEP
11

12. Why is Post-90s Difficult to Work With?
Difficulty
working
with
Post-90s
Post-80s say
• Overconfident; impatient
• Self-centered
• Immature
• Unrealistic, not reliable
Post-70s say
• Impatient, requires instant
feedback
• Low loyalty
• No sense of responsibility
• Don’t show respect to senior
staff
• Disobey rules and orders
Source: “Harnessing the potential of Singapore’s multi-generational workforce”. TAFEP
12

13. What Does Post-90s Say About Other Generations?
Post-90s
say
Difficulty working with Post-80s
• Pessimistic
• Too stressed at work
Difficulty working with Post-70s
• Conservative, not open to new
ideas
• Work by old habits, not open to
different perspectives, stubborn in
their values and opinions
• Unwilling to take risks
• Too much emphasis on hard-
working
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14. Here comes the challenge
Now that we understand differences in
expectations and preferences exist…
How can employers create
One Employer Brand
be equally attractive to Post-90s Generation
as well as to the older generations
at one time?
14

15. 3.
4. Creating One Attractive Employer Brand To Multi-generational Talent
1. Overview about Universum
2. Understanding the Multi-generational Workforce
Let’s Talk About Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
Agenda

16. Purposes of Employer Branding
50%
ATTRACTION
50%
RETENTION &
ENGAGEMENT
“I’d love to be a part of
the company”
“I’m committed to my
company”
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17. 17
What Is An Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
WHAT IS THE EVP?
The EVP is a unique set of offerings, associations
and values that will positively influence the most
suitable target candidates and the internal target
groups. The EVP provides attributes and themes that
can be used as a long-term foundation and
framework for your branding and creative
approaches
The EVP development is strategic
WHAT IS IT NOT?
The EVP is not a tag line or a visual expression. It is
the underlying content that is then transformed into
messages, ads and a communication strategy
targeted at different talent groups and markets. The
choice of words, images and channels will depend on
the target group and might vary across markets
The EVP implementation is operational

18. 18
EVP Development
SELECTION & PRIOTIZATION
• Discuss the selected attributes
• Set priorities: focus on a few
attributes to define your
 THRESHOLD
 COMPETITIVE
 DISTINCT
messages
RESEARCH & FINDINGS
• Conduct research among internal &
external target audience
• Discuss implications for the EVP
development
• Short-list possible attributes as
possible EVP content
STORIES & EXAMPLES
• Share thoughts and stories
to bring the EVP to life
• Collect examples and
formulate ”reasons to
believe” for each prioritized
attribute

19. 4.
1. Overview about Universum
2. Understanding the Multi-generational Workforce
3. Let’s talk about Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
Creating One Attractive Employer Brand To Multi-generational
Talent
Agenda

20. How To Create One Employer Brand Among Multi-generations
Is the umbrella
big enough for
all groups?
Post 60s Post 70s Post 80s Post 90s
20
CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION

21. A Strategic Approach To Develop An ‘Umbrella’ EVP
21
Career preferences
&expectation of all
generations
Perception of your
company as an
employer by all
generations

22. Bring Your EVP To Live Among Multi-generations
22
“Work Life Balance” “Innovation”
“Caring”
“Flexible”
“Embrace change”
“Creative thinking”
Post 70s “Take Kids to Work Day”
Post 80s “Flexible working hours”
Post 90s “Individual Work Schedule”
Post 70s “My company’s offer of a day-care
center for my kid helps me manage my life
better.”
Post 80s “Our team worked last weekend to
meet a deadline. Today we’ll leave earlier to
celebrate it.”
Post 90s “At my company, productivity is
highly valued. So we are allowed to adjust
the schedule to our productivity level.”
Post 70s “Competitiveness through
innovation”
Post 80s “Together we make the changes”
Post 90s “We value your new ideas and
creative solutions”
Post 70s “The new technique has
helped us reduce the cost by 50%.”
Post 80s “Brainstorming with my team
always gives me new perspectives.”
Post 90s “I’ll present one of my ideas
on how to control the cost to our board
members tomorrow.”

23. From EVP to Generation Specific Messaging
23
The time you spend training and
working with us shapes you and
your career. However long you
stay with us it’ll put you on track
for a world-class career.
Generation Specific
Propositions
Judgment calls, self reliance and
responsibility for our people and
for our work: this is a big step up.
But it’s a rewarding one. Spend
time as a manager here and you
can manage anything.
At the height of your career use
your hand-won knowledge at the
forefront of business, guiding our
clients, our organization and our
people into the future.
Training here lasts forever.
World-class careers start here.
Generation Specific
Headlines
The next chapter.
Managers here can manage
anything.
Big fish? Bigger pond.
Time to go global?
EVP
“Whenever you join,
however long you
stay, the exceptional
experience with us
lasts a lifetime.”
Graduates (Post 90s)
Managers (Post 80s)
Partners (Post 70s)

24. Generation Specific Communication Styles
24
What Post 70s are used to... What Post 80s are used to... What Post 90s are used to...
• Information-oriented
• Focus on job
description, including
responsibilities,
requirements, etc.
• Single purpose: to fill in
the position
• Employee testimonials
• Intend to resonate with
the audience through
star employees’
experiences and career
development
• Multiple purposes: 1) to
fill in the position 2) to
promote career value 3)
employer branding
• Branding / Storytelling
• Apply marketing
branding approaches to
the talent market
• Multiple purpose: 1)
employer branding 2) tie
employer branding up
with corporate or
consumer branding 3)
fill in the position

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