Global employer branding trends you need to know

What are the world’s most attractive employers doing to net top talent? What are today’s trends and best practices in employer branding, and what does the future hold? Universum’s Global Head of Strategy, Richard Mosley, recently shared the game-changing, global employer branding trends you need to know to stay ahead in the talent market.

Universum has been conducting their Employer Branding Now surveys since 2016, and their latest data demonstrates the changes that have occurred over two years. Their survey was divided into samples of small, medium, large companies, and the world’s most attractive employers (WMAEs).

80% of CEOs are concerned about attracting and retaining key talent. Employer branding ranks as a top priority (even for smaller organisations!).

Formulating your employer brand

WMAEs, such as PwC, Ford, EY, Ikea, Shell, Unilever, Apple, Amazon, BP, are leading the way. They typically use a few key ingredients in their Employee Value Proposition (EVP), which you can use to inspire your organisation’s own. They include:

• inspiring purpose
• innovation
• professional training and development
• commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Note though, that your primary objective in creating an employer brand should be to differentiate yourself from your talent competitors.

When creating your employer brand, be mindful! Mosley noted that many employer brands are starting to sound the same. For example, “make an impact” has become generic across the corporate sector.

“It’s not just about taglines and the visuals. It’s about really thinking hard about what you’re trying to achieve, the nature of your culture, the language that you use, and finding something that really clarifies what makes you special and stand out. Work hard until you’ve got that and really go the extra mile to find your signature difference.”

Mosley also noted that organisations’ customer brands and employer brands are moving onto the same playing field, as their vision and purpose become aligned.

Attracting Gen Zers and millennials

Gen Z and millennials are most attracted to an inspiring purpose, so keep this in mind when formulating your employer brand and EVPs!

Between 2012 and 2018, certain aspects of talent attraction have grown in importance. Students are interested in:

• high future earnings
• inspiring leadership
• flexible working conditions
• professional training and development
• doing (social) good
• leaders leading from the front.

Interestingly, Gen Z’ers are doing a mental trade-off between start-up and corporate culture. This demographic still holds the concept that big companies and corporate environments are more controlled and regimented (see: grey offices and cubicles).

“It’s important to recognise factors driving attraction. Big companies are not just competing against each other, but the startup sector too!”

Big organisations are trying to break down the image of being dull and grey (but perhaps not quite to the extent of the freewheeling casual culture of startups!). For example, some banks are setting up separate offices for their technology arms in trendier workspaces.

It’s important to note that these perceptions still exist among students and Gen Z populations, so take this into consideration in the way your organisation presents itself.

Channels to invest in

While social media is cooling off slightly, it’s still the biggest area of investment. Social channels are important for your employer brand – particularly with students tending to look to social content to get a feel for an organisation they’re interested in.

Digital advertising is the second best channel organisations are investing in, with video coming in third. In the last two years, video investment has increased year on year. WMAEs are placing a stronger emphasis on video in their strategy.

Your goal with social media and video should be to promote employee advocacy. Communicate your employer brand messaging authentically through your employees. Use Glassdoor, social channels, word of mouth, getting your employees to proudly advocate you as an organisation.

“It’s not just poking people or giving them bonuses for referrals. Create an environment that engages people and that they can be proud of! Provide them with information about what your organisation is achieving and doing, and communicate on regular basis reasons to feel proud and celebrate. This gives employees the ammunition to be more active and vocal.”

If you have employees advocating your organisation, you won’t need to spend as much on advertising.

For example, Siemens demonstrates this shift well, showing how employer branding works from the bottom up. They use employee-driven content, behind the scenes content, documentary reportage, real life, and real people. While this content is not scripted, polished, or corporate, it certainly feels more authentic.

Small and medium-sized organisations, in particular, should use this strategy more. While bigger companies have the resources to brand their content and invest more heavily in their communication strategy, small and medium-sized organisations should take advantage of their intimate culture. Even with a small budget, you can market yourself far more effectively.

Employer branding implementation  

Who is responsible for coordinating an employer branding strategy? Research reveals the responsibility is still falling to recruitment teams, although this trend is decreasing. Implementation is becoming increasingly dependent on talent management teams, HR, marketing/communications departments, and senior management.

Employer branding decisions are starting to be more data-driven. Organisations are measuring their data, the type of engagement they are getting from which forms of content, and what underlies results. Measuring the results of your employer brand is a great way to inform your ongoing strategy.

Technology and AI

Universum also collected data on how organisations feel about AI. For WMAEs, their responses were mostly positive or neutral (only 3% of those surveys believed it was a negative trend).

Organisations are implementing new technologies to support their recruitment and talent acquisition strategy. The top three technologies being implemented include video interviews, cloud solutions, and people analytics.

“Game-changing” technologies include AI, people analytics, AI-driven targeted advertising, programmatic advertising, video interviews, intelligent self-service tools, cloud solutions, Chatbots, virtual reality, and gamification.

From creating your employer brand, attracting certain demographics, and understanding the best channels to invest in, being aware of these trends will help to inform your strategy.

Which trend did you find most useful? Let us know in the comments.

Source

Employer Branding Now (webinar)

Richard Mosley

Universum

Further reading

Universum’s Employer Branding Now eBook.