Category: Employee Engagement

Four Ways to Strengthen your Employer Brand and Recruit Top Talent

Posted on by epadmin

As the global economy grows and the talent market tightens, employers are facing increasing competition for the best workers. To succeed in attracting the best candidates and retaining top talent, organizations must place increased focus on their employment brand.

The World Economic Forum contends that “human capital is critical not only to the productivity of society, but also the functioning of its political, social and civic institutions.” The demand for high-skilled labor is growing faster than supply, with a deficit of 38 to 40 million workers with advanced education worldwide. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) 2017 survey, 77 percent of CEOs say they’re concerned that a shortage of key skills could impact their company’s growth.

In that same PwC survey, 69 percent of CEOs say they are convinced that it’s harder to gain and retain people’s trust in a digital and connected world. Cultivating trust is key to building a strong employer brand and recruiting top talent. An employer brand is a public perception of what it’s like to work for an organization. It’s what job seekers and employees think about when a company’s name is mentioned. With a strong employer brand, organizations can attract the right talent, without relying solely on compensation to improve retention rates.

In the current digital environment, job seekers are inundated with information about your organization – through your marketing, news, blogs and website. Even if your organization consistently puts out strong marketing content to attract talent, job sites like Glassdoor can help or hinder your brand and reputation based on employee reviews. 70 percent of job search candidates will use Glassdoor to help make informed decisions before they commit to their next career move. With so much information available to job seekers, employers need to be engaged with what’s being shared online.

How do you build a culture of trust and improve your employer branding?

1. Give your employees a voice on your blog and social media

The best advertisement you can get for your employer brand is recommendations from your employees; it’s the only form of advertising that is authentic. With the rise of social media, companies are more exposed than ever, whether they want to be or not. Giving your employees a voice empowers engagement and gives them ownership of the brand message.

Allowing your employees to contribute to your blog and social media accounts gives your readers a different perspective. By sharing their knowledge and experience, employees can offer an inside look at what it’s like to work for your organization. According to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer Study, 62 percent of respondents found a company’s social media more convincing than their advertising. This means that giving an employee a voice and training brand ambassadors is more important than ever.

2. Develop employee ambassadors

Changing the perception of your employer brand does not always require a big budget. One way to build a strong brand is through brand ambassadors – employees who are engaged and connected in your organization and who can share their enthusiasm outside the workplace. To develop an employee ambassador program, you need to make sure that every employee understands and is aware of your key brand messages. Set up workshops to explain your company’s mission, vision and values, share the benefits of being a part of your organization and reiterate the voice and tone of your brand.

To start your brand ambassador program, find a few creative ways to get employees more involved. Companies can set up an employee referral program for open jobs with an incentivized bonus for every successful referral. A referral program gives your employees a bonus for spreading positive word of mouth about your company. Some employees may respond better to social recognition than financial incentives. Companies could also set up a platform for sharing gratitude and social accolades for employees that refer candidates. Another way to reward participants is through charitable gestures. By adding a charity component, a company can drive participation and build a network of charitable ambassadors. Employees can spread positive messages about your organization, recruit talent and make a difference for those in need.

3. Improve your Glassdoor ratings

Another impactful approach to employer branding is asking employees and interns to review your company on Glassdoor. Also, be sure to reply publicly to both positive and critical remarks. It’s important to show others that you take criticism seriously and want to learn to be a better employer. According to a Glassdoor survey, 62 percent of candidates in the U.S. agree their perception of a company improves after seeing an employer respond to a review.

Building your Glassdoor account and obtaining an OpenCompany profile could also boost your rating and make your organization more transparent. To get an OpenCompany profile, you need to accomplish a few tasks on your Glassdoor account. As an organization, you need to update the company profile, add at least 10 photos, get reviewed by job candidates or employees, respond to those reviews and promote your Glassdoor profile with a badge on your website or blog. Accomplish those steps, and you will be among the handful of companies that have obtained the OpenCompany transparency badge on Glassdoor.

4. Digitize your brand strategy, and put mobile first

It is important to stay up-to-date on the digital technologies used for attracting the best talent. As these technologies gain even more momentum, they are profoundly changing the strategic context of employer branding. A study by Employer Branding International found that social media is the top communication medium, used by 76 percent of companies for communicating the employer brand, but only 45 percent of companies are using a mobile-optimized website.

The prevalence of smartphones and tablets means that we now have a massive audience of mobile job seekers. In addition, Generation Z is now entering the workforce and has no knowledge of life without a smartphone. For this generation, life is about being connected; sharing, searching and interacting with other consumers. As Generation Z candidates apply for jobs, they will have a different expectation for how they will communicate with potential employers. Having a strong brand with a mobile-optimized website is the first step to reaching these candidates.

As the talent market tightens around the globe, mobile optimization, social media, employee values and online ratings are growing more important for improving employer brands.

Three Ways to Increase Employee Engagement

Posted on by epadmin

The workplace is changing. Leaders, HR managers and employees frequently hear this declaration. The mindset of employees has shifted from simply going to work, putting in an eight-hour shift and heading home to focusing more on workplace happiness and work-life blend. Gone are the days of sitting mindlessly through a shift; employees now want to be engaged and included in the workplace.

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to an organization and its goals. An emotional commitment means engaged employees care about their role at work and their company. They work to further the organization’s goals, mission, and vision; not just work for a paycheck.

According to a 2016 Gallup poll, only 33 percent of U.S. employees and 13 percent of employees worldwide were engaged — involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace. Engagement also plays a key role in optimizing employee performance, ensuring that organizations are getting the most out of their teams.

What’s more, a Pew Research Center study shows that in today’s society, millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. workforce. Engaging this generation calls for new strategies. How does an organization keep its employees on task and engaged?

1. Open Communication

A 2015 survey by 15Five found that out of 1,000 full-time employees across the U.S., 81 percent would rather join a company that values “open communication” than one that offers perks. Only 15 percent of workers surveyed said their companies were doing a good job communicating to employees. Millennials in particular, who make up 36 percent of the workforce, want more consistent communication. The practice of quarterly or even yearly performance reviews is not enough for employees seeking communication from their managers. More frequent feedback and communication on online platforms, such as Slack, Yammer or Skype and email is key to keeping your employees engaged and on track to meet performance goals.

2. Employee Recognition

Employees want to end their workday knowing they contributed to the organization, did an excellent job and were appreciated. However, according to a Gallup poll, only one-third of people felt strongly that their efforts were appreciated or had received praise in the last seven days. Employees that hadn’t received any recognition in the last seven days were twice as likely to leave the company. Companies should incorporate employee-based recognition into their business culture and reward employees more frequently.

Successful companies use both monetary and non-monetary based programs to reward employees for their hard work and efforts. Examples of employee recognition programs include Fond and Kudos. These platforms recognize and engage employees through features like peer-to-peer recognition, service award, spot bonuses and more based on criteria chosen by the organization.

3. Work-Life Blend

Employees today are looking for meaningful work that fits with their goals, more than a larger paycheck or perks. With employees electronically connected to the workplace 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the office and out, work-life blend can be a challenge. Employers that are successful at keeping their employees engaged embrace the idea that work can happen anywhere and at any time. That means abandoning the 9-5, Monday through Friday working requirements.

Good employers set up the expectations around working hours ahead of time. They also give employees the freedom to manage their time. Some organization may also offer work from home or other flexible scheduling opportunities.