Four Employer Branding Trends You Need to Know About in 2017 - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

Four Employer Branding Trends You Need to Know About in 2017 - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Today’s employees have less loyalty, lots more choice and most importantly, more power than ever when it comes to the job search process.   Candidates of days gone by may have hoped that they would fit in with their employers.  However, the modern employee wants more. They are more demanding and want to see evidence that a company is also the right fit for them. This new attitude among employees and candidates inevitably leads to increasing competition between brands to attract and retain the best talent, and without doubt, the most effective weapon in this battle is your employer brand. A strong, clearly defined employer brand will not only help you to bring the best talent into your company; it will also be pivotal in your efforts to retain that talent, in the short, medium and long term. What is your employer brand? In my position as the Head of People Management at Hays Germany, I have witnessed many changes in the way that employers approach their employer branding. When I first started with Hays, nearly twenty years ago, the idea of employer branding was new. Now, the concept is a vital commercial and strategic imperative for businesses worldwide. Your employer brand is best defined as the impression that people have of your company as an employer. Finding out what makes your business unique, and communicating that narrative in a compelling way is crucial, and will determine how well your company is able to engage and impress candidates. In the end, today’s candidate wants to feel that sense of synergy between what they stand for and what your company represents, and developing a clear employer brand is central to that process. With the New Year, comes new trends 2017 is fast approaching, and many commentators across all industries are sharing their annual predictions about future trends. Given that I am currently planning for 2017 I wanted to share what I think are some of the most important employer branding trends you need to know about for 2017. 1. Authenticity and personalisation will continue to stand the test of time In the digital age, it can be tough for companies to effectively differentiate their employer brands. Most companies have similar-looking careers websites, and their recruitment social media accounts have a samey feel to them full of images of charity and team events. However, your employer brand must feel authentic and real if it is going to be of any use in helping candidates to make a judgement about whether they will be right for your business.  After all, every company has a distinctive culture and a unique community, so rather than settling for a generic online presence, why not tap into the very essence of your company’s personality? The starting point of building an authentic employer brand is to take the trouble to listen to what your existing employees have to say about your company. In many ways, your current workforce is your secret weapon in developing an effective employee brand.  Take the time to put yourself in your employees’ shoes, whether this is done through focus groups, surveys, meetings, staff conferences or a series of informal conversations with individual staff members. By going through this process, you will find that narratives and themes begin to become apparent, and these can be shaped into a coherent and authentic employer brand. You can even go further here, by encouraging existing employees to tell their story to candidates. Nothing is more authentic than hearing  first-hand from an employee what it is like to work for a company and what that company means to them. Grounding your employer brand in the ideas and stories provided by your existing workforce will give it an unimpeachable authenticity.  It will not be based on theory or what you think candidates would like to hear it will be real. In the long run, this will prove to be the most powerful way of attracting the right candidate to your company. It is also my belief that personalisation is crucial to the modern candidate journey. You need to build on a candidate’s initial interest by offering them a personalised experience, whether this is through your website, your blog, or meeting a member of your company face-to-face. There are many ways you can personalise the candidate recruitment process.  For instance, you can give candidates an office tour on the day of their interview; have them meet not just their prospective manager, but other team members, or invite them to sit in on a meeting as an observer. Personalisation can make all the difference in attracting and retaining the right employees. 2. The rise of the multi-generational workforce will continue to affect employer branding Building on the previous point regarding personalisation, it is important to remember that the modern workforce is more multi-generational now than ever. Generation Z, Millennials, Generation Xers and Baby Boomers now find themselves working in the same teams, side by side. The demands and expectations each of these generations have will vary. What works for one group will probably fall flat with the next. Your benefits and remuneration packages will therefore have to be responsive and flexible to fit with a multi-generational workforce, and when it comes to recruitment, the way they approach your online content will differ. For example, Millennials may respond to Instagram or Snapchat content, but older generations will be more comfortable with a conventional website. 3. The rise of the gig economy will have a huge impact on employer branding No employer branding strategy can afford to ignore wider trends in the workforce. It is clear that as more companies turn to temporary, contract or freelance employees, they will need to change the traditional model of employer branding, which has tended to focus solely on permanent staff. To attract the best candidates from a growing community of temporary, freelance and contract workers, you will have to fundamentally rethink your brand. In the modern workforce, employers also have to take steps to make sure that the company offers a positive experience for candidates and employees, regardless of their contract. One example is to put in place structures to ensure that important company news and information is disseminated consistently to temporary or part-time employees, as well as to full-time employees, ensuring that every member of the workforce feels equally involved in day-to-day business. 4. Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) can revolutionise recruitment 2016 has been the year when VR and AR have entered the consciousness of the wider public, and these technologies are poised to affect every aspect of modern life, from the way we learn to the way we shop. Pokemon Go was just the start! In 2017, it is my belief that VR and AI will begin to dramatically alter the way employer brands are communicated. The technology is already being applied. Deutsche Bahn are using VR to give new recruits the chance to experience a day in the life of a train driver, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia are using their VR Careers Experience to enhance the candidate recruitment process, adding a new and distinctive element to their assessment centre experience. This powerful technology has many possible applications, from using it to tell the company story, to offering virtual reality office tours or even employing AR such as holograms as part of the interview and recruitment process. However, this might take a little longer than 2017. Now is not the time to be resting on your employer branding laurels Identifying all of these trends and bringing them together, what conclusions can we reach? Well, while brand authenticity and differentiation will continue to be as important as ever, the dramatic shifts in the way that people interact with work, the work environment and the recruitment process, caused by technological and social change, have profound implications for employer branding. In the years to come, challenge and opportunity will be wrapped up together, and the companies that succeed will be those which are best able to use new tools and concepts to shape their employer brand in a dynamic, technologically-driven environment. Hopefully you found this blog valuable. Here are some other related blogs that you will also enjoy: Why you should be encouraging intrapreneurship today How to lead other leaders How to ensure your candidate enjoys their interview Five ways to give staff a sense of purpose How to recruit a purple squirrel (and other hard-to-find creatures) Share this blog: