You can learn a lot about a company from its job descriptions.
There are two types of job descriptions:
- Boilerplate language written by an exhausted person in HR or a hiring manager.
- Something copy-written. With thought.
I’m a nerd for job descriptions. I’ve read hundreds of them (thousands?) while in talent acquisition and as a job seeker.
In some ways, job descriptions are a terrible way to learn about a company. They have all the trappings of marketing — you’re often fed lines.
In other ways, every word on the page can show you exactly how a company thinks, works, and makes decisions.
This is because recruiting at its most basic level is about storytelling. Fail to tell your story well and you lose.
Thus great recruiting — and winning top talent — finds its roots in great storytelling.
Premier talent can sniff your BS like seasoned hunting hounds. To pass muster with the hounds, the bar is high.
Every so often a company stands out to me.
Enter Branch insurance, who I discovered when a startup community friend sent me their funding announcement.
My friend asked me, “it’s interesting they’re a tech unicorn based in the Midwest. How are they going to scale and compete for top national talent?”
What a fantastic recruiting challenge thought experiment.
Let’s take a look.
Nosce te ipsum
Know thyself.
Or really in business: know thy customer, and solve their problem.
Branch seems to have a unique approach to the novel “insuretech” market, which got its sea legs about 5 years ago.
I’m not an expert in their product or market, but the reviews and investor backing are strong. Branch is a few years old and already a unicorn.
At the heart of their business seems, well, heart. The cofounders have voiced, “a desire to make insurance accessible to all people”. They’ve developed a profitable business model that solves for novel customer affordability.
That’s huge not only for the business outlook, but the outlook for attracting top talent.
As Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn said at a recent Bloomberg New Economy conference:
“I think that companies that are able to operate at the intersection of doing good in the world and doing good in business are going to have a massive competitive advantage for talent”.
Branch has codified doing good into their story and mission:
(That’s engaging copywriting.)
Branch is a public benefit corporation with an established non-profit SafetyNest. It also manages a reciprocal exchange — an organization in which the policyholders are the actual owners of the policy premiums.
The altruistic proof is the formal structure pudding.
They’re doing some good, but do they actually care about their people?
The people who make the decisions that impact the employee experience most are at the top.
CEO and Cofounder, Steve Lekas, has a striking background. His first job out of college was a “First Notice of Loss Call Respondent” with Allstate in the early 2000’s. Steve grew with Allstate for 10 years and progressed into leadership/builder roles in insurance tech. This could be the profile of a CEO who apprenticed in the insurance trenches and found a calling. Rather than the contemporary dainty MBA CEO who seeks a trophy project. [Side note: Steve has a 98% approval rating on Glassdoor.]
Joseph Emison, CTO and Cofounder, was an English major before attending law school. Liberal Arts can foster stronger storytellers and communicators. Yet they don’t often become senior technical leaders!
These small data points in the founder’s backgrounds could point to a People opportunity. A willingness to build a company in a novel way: especially in regards to talent, culture, and definitions of success.
Which brings us to their benefits.
Some of their benefits are typical, and some exceptional. At first read, the language, style, and tone is synonymous with many a snazzy startup copy.
The actual substance proves compelling.
Highlights: they lead with Pay Equity and also pay you to take vacation.
They care about their people.
Flexible work boosts an employer brand in 2022
Like many remote-thoughtful start-ups, this is where Branch wins.
Remote work is an emotional and tiring topic at this point. Traditional leaders and workers are in complete disagreement.
“Despite the drop in remote working jobs in the U.S., these postings are still receiving over half of the total applications as of September, LinkedIn’s data shows.” — CNBC Nov’22
Half the applications — the workers have spoken!
I am of the mind that supporting remote work illuminates a company’s adaptability.
Any company that is remote-work thoughtful has a leg up in employer brand.
Branch’s philosophy, “We prioritize “who” over “where.” Work out of our downtown Columbus headquarters or from your home. We’re committed to flexibility and community so all Branchers can do their best work while always feeling part of the team.”
Translation -> We don’t micromanage. We trust you.
Transparent Compensation
Are their compensation and benefits competitive?
I don’t know, as that takes some serious market and internal data. What I can say is that Branch’s compensation is transparent and succinct.
New state laws (CA, CO, NY) have been requiring companies to post salary info for the first time. Many large companies are fumbling.
Such as major banks posting salaries with ranges of $100k — $300k. Ouch. That’s useless info for a job seeker, and raises red flags.
Preventing that type of snafu, Branch has already addressed tough pay decisions.
They list tidy starting salary listings for every role and who the role reports to:
This level of transparency can build invaluable trust with new hires well before Day 1.
What top talent cares about in order of importance and how Branch comes across:
- Strength of the business / viability. No one wants to pursue a job with a company that won’t make it. Check.
- The actual job and work itself is a match for what they want to do. This is the top predictor of employee engagement. You have to be in the right job. Depends by role.
- Mission and values. Not critical to every job seeker at the outset, but top talent really cares about this. Double Branch Check.
- Total Compensation & Benefits. Comp matters; work begets pay. Strong check.
- Product. It’s a stereotype that all start-up employees are passionate about product. Some aren’t. So I will list this last. Double Branch Check.
Is Branch ready for the next level?
Their story and employee value proposition is outstanding. They have thoughtful, copy-written job descriptions which show that leadership has already done the hard work on mission, work, and pay.
To recruit for Branch, you’re not putting lipstick on a pig.
And that’s the key to great recruiting and scaling.
Companies like Branch offer exciting opportunities for those seeking the future of work.
And right at the moment Big Tech plateaus into mature old companies. <Yawn>
If Branch resonates with you, you can check out their openings: here.
I look forward to watching them grow!
I enjoy connecting with new people, so if you enjoyed this article give me a shout at:
kate@bouncecareers.com or connect with me on social: LinkedIn .
About Kate:
In 2022, Kate helped tech talent firm Revature build their first U.S. recruiting function. Prior to Revature, Kate was a recruiting leader for a new division of Hyundai Motor Group developing flying taxis.
She launched her recruiting career at McKinsey & Company in Washington, D.C. and developed the talent function at boutique professional services firm, FMI Corporation. In her early career she worked as a fundraiser for Duke University during a $3.5 billion campaign.
A native of North Carolina, she received her BA in Public Policy Analysis from UNC-Chapel Hill and is the author of: Pull Yourself Together found on AMAZON.
