How your employees can help you reach your employer branding goals-Recruiting Marketing Series
84% of consumers value recommendations from friends and family above all forms of advertising — and additionally, 77% of consumers are likely to make a purchase after hearing about it from someone they trust (Source: Nielsen)
In this 21st century, more pressure than ever is being put on HR teams to be creative in delivering business value and compete in the war for talent. In the age of disruptive technologies & business models, HR can feel threatened about their usefulness to the company and the need to validate through numbers & impact that their efforts are worth the resources put in. One of the key critical functions of strategic talent acquisition that we have been focussing on is employer branding. And here’s why.
Linkedin reports that companies that have a stronger employer brand compared to those of their competitors on average see a 43% decrease in the cost per candidate they hire.
75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job (CareerArc).
Candidates trust employees 3x more than the employer to provide information on working at the company.
If by now you’re still not yet convinced about why you should invest in your employer brand, take a look at some of the latest recruiting trends and reports for some more numbers. One of the surest ways of getting through to potential candidates is by utilizing a resource you already have- your people! That’s right. Most companies often think branding is expensive and should involve a lot of resources but the truth is anything can be as complicated or as simple as you set it to be. Statistics also show that millennials are redefining what corporate culture looks like because one of their primary reasons for loyalty is the impact the organization makes on the community as well as the need for belonging & appreciation. Tap into the 3 facts we already know about today’s workforce;
They’re connected online, they love mission-driven work and they want to feel involved in work that impacts the company directly.
By doing the following you will not only do better with your hiring goals but you’ll improve employee engagement and business results.
The Networked Age
i. Job & Client Referrals
According to LinkedIn, the person you wish to meet is already 6 connections away. This is also known as the 6 handshakes rule. As a lone recruiter or a team, there are only so many people you can reach with your job ad or connections. However, if you tap into your employees’ networks, by extension you can be able to reach thousands of people online especially through social media & offline through events and hobbies & their networks. This also increases your employee engagement levels as the staff feels involved in being part of ‘deciding’ who gets into the team next. This sense of involvement is what most Millenials are looking for in employers.
It’s thus no wonder that Employee referral programs have become one of the most popular recruiting strategies for finding qualified candidates. So if you have 10 employees with 50 contacts, that means your network is wider than 500 connections. And that’s not counting 2nd & 3rd-degree connections. It will work faster than any other means and deliver you more qualified candidates.
82% of employers rated employee referrals above all other sources for generating the best return on investment (ROI). (Source: CareerBuilder)
Referred candidates are 55% faster to hire, compared with employees sourced through career sites. (Source: HR technologist)
Employee referral programs can save companies $3,000 or more per hire! (Source: Recruiter.com)
After two years, retention of referred employees is 45% compared to 20% from job boards. (Source: FirstBird)
As we’ve established before, you also can’t keep employees working with you forever. This fact can help you design your exit process in a way that allows you to work with your employees even after they’ve stopped working for you. That’s the goal of alliance-building your company such that long-term relationships with employees are forged & harnessed correctly. Your alumni can be great boomerangs years after or refer great potentials to you or even turn to customers or partners.
ii. Credibility
And these results are no coincidence. In marketing, social proof is what is used to influence new users to adopt products. In simple terms, people trust their friends, family, and online community(reviews) better than they trust the key source. Millennials especially just don’t buy into the bull* of sales anymore. The best way to get through to your new audience is through people they already know or interact with. Encourage your employees to share their own experiences(hopefully good!), new jobs, company news, or other useful information on their social networks or to get involved in hunting for your next big star. Check out the above-linked article on how to get started with social proof. For instance, you could encourage employees to engage with your brand during this customer service week. They could share ideas, be part of your activities, or give feedback.
The best brand ambassadors are your employees; they are the most trusted source of information about your company, so encourage them to share their stories on social media and do the same by highlighting them on your own channels.- Link
iii. Networked Intelligence
Another use of the networked alliance as shown by Reid Hoffman in his book https://www.amazon.com/Alliance-Managing-Talent-Networked-Age/dp/1625275773 is knowledge sharing through your network i.e. Network Intelligence. As Reid says,
“The most valuable information is often in other people’s head. People-not Google, not books, not blog posts-have the information you need to solve tough problems.
-People can offer advice that’s time-sensitive
-People can tailor advice exactly to your situation
-People often know things that aren't public on Google yet
“There are more smart people in the world who do not work at your company than the total of smart people who do.”
When your employees share what they learn from the people in their network (about competition, technologies, talent), they help you solve key business challenges faster.
A great example of this shown in the book is about how Hubspot used this to also improve the number of applications they received. Hubspot employees have 2 times the average number of LinkedIn connections, and those employees share, comment, or like updates at 8 times the average rate. Because of this, Hubspot attracts 2 times the average number of candidates for the job opportunities it posts on Linkedin. Look at the statistics here & here that back that up.
Employees have 5x more reach than corporate accounts
In another example, Hubspot tapped into its employees' social media networks to find a huge speaker they wanted for their annual conference. You can use NA to not only share your jobs with a wider audience but also to solve business problems or for innovation. So how do you get started on this? Reid offers these 4 steps;
Ask your employees “Who are the 3 smartest people you know who DON’T work at our company?
Empower your employees to network with those smart people, on company dime and time.
Encourage your employees to be active on social media
Celebrate employees who have large Twitter followings & Linkedin connections
According to LinkedIn’s official guide to employee advocacy, every 6 pieces of content shared by a LinkedIn member influences:
- 3 people to view your LinkedIn Company Page
- 1 new follower of your LinkedIn Company Page
- 6 people to view your jobs posted on LinkedIn
If you’re looking for a tech tool that can make it easier for your employees to share your content & their original posts, check out https://everyonesocial.com/
2. Community work/CSR
#Payitforward is a good way to improve employee engagement & EB as well. We also already know this is attractive to the millennial talent.
In 2008, for example, 88% of those questioned said they were looking for an employer with CSR values that reflected their own, and 86% said they would consider leaving an employer if they found their CSR values to be lacking.(PWC)
The Book The Alliance, also says this about the topic, “Provide a structure for an employee to take on a series of personally meaningful missions.”
Hardly do we ever ask or allow staff to take part in their interests. You know, those things they indicated at the bottom of their CVS. When employees are all-rounded, it increases their productivity and well-being as well as networks. So instead of just letting staff come in for the normal 8–5 days and overwork them, allow people to be themselves wholly by getting them involved in company activities that grow their interests & personal missions.
HP is a good example of what corporate philanthropy should be like. They dedicate employee time and even company resources to help the needy.
With the HP Employee Product Giving Program, employees contribute 25 percent of the cost of the donated technology and HP picks up the remaining 75 percent. Last year, more than 1,700 employees provided donations through the program.
Aside from topping upon employee donations, the staff is also allowed to pick their charities of choice. For more on this case study and how HP has improved employee engagement through giving, read more here.
Another great company doing this well is Zappos which has become known as a great employer because of its community initiatives driven by employees.
Another way of tapping into your employee networks is by supporting their interests. Allow your staff to write, podcast, or speak about things that interest them, including the work that they do with your company or their profession. Get to know what your employees do outside the office space. It’s an easy & less crowded way to reach an audience that may not have seen your company page or job ad. Go further and ask them how you can support their work or goals too.
Lastly, your current & previous employees could help you reach your diversity & inclusion goals. The information you put out there about your company including work like CSR could send a message to potential candidates & clients. Your CSR should reflect your company values as well as the community values where you’re operating. This without saying should touch on D&I and the effort to make the world a more equal place through the face of the company(workforce diversity) and the initiatives you support such as Facebook’s Black Women in Tech employee groups.
3. Be Authentic
Millennials can smell fake from miles away! A recent incident in Kenya where a media personality’s photo was marked as fake led many to suggest that Kenyans on Twitter(KOT) should be on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission since they are such good detectives.
The key to branding is to be authentic and establish trust. Once trust is broken, it’s hard to get it back. You may post something online and assume no one will know about it, but the world is more alert than you may think. One bank for instance during last year’s Customer Service Week posted a photo from 2 years back. And in some way, someone was able to track it and report that it wasn’t a real photo from that year. Be true to your brand. People will love you for that. Start with a brand equity audit and compare your brand perceptions inside & outside your organization. Focus groups and anonymous surveys can also help with this. For more on EB case studies and how to get started check out this Forbes article. If you want to learn more about how to speak to customers at a personal level & establish an emotional connection, see how Coca-Cola has been doing this for decades using emotional branding or our article on the same.
As Jess Von Bank says here, “Your employees are powerful megaphones for your employer brand. They’re natural storytellers with authentic voices, and they’re living personifications of your culture and mission.”
All in all, your staff are your biggest asset. Engage with them on everything & anything. The message will spread beyond your four walls about how supportive & innovative your company is.
Happy Customer Service Week! Get everyone involved this year.
Still looking for more? Check out https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/how-to-turn-employees-brand-advocates.aspx
