Faux employer branding might look pretty and attractive to candidates to lure them through the door; but what’s portrayed doesn’t meet their lived experience when they join your organisation. On the other hand, according to Lee reporting for ERE, magnetic employer branding is a process that is a comprehensive, integrated approach to, first, being an employer of choice, and then communicating this in a compelling way.

Magnetic employer branding is based on authenticity. 

If a brand is doing the following, but neglecting authenticity, they are engaging in faux employer branding: 

1. Creating clever messaging designed to position themselves as a great employer 
2. Producing fancy videos that showcase attractive, fun employees saying how much they love working for their employer 
3. Upgrading marketing materials so they (allegedly) communicate a particular “on brand” message to job applicants. 
4. Spiffing up their careers page on their website to make it more appealing and again, “on brand”. 

Employer branding is not a “rebrand” or a marketing makeover. It should be deeply rooted in authenticity.

Organisations who achieve magnetic employer branding based on authenticity are exceptionally more effective at recruiting talent. Candidates are not only drawn to the brand, but their experience matches up to their expectations. 

Lee provides the following example as a way of illustrating the power of creating an employer brand that is magnetic:

“Imagine that at the next job fair your organisation attends, you recruiting booth is filled not by trained recruiters, but by a random selection of your employees. As job hunters stop to talk with your employees, would they think: “Wow, I’d like to work with these people!” and “This is the kind of company I’ve been looking for!” or … would they escape as quickly as possible, hurrying off to the next booth? Would what your employees said, and who they were as people, act as a talent magnet or a talent repellent?” 

When Lee presents this idea to managers and HR professionals, he notes that some react anxiously, while others smile confidently. Typically, if managers react anxiously, their employer brand is not magnetic.

“This scenario is a litmus test for whether or not you have a magnetic employer brand, because it illustrates the defining characteristics and benefits of a powerful employer brand.”

Why it’s worth focusing on authenticity to create magnetic employer branding.  

Recruit from a position of strength

If you don’t need to convince people why they should work for your organisation, then congratulations, your employer brand is magnetic. You have a strong brand presence and prospective employees want to work for you without further convincing or explanations as to why your brand is great.

“At our hypothetical job fair, if your organisation has a magnetic employer brand, the most talented prospects will make a beeline for your booth. Unlike organisations who have either a poor reputation as an employer or who haven’t differentiated themselves, your conversation doesn’t need to be a sales pitch.” 

Increase your recruiting power 

With a good employer brand, you won’t be held back by the size of your recruitment team or your budget. 

“When you have a magnetic employer brand, your whole workforce is one large recruiting department. This is the most under-recognised benefit of creating a compelling employer brand: it unleashes the recruiting potential lying dormant in your workforce.” 

While rewards and incentives to promote your employer brand can be effective in obtaining good referrals from current employees, Lee states with a magnetic employer brand, team members will be “evangelical in spreading the word when they feel passionate about their employer.”

Create a coherent, compelling message

Lee notes that a strong employer brand requires excellent coherency in its messaging. 

“Good brand managers carefully scrutinise the various messages and experiences their brand delivers to make sure they don’t send conflicting messages.” 

Lee references Scott Bedbury (former brand managers at Starbucks and Nike) and his book A New Brand World: Eight Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the Twenty-First Century, focusing on how everything matters when it comes to great branding and messages.

“Bedbury tells the story of how the bean-counters at Starbucks suggested the company purchase cheaper toilet paper, thus saving millions of dollars every year. Bedbury reminded them that “everything matters” and having a Starbucks bathroom experience feel similar to a gas station bathroom experience didn’t fit with its brand, and certainly wouldn’t strengthen it.” 

When you think of your employer brand, “everything matters” too; from employee perception to your organisation’s mission and values. Ensure all your messaging (which includes the actions you take, and the materials and tools you provide your people) coherently expresses your brand. 

Foster a network of “talent magnets” 

“When you have a strong employer brand, your employees are your best recruiters, not only because they tell great stories about your organisation, but because they also embody your company’s unique spirit and value-set.” 

Turning your current employees into brand ambassadors is one of the most powerful ways to recruit and attract the best talent. Your people experience your employer brand in action, and their positive experiences are reflected in their comments, actions and information they share. 

“Without this conscious effort at strengthening your culture — and therefore your employer brand — you will have some employees who are inspiring messengers, some who leave no impact, and others who are talent repellents. As mentioned previously, lack of coherency and consistency weakens an employer brand.” 

In order to enjoy the benefits of an excellent and magnetic employer brand, you must build a strong foundation. 

“Developing a magnetic employer brand is far more than just making sure your ads, radio spots, Internet postings, and recruiting booth presentations work synergistically. It’s far more than a marketing makeover. If you don’t actually do the great things you say about your organisation, you don’t have a brand, you have a recipe for high turnover. Thus, creating a magnetic employer brand requires that your management team look honestly at themselves and your organisation’s daily operations and ask, ‘Do we really deliver a great work experience … or even a good one?’”

Source

Employer branding vs. magnetic branding 

David Lee

ERE 

Nikita Thorne is an Oxford-based digital marketer and writer. After completing a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Film & Theatre from the University of Reading followed by a six-month internship in marketing, Nikita has been travelling the world.

While temping as a Content Producer at Employment Office in Brisbane, she gained expertise in recruitment marketing, writing articles and coordinating webinars on multiple recruitment marketing subjects.

The post Faux vs. magnetic employer branding: what matters? appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

People analytics can equate to better information to inform your decision-making. But how can you tell if it’s time for your organisation to build your own? 

Based on the latest research from July 2019, which collated data from 380 HR professionals worldwide, found the number of people analytics teams within organisations had grown from 15% in 2016 to 68% in 2019.

“The growth in people analytics teams across organisations reveals that it has emerged as a valuable method of processing the large employee data organizations have been collecting over the years.” 

So, what are people analytics teams and why are they so valuable?

People analytics uses a combination of mathematical and statistical modelling to identify and examine workforce behaviours. 

“For example, people analytics can help determine the effectiveness of your learning and development programs in terms of how many people engage with it, complete it, and drop out midway.”

While the terms HR analytics and people analytics are arguably used interchangeably, people analytics goes one step further.

“According to the report, here are the top five areas in which companies have been using people data and analytics: 

1. To measure employee sentiment 
2. To measure employee adoption of tech tools given to them 
3. For succession planning 
4. To forecast retirement 
5. To measure employee wellbeing.”

With people analytics being seen as so useful, why aren’t more organisations getting on board? 

According to HR Technologist, there are three possible reasons for this:

• Automated processes presents the implication of possible job loss. People truly fear automation and, “top leadership must help HR overcome this fear, by specifying how automation in the form of moving to people analytics solutions will help HR streamline its work, give it actionable insights to work with, and implement meaningful change in the organisation.”

• Implementing people analytics requires a particular skill set. Typical HR and related degrees do not prepare future professionals to apply the analytics. While much of the data collated does not require in-depth knowledge, “they do need a data-driven mindset, the ability to make sense of data, and the ability to use this data to develop strategies.”

• Good quality data is not readily available. The data is so widely spread that some of the information collated may not be of use or poor quality. “As a result, having a team dedicated to the process is essential, comprising data analysts and HR professionals to clean HR data and use it to develop stronger people analytics solutions.”

Is it time to upskill your team for people analytics?

“An interesting fact that the Innovation Generation report found was that 32% of companies have plans to upskill their HR teams to develop people analytics skills. However, 17% indicated that they would hire external talent for their requirements.”

The questions still remains, is it better to upskill internally? Or is it be best to hire externally? HR Technologist shared opinions from Matthew Jackson, the VP of Client Solutions at Thompson Online Benefits (the organisation that completed the initial research). 

“An internal HR team will likely have a better grasp on company culture, employee sentiment and desired brand resonance – so if insights gleaned from data and analytics are going to be used for initiatives related to those areas, that in-house knowledge is invaluable.”

However, Jackson also notes that external analytics teams may also be valuable for other areas: “A people analytics organisation is likely going to have access to incredible amounts of data and insights from broad sources that in-house teams don’t have access to.”

A mixture of both may be the best option when investigating People Analytics. “It may be a combination of these two teams, or individuals who are armed with data – both internal and external, that would make the best fit for your organisation.”

What is best for your organisation?

HR Technologies has previously endorsed people analytics as the key to taking more strategic HR decisions. For an organisation to “prepare for the future, every HR professional should have people analytics capabilities. It is no longer a nice-to-have. It is a must-have.”

Do you agree? Will you be implementing people analytics strategies in the future? Share a comment below and continue the conversation on LinkedIn. 

Source

Does your organisation have its own people analytics team yet? 

Puja Lalwani

HR Technologist 

Nikita Thorne is an Oxford-based digital marketer and writer. After completing a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Film & Theatre from the University of Reading followed by a six-month internship in marketing, Nikita has been travelling the world.

While temping as a Content Producer at Employment Office in Brisbane, she gained expertise in recruitment marketing, writing articles and coordinating webinars on multiple recruitment marketing subjects.

The post Does your organisation need a people analytics team? appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

With the economy continuing to strengthen, many organisations are placing a renewed focus on their graduate programmes. Many top graduates receive multiple job offers before completing their degrees! This makes for an increasingly competitive graduate talent marketplace, causing employers to confront the challenge of how to attract top talent. 

Here are a few strategies you can put in place to attract more of the best graduate talent through your recruitment advertisement and, most importantly, encourage them to accept your offer over a competitor’s.

1. Target the right graduates

Not every graduate will be the right fit for your organisation. While most degrees are transferable, if you’re hiring for a graduate chemist, you’ll need those with the right qualifications. Create a profile for your ideal candidate, complete with degree subject(s), strengths, interests and skill sets. 

Then, target your recruitment advertisement. Advertising with precision is far more effective than an ambiguous approach. Speak to their interests, use LinkedIn’ targeted search, target specific universities that train students with the skills you’re looking for. 

2. Articulate progression and pathways to success

Explain in your recruitment advertisement how your role contributes to your organisation’s overall mission and values. Graduates often understand that they will begin at the bottom of the proverbial ‘pile’ and that they’ll need to put in work to progress. However, by stating how their role contributes value, or that you can offer opportunities to progress in their career, you will make your offer more attractive and secure more high-quality applications. 

Perhaps you have a training platform that allows them to become a team leader or manager within a couple of years. Maybe, you have a fast track option they can apply for. Regardless of how the candidate will start their career, by providing progression opportunities and ways they can add value will not only attract them, but retain them through loyalty.

3. Offer great benefits

Most recent graduates are Millennials and Gen Zers; these generations value a work/life balance and often search for this when looking for roles. CNBC reported that 76% of millennials would take a pay cut if their employer offered flexible working. So, offering perks that make your organisation look better than your competitors’ is going to make you more attractive to graduates. 

While remuneration packages are important, pay isn’t everything though. Canva made it to the number one spot on 2018’s best place to work list for their employee-focused workplace with attractive benefits. Many graduates look for opportunities with flexible working, travel opportunities and the ability to socialise with their colleagues at regular events. Canva also offers its colleagues free gym memberships, food incentives and regularly celebrates top performers to encourage greater productivity and workplace morale. 

4. Show off the great things about your organisation’s ethos and culture

Utilising social media as part of your employer branding strategy is incredibly important when looking to attract graduates to your role. It doesn’t matter whether your brand is well known or not, the candidate will most likely research your company and investigate your social media channels. 

Use social media to promote the great things about your organisation using employee-generated content. Perhaps you’ve had an excellent month in sales and are promoting the work of some star performers; or some employees are taking on a big challenge in support of your partner charity. Whatever the case, sharing your good news stories and celebrating employees is going to give a great impression of your company.

Overall, be strategic. If you’re recruiting graduates then you need a graduate hiring strategy. Like an employee value proposition, ensure you have a graduate value proposition and sell it! 

Strategically planning your graduate recruitment campaigns prior to graduation periods is going to work in your favour. Yes, there’s a lot of competition, but there are also lots of graduates. Plan strategically to become a contender in competing for, attracting and converting top graduate talent.

Nikita Thorne is an Oxford-based digital marketer and writer. After completing a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Film & Theatre from the University of Reading followed by a six-month internship in marketing, Nikita has been travelling the world.

While temping as a Content Producer at Employment Office in Brisbane, she gained expertise in recruitment marketing, writing articles and coordinating webinars on multiple recruitment marketing subjects.

The post 4 ways to attract graduates through recruitment advertising appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Employee retention isn’t something you start working on during a recruitment campaign or when you’ve hired a candidate. Fostering employee loyalty should be continuous! Retaining great talent is the foundation of organisational success, because you recruit great talent to retain it right? So, start utilising great employee retention strategies now. 

Here are three retention strategies you can employ today:

Invest in your teams

Your first thought about investing might be money – but it’s much more than that! Investing is also about time; investing time in developing your teams and team building fosters teamwork and productivity. 

How do you invest time and resources into your existing teams? Consider sharing this through your recruitment advertisements to attract great candidates. Top talent want to see how their work may be valued and how they can develop in your organisation.

It’s no wonder that when your teams are disengaged, productivity decreases. Research reveals that 70% of employees aren’t engaged in their roles which creates an estimated cost of $450 billion to $550 billion in lost productivity per year. Investing time into your team will increase productivity and overall work happiness, saving your organisation money and retaining great people

Empower your teams

Empowering your team is a great way to demonstrate trust. According to Forbes, employees who feel empowered or have a level of autonomy within their roles feel more engaged in their jobs than those who do not. 

“Employees who felt a low level of empowerment were rated with engagement at the 24th percentile, whereas those with a high level of empowerment were at the 79th percentile. Clearly, empowerment counts.”

So how can you empower your team? Share their successes on your social media channels and provide incentives as a reward for meeting targets. Sharing how you appreciate their effort and hard work in day-to-day conversations too. 

For example, one of your team members may not have performed so well in a quarter. Express that you fully appreciate their efforts and expect they will learn from this result, and offer them support in areas they may need it. Consider if any workplace or personal problems may have impacted their results. Great leadership fosters employee loyalty over the long-term. Employees should feel valued and empowered to improve even after a tough conversation about KPIs and results.

Provide excellent leadership and support 

Leadership is arguably one of the most important elements of candidate retention. Employees remain loyal to great leaders. Continue to develop and improve your leadership skills, offer support, and understand on a deep level what your employees want from leaders. 

In addition to this, consider offering additional support to candidates and new hires too. The recruitment process can be stressful for candidates, so offering your support during the onboarding process and demonstrating great leadership while they navigate their initial few weeks is essential to making a great impression. Continue this support as they become more autonomous in their decision making is vital. 

Focusing on these three elements will nurture a positive workplace environment for loyal employees to thrive. 

The overarching theme of retention is empowering your people. If your people feel empowered in their role and the organisation, they are more likely to stay loyal to the brand and become advocates. This makes talent attraction much easier over the long term. Investing in your team, building trust and providing support where required will create an empowered and loyal workforce who are in it for the long run.

How do you increase retention and foster employee loyalty? Share a comment below. 

Nikita Thorne is an Oxford-based digital marketer and writer. After completing a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Film & Theatre from the University of Reading followed by a six-month internship in marketing, Nikita has been travelling the world.

While temping as a Content Producer at Employment Office in Brisbane, she gained expertise in recruitment marketing, writing articles and coordinating webinars on multiple recruitment marketing subjects.

The post Retaining talent: three great ways to foster employee loyalty appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

A historical Gallup study uncovered that being able to work with a good friend is a major motivation factor when candidates search for work. Dr John Sullivan explores the buddy-hiring program and its success rate. So, is now the time to implement this initiative in your organisation?

What is a Buddy Hiring program?

This approach to recruitment is also known as “hire-them-both” where recruiters offer candidates a package deal. This is a method of attraction that Sullivan describes as “amazingly effective simply because most of us do have a close colleague, relative, or friend who we’ve always wanted to work with. And as a result, many of us would jump at this rare opportunity to work together with them.”

Has this initiative worked in the past?

Yes, and it’s worked very well. Both McDonald’s and the U.S. Army have trialled this initiative and it’s appeared to work fantastically. For both of these organisations, the buddy hiring program has worked to strengthen their employer brand. 

McDonald’s have given friends the chance to apply to work together through their Friends Wanted campaign; which had a series of three adverts. Sullivan states, “These humorous but compelling three ads clearly reveal that the two featured employees are friends outside of work. The program allows two applicants to apply together using an online application form, with the promise that they will have the opportunity to work alongside each other.”

Does the program increase productivity?

Some talent leaders assume that hiring two friends to work in the same team may be counter-productive. According to the research by Gallup, it was discovered that two friends working together actually caused an increase in both productivity and retention. 

Those working together would become more loyal to the company that hired them considering they like and get on with their co-workers. According to Sullivan, the bonus to these programs is also the fact candidates would be more willing to locate, especially if their spouse or significant is struggling to find a job.

“The buddy program allows you to hire the spouse also, therefore assuring that the couple has a sufficient combined income to justify the move.”

The buddy hiring program also has other positives; it increases the speed of hire, increases acceptance rates and decreases the cost of recruiting as it recruits two people per job ad. 

While it has worked for these organisations, the buddy hiring program doesn’t come without concerns; for example, employers may be concerned about nepotism or favouritism and they may be concerned that they’ll have to lower their hiring standards. However, these can be overcome. By not allowing one buddy to supervise the other, the issue of favouritism is removed. Hiring managers also still have the power to decide if one buddy is not acceptable for the role and therefore can choose to only make one hire out of the two. 

Final Thoughts

Sullivan states his personal view of the buddy hiring program. 

“I first encountered a buddy-hiring program over 19 years ago, when I was part of the initial pioneering experiment at Agilent Technologies. I am still an avid supporter of this approach. Buddy-hire programs have proven to be successful for literally decades both in the military and in the corporate world.”

Do you think it’s time to implement the buddy system in your organisation? Share this article on social and leave a comment below. 

Nikita Thorne is an Oxford-based digital marketer and writer. After completing a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Film & Theatre from the University of Reading followed by a six-month internship in marketing, Nikita has been travelling the world.

While temping as a Content Producer at Employment Office in Brisbane, she gained expertise in recruitment marketing, writing articles and coordinating webinars on multiple recruitment marketing subjects.

The post Why Buddy Hiring programs increases attraction, retention and productivity appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

While specialised knowledge and hard skills are essential to create an efficient, qualified workforce, it’s soft skills that will determine how your people will handle problems, communicate with colleagues and client, and respond to different business situations. Soft skills are often the deciding factor if you’re struggling to differentiate between top candidates with the same hard skill sets. 

SHRM shared expertise from five security industry recruiters to decipher which soft skills are the most crucial for today’s market. Here’s what they said:

Communication

Communication is seen as the foundation of every other soft skill. Why? Because communication is the “umbrella” which covers other skills such as “speaking, active listening skills, presentation skills and more.” 

It provides the foundation for relationships between employees and their senior team members. Managers should be able to communicate effectively with their team members about tasks, improvements and when providing praise.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (often abbreviated to EQ) is the ability to understand the reactions and perspectives of others, and handle this with empathy.

“Besides communication skills, emotional intelligence has become an important attribute for candidates in the current job market.”

Today, more organisations are looking for people with EQ skills. This includes the ability to work within a team, the ability to motivate and persuade, empathetic listening and building consciousness.

You can determine whether someone has high EQ abilities by the way they present themselves during interviews and the way they demonstrate their value. 

“They’re not just leaning on their laurels. They have actively done the research on the company, and so they can give examples of potential contributions that are directly relevant… They are making really good impressions.”

The ability to question assumptions

This skill is subtle, yet valuable. The ability to questions assumptions is often lacking in many managers as the technological upgrades of today’s world has made traditional ways of problem-solving more redundant.

‘”There is a key subtle difference in the ability to identify a challenge without assuming that it can be solved the same way it was a year or two ago.”

Someone who is skilled at questioning assumptions will consistently question how decisions are reached without straying from standards and regulatory requirements. 

Different soft skills working in harmony 

“Managers who can survive, and even thrive, in this environment usually combine communication skills with the ability to work under pressure, a knack for troubleshooting, and an insistence on maintaining integrity and a code of ethics so no corners are cut.”

While the combination of soft skills required for the role is often dependant on the circumstances surrounding the position, it is important that the candidate can demonstrate they have the ability to use these skills; even if the use of these skills in harmony would need to develop within the role over time. 

Organisations and their cultures are unique. Be mindful that it can be challenging for candidates to take their soft skills and apply it to a new organisational context immediately. Making a new hire comes down to solving an organisational challenge in one way or another. What matters is whether you can see the candidate being able to use their hard and soft skills to be able to solve these challenges.

Source

The hard truth about soft skills 

Mark Tarallo 

SHRM 

We’d love to hear your thoughts! What other soft skills do you think are crucial in today’s market? Leave a comment below and share the article on social to continue the conversation. 

Nikita Thorne is an Oxford-based digital marketer and writer. After completing a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Film & Theatre from the University of Reading followed by a six-month internship in marketing, Nikita has been travelling the world.

While temping as a Content Producer at Employment Office in Brisbane, she gained expertise in recruitment marketing, writing articles and coordinating webinars on multiple recruitment marketing subjects.

The post The best soft skills to recruit for appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Every year, despite being open to some dispute, the “Great Place To Work” list is a highly prized honour. HRM spoke to both Canva and Atlassian to gain an understanding of how they made the cut for 2018; Canva emphasised their “employee-first atmosphere” while Atlassian discussed how they built a culture of inclusion.

Canva’s employee-focused atmosphere

In 2018, Canva secured the number one spot on the ‘Great Place To Work’ list for organisations with 100-999 employees. Since 2012, Canva’s team has grown by 5400%, from only 10 employees to 550 spread across three countries. To add to that, further growth is expected in 2019 with HRM stating that Canva has plans to double their workforce. 

HRM’s Samantha Smith spoke with Zach Kitchske, describing him as, “the one tasked with managing that scaling from an HR perspective. He says the company’s main focus used to be growth, but now they’re focused on culture.”

The work perks

“Some of the pros of the company highlighted by current and former employees include free breakfasts and lunches (which is arguably a tool to keep people at work). But many of the cons they’ve registered point to company growth as being a difficult obstacle.”

When upscaling, there are always going to be pressures and issues. Taking these aside, Canva offers a remarkable assortment of work perks and incentives. For example, “the Birthday Wheel… the wheel can land on a variety of prizes like special lunches, gift vouchers, cheese platters and more.”

Food incentives seem central to Canva’s perks; “Staff eat lunch together every day, which is what eventually inspired the Birthday Wheel. And you’re probably thinking that on-site chefs are a big commitment to employee happiness… Canva goes one step further by sourcing all their food from a company-owned farm in regional NSW. Employees are even encouraged to stay at the farm, though this perk is not free.”

Canva has also created an inclusive and celebratory culture that honours loyal employees with anniversary and wall of fame celebrations as well as hosting quarterly expat events to help their international hires (which make up a quarter of their workforce) meet new people and get to know Sydney. 

Canva also offers free gym memberships, sanitary products in their bathrooms, and for the employees who cycle to work – free bike servicing. Canva also encourages its employees to bring pets with them to work.

In this interview, Kitschke concludes, “Canva’s culture is about creating a place where everyone loves coming to work, where everyone is striving to do the best work of their lives and creates the most outstanding product and company we can”.

Atlassian’s culture of inclusion

Atlassian’s Head of Diversity and Belonging Aubury Blanche shared their approach to diversity and inclusion. 

At the core of Atlassian’s success is inclusion. In Sydney a couple of years ago, they noticed that women were isolated in their teams. Their solution? Blanche was tasked with providing a space where women, and ultimately other employees who were in minorities, could connect. So, she created a coffee date program.

This solution was a no pressure, opt-in opportunity. The women of Atlassian could put their name on a page and a program manager would randomly match people who had opted in and they would meet up.

Blanche considers this program to be a success; “What we found was that we were basically building the architecture for those women to create personal connections that their male peers were getting a little more organically.”

Another of Atlassian’s noteworthy was the creation of the company’s Side by Side blog; this was created to foster inclusion and belonging among team members and to remove barriers for other employees who may not be familiar with people who are different to them.

Blanche notes an example of how powerful the blog can be and in this interview with HRM referred to a post written by an employee who came out as transgender called, “How not to f***k up with your trans teammate.” Within the article she explained how trans people are marginalised and educated her colleagues on the best ways (and the ways to not) treat people at work who are transitioning or have transitioned.

The blog is internal and not usually used to promote the organisation but provides employees with a ‘safe space’ and encourages open communication about issues that matter to them.

“It’s not about a corporate program that teaches you to be sensitive. It’s about creating moments for you to learn how to be more empathetic for the people around you. And I think it’s more motivating for people to hear it from their teammates.” 

Source

What does it take to make the Great Place to Work list? 

Samantha Smith 

HRM Online 

Nikita Thorne is an Oxford-based digital marketer and writer. After completing a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Film & Theatre from the University of Reading followed by a six-month internship in marketing, Nikita has been travelling the world.

While temping as a Content Producer at Employment Office in Brisbane, she gained expertise in recruitment marketing, writing articles and coordinating webinars on multiple recruitment marketing subjects.

The post The ‘Great Place To Work’ list: What does it take to make the cut? appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Employee engagement and happiness are crucial in retaining talent in your organisation. Giving your team members the opportunity to discuss their points of view in a “stay” interview with key decision makers through a candid, yet confidential platform will reassure them that their experiences and roles matter.

Exit interviews are also a key component of this strategy. Asking employees to partake in an honest interview when they are leaving will highlight areas your organisation is lacking and will help you to understand areas for improvement. 

Penny Fletcher highlights the reasons why conducting these interviews are, in fact, a recruitment and attraction tool. 

“These may range from hearing about deficiencies in training; staff/managerial issues not brought to HR previously; and, if better wages/growth opportunities/chances for promotion made the other organisation more attractive.

The same logic should apply to employees who are still in your organisation. You should be curious about your existing staff: what they like about the organisation and why they stay. How they view leadership and growth opportunities. If or why they would consider a job or career change in the near future.”

What’s the best approach for these interviews?

There is no right or wrong way to approach these interviews. However, to ensure you achieve the most truthful information, Fletcher argues you need to ensure the employee feels safe to speak openly about their experiences at work. 

“The key to success for both ‘stay’ and exit interviews is creating an environment where the employee feels safe to be candid with responses and assured the information will remain confidential. The response shouldn’t lead directly back to the person who said it. The person(s) conducting the interview needs to be a familiar face to the employee. An HR professional who never leaves the office to interact with the line staff is going to have much more difficulty building rapport and trust.” 

Giving your current people and leaders the ability to remain in control of the information given to senior team members is also important. Fletcher recommends giving employees the opportunity to take their personal information with them at the conclusion of the conversation. She also recommends keeping any open-ended questions structured. 

“My first question always is, ‘What do you like about working here?’ Not only does that set a certain tone for the remainder of the interview, but the responses are great recruiting tools.”

How can these techniques attract new talent?

Understanding your employees’ views about your workplace is essential for your organisation’s internal development. The better your employees feel about their workplace, the better their motivation, engagement and delivery. 

These interviews are also the perfect place to obtain testimonials from employees about their working experience. These can be used in your recruitment marketing campaigns to attract the best talent to join your team. It’s important these findings are consistent and authentic. 

“If I hear multiple responses about flexible schedules or outstanding coworkers, those phrases can be added to job postings and recruiting flyers.” 

Fletcher concludes, “Personal testimonials are becoming a recruiting tool used more and more. While having a conversation with your employees, particularly in those that hold hard-to-fill positions, you may just find your next rock star to give a testimonial for your next job posting or recruiting event.” 

Source 

‘Stay Interviews’ and ‘Exit Interviews’ Are Recruiting Tools

Penny Fletcher 

ERE

Nikita Thorne is an Oxford-based digital marketer and writer. After completing a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Film & Theatre from the University of Reading followed by a six-month internship in marketing, Nikita has been travelling the world.

While temping as a Content Producer at Employment Office in Brisbane, she gained expertise in recruitment marketing, writing articles and coordinating webinars on multiple recruitment marketing subjects.

The post Are “stay” interviews and exit interviews a recruitment tool?  appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.