Branding  Beyond  Borders:  A  Quick  Guide  for  Interna7onal  Employer  Branding  

Recrui'ng  beyond  borders  and  the  globaliza'on  of  many  companies  has  created  a  brave  new  world  of  employer  branding.  

In  this  new  world  of  recruitment,  not  all  the  rules  are  the  same  and  research  must  be  thoroughly  ve=ed  and  compared  against  local  customs,  cultures  and  educa'onal  systems.      

From  the  execu've  level,  the  need  for  a  consistent  global  brand  is  clear.  71%  of  surveyed  CEOs  say  they  ac'vely  search  for  talent  in  different  geographies,  industries,  or  demographic  segments.  -­‐  PwC  

14%  of  CEOs  said  building  a  global  employer  brand  was  a  concern  today,  while  that  number  is  slated  to  double  by  2020,  a  mere  4  years  from  now.    

Conversely,  building  out  an  employer  brand  on  a  local  level  falls  from  24%  to  a  mere  15%  in  the  same  respec've  years.    

Building  a  successful  and  effec've  global  employer  brand,  DEMANDS  some  form  of  localiza'on.    

The  Employer  Branding  Core    

An  EVP,  or  Employer  Value  Proposi'on,  is  the  founda'on  of  a  strong  employer  brand.    

61%  of  hiring  execu'ves  surveyed  said  they  had  developed  an  Employee  Value  Proposi'on  to  establish  their  employer  branding  ac'vi'es.    

With  an  EVP,  you  will  want  to  focus  on  three  dis'nct  groups.  

Former  employees  can  be  a  candid  source  of  informa'on.  Incorporate  brand  related  ques'ons  into  your  exit  interview  process  where  applicable.    

Current  Employees:  Key  ques'ons  when  crea'ng  an  EVP:  Learning  ini'a'ves,  Cultural  norms  (unwri=en  rules),  Communica'on  prac'ces,  Free-­‐thinking,  Rewards,  Recogni'on,  Management,  Recruitment  process  

Prospec've  Employees:  Gather  intelligence  from  sources  like  Glassdoor,  Yelp  and  social  media  sites.  Informa'onal  interviews  can  work  to  your  advantage  during  career  fairs  and  in  conjunc'on  with  internship  programs.        Tip:  Few  are  as  honest  as  the  entry-­‐level  job  seeker!    

A  complete  EVP  will  be  a  simple  overarching  statement  that  captures  the  crux  of  your  employees’  experiences  and  employer  brand  commitment.  It  will  be  unique,  compelling  and  truthful.    

Example  Statement:  “ACME  strives  to  make  an  impact  in  its  employees’  lives  via  its  core  values.  Our  value  lies  in  our  values.”    

Research  The  Area    

From  embassy  and  tax  informa'on  to  Google  Translate,  you  can  go  much  further  with  a  keyboard  and  mouse  in  today’s  recrui'ng  age  than  ever  before.      

Research:  Cultural  Norms  Pay  &  Compensa'on  Drivers  Global  Migra'on  Trends    

Want  to  hire  globally  but  aren’t  quite  ready  to  find  a  local  consultant?    

Universum  Global  -­‐  Universum  focuses  on  crea'ng  research  specifically  suited  for  Employer  Branding  purposes.    

Tip-­‐  Leverage  resources  such  as  this  to  create  your  EVP,  do  compe''ve  analysis  and  determine  the  most  relevant  messages  for  prospec've  employees  based  on  their  loca'ons.    

Edelman  Trust  Barometer  Edelman  is  a  global  digital  agency  that  frequently  measures  messaging,  and  their  annual  Global  Trust  Barometer  is  a  useful  tool  for  understanding  economies  and  popula'ons.  

Tip-­‐  Leverage  resources  such  as  this  to  create  your  EVP,  do  compe''ve  analysis  and  determine  the  most  relevant  messages  for  prospec've  employees  based  on  their  loca'ons.    

Geing  to  Yes  Across  Cultures-­‐  This  is  a  series  of  videos  and  ar'cles  from  Harvard  Business  Review  that  gives  insight  into  specific  cultural  insights  that  can  help  during  key  nego'a'ons  (like  sales  and  recrui'ng).    

Tip  -­‐  You  can  be  fluent  in  a  language  and  s'll  miss  subtle'es  in  your  EVP  or  Employer  Brand.  If  you  disagree  with  a  candidate  in  Germany,  the  interview  could  turn  into  a  friendly  debate.  Do  the  same  in  Mexico  and  it  could  be  the  end  of  that  candidate’s  interest!    

Embassy  Websites  -­‐  While  embassy  websites  do  not  always  conform  to  a  clear  cut  template,  they  are  useful  for  cost  of  doing  business  templates  that  can  help  when  hiring  from  another  country.    

Use  these  embassy  guides  to  plan  out  your  strategy  and  build  a  list  of  helpful  contact.    

Iden'fy  Your  Key  Drivers    

Because  you’re  geing  the  chance  to  take  your  employer  brand  beyond  borders,  you  get  to  break  one  of  the  key  rules  of  employer  branding.    

Rule  #1  “Don’t  try  to  be  all  things  to  all  people…”  This  is  the  polar  opposite  of  what  a  great  EVP  and  employer  brand  are  supposed  to  do.  So  why  do  we  get  to  break  this  rule?    

Okay,  perhaps  we  don’t  get  to  break  it.  But,  we  DO  get  to  bend  it  based  on  targeted  recruitment  loca'ons.    

Your  research  +  Your  EVP  and  Employer  Brand  =  Your  localized  campaigns    

The  only  person  qualified  to  lead  those  campaigns  is  your  localized  brand  manager,  transla'ng  your  global  brand  (both  culturally  and  linguis'cally)  into  something  that  will  resonate  with  the  local  audience.    

Recruitment  Channels  -­‐  We’re  not  changing  the  overarching  employer  brand,  so  much  as  changing  HOW  we  communicate  it  for  the  local  market.  Successful  channels  and  campaigns  can  change  from  loca'on  to  loca'on.  Global  Job  Boards,  Social  Media  Networks  (Facebook,  Viadeo,  Xing),  Print  Media  or  Tradi'onal  Media,  Recruitment  Agencies,  Job  Exchanges    

Common  Differen'ators  -­‐  Those  who  want  to  brand  beyond  borders  should  also  focus  on  which  of  their  differen'ators  will  set  them  apart  from  compe''on  in  the  country  from  which  they  are  trying  to  recruit  and  hire.  Some  common  differen'ators  that  have  different  effects  on  job  seekers  around  the  globe:  Compe''ve  or  outstanding  compensa'on,  Benefits  and  Stability,  Work-­‐Life  Balance,  Innova've  Career  Track,  Happiness  and  Engagement,  Pres'ge  and  Brand,  Friendly  Work  Environment    

Top  3  Reten'on  Drivers  for  the  Global  Workforce  Base  pay/salary,  Career  growth  opportuni'es,  Trust/confidence  in  senior  leadership    

A  social  media  campaign  about  your  friendly  work  environment  may  work  incredibly  well  in  Mexico  but  fail  in  the  Netherlands.    

Distribu'on  of  Your  Brand  -­‐To  note:  There  are  also  cost  differences  to  adver'sing  within  different  locales  to  be  acutely  aware  of.  Na'onal  media  in  the  United  States  can  skew  quite  expensive  due  to  the  size  of  the  country,  while  digital  media  seems  much  less  expensive.  In  other  countries,  VAT  and  accessibility  to  media  are  vastly  different  than  the  United  States.    

Keep  your  global  recruitment  marke'ng  and  branding  budget  in  line  with  projec'ons.    

Think  Mobility  

Once  you’ve  established  your  Employer  brand,  Researched  your  desired  loca'ons  using  some  (or  all)  of  the  tools  we’ve  discussed  here,  Created  localized  campaigns  around  your  employer  brand  messaging,  Started  looking  into  pricing  for  those  campaigns    

It’s  'me  to  take  distribu'on  to  a  whole  new  level.    

Mobile  recrui'ng  is  “baked-­‐in”  to  their  campaigns  from  the  get-­‐go,  which  means  it  needs  to  be  built  in  to  your  employer  branding  ini'a'ves  to  be  authen'c  and  resonate  with  local  popula'ons.    

Did  you  know?  Research  by  Employer  Brand  Interna'onal  found  social  media  (58%)  to  be  the  No.  1  channel  for  communica'ng  the  employer  brand  while  only  21%  are  using  a  mobile-­‐op'mized  career  website  to  communicate  their  employer  brand.    

Bo=om  Line  -­‐  If  your  campaigns  can’t  be  viewed  on  a  smartphone  and  your  jobs  can  only  be  applied  to  from  a  desktop,  you  are  severely  limi'ng  your  op'ons  in  a  new  loca'on  and  you  could  inadvertently  be  ruling  out  younger  candidates  from  Genera'ons  Y  and  Z.    

Building  an  employer  brand  that  transcends  borders  requires  a  dis'nc've  process.  Employer  branding  best  prac'ces  for  domes'c  recruitment  provide  the  founda'on,  but  it’s  the  cultural  research,  establishment  of  EVPs  and  effec've  messaging  tailored  to  a  specific  interna'onal  audience  that  brings  home  successful  global  employer  branding  campaigns.    

Beyond  is  proud  to  be  the  exclusive  U.S.  partner  for  The  Network,  a  global  alliance  of  52  job  boards  in  over  130  countries.  In  this  role,  Beyond  serves  as  a  single  point  of  contact  for  mul'-­‐na'onal  businesses  in  the  U.S.  market.  Enlist  the  help  of  our  global  hiring  experts  to  enter  the  interna'onal  recruitment  market  with  a  localized  recruitment  brand  and  a=ract  highly  engaged  candidates  from  around  the  world.      See  how  we  can  help:  www.beyond.com/interna'onal    

Ready  to  find  your  global  employer  brand  niche?