Employer Branding Whitepaper - TMP Worldwide

The value o

f a

managed employe

r

brand in an inc

reasingly

competitive la

ndscape

August 2011

TMP Worldwide, 265 Tottenham Court Road,

London W1T 7RQ | www.tmpw.co.uk

Page

Introduction 1

Employer Brands in a New Context 2

Key Findings 3

Investing in Employer Branding 4

Organisational Benefits from an Employer Brand 5

Core Elements of an Employer Brand 6

Managing Your Employer Brand 7

The Barriers to Employer Branding 10

Monitoring Your Employer Brand 11

Conclusion 13

Contents

A well-managed employer brand is a critical part of the human resources mix. It is central to a three-pronged strategy

that addresses:

• the recruitment of talent

• creating high levels of employee engagement

• increased productivity and retention.

For the purpose of this white paper we concentrate on how to creatively manage your employer brand to support the

recruitment and retention of exceptional talent.

Above all, perhaps our key conclusion from this research is the realisation that investment in, and focus on the

employer brand is shifting up a gear. Competition within employer branding is increasing and the rewards have never

been higher.

The economic climateAs the country emerges from recession, hiring is back on the agenda. In May 2011, CityAM editor Allister Heath

reported that there are now 416,000 more people in work in the UK than there were a year ago. The private sector

created over half a million extra jobs, easily compensating for reduced employment in the public sector (down 132,000

last year).1

Yet, even with relatively high unemployment, recruitment is not easy. The newly-released CIPD Resourcing and Talent

Planning Survey 2011 highlights that three quarters of the organisations surveyed had experienced recruitment

difficulties in the last few months.2

Just as important as recruitment is the retention of existing employees. As many companies have slimmed down, those

who have stayed in their roles are extremely valuable. However, other research has shown that people are becoming

poorer by staying in their current jobs. With inflation running at 4.4% and wages increasing at just 1.8% it seems that

it pays to move roles3. And that’s why 47% of UK workers want to do exactly that.4

Playing the long gameThis white paper draws on recent research by TMP Worldwide with 512 HR decision makers across the country, working

in a wide variety of companies from local organisations to global corporations. The results of the survey show that

employer branding is one of the top three objectives for human resources departments. This is supported by the CIPD

research report which highlights that three-quarters of organisations have made efforts to review their employer

brand over the last year, most commonly through employee surveys and developing online career sites.

An effective employer brand is not a tap that can be turned on and off at will. It needs concerted support and must be

a long-term strategic objective for the organisation. While it is understandable that employer brands tend to be better

managed when there is recruitment activity, we have learnt from the recession that if you’re not managing your

employer brand consistently then a range of other factors will be doing just that.

In this white paper we’ll demonstrate the value to be gained from having a well managed employer brand and the

benefits that it will deliver. It’s worthwhile to recognise that there’s always tough competition for the best people.

A strong employer brand means that you’ll be best placed to recruit them, even if they’re not currently thinking

about a new role.

Introduction

1 http://www.cityam.com/news-and-analysis/allister-heath/we-are-not-facing-jobless-recovery

2 CIPD, 2011. ‘Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey 2011’.

3 The Office for National Statistics, 22 March 2011.

4 AON Consulting Survey, September 2010.

1

Employer brands in a new context

Now that hiring is back, it might seem logical to increase your recruitment activity relying on a previously defined

Employee Value Proposition (EVP), but is this really going to enhance your employer brand? The world has moved on.

The downturn has impacted every sector, every organisation and, importantly, every person. Businesses need to

engage with employees and potential employees alike in a way that’s relevant to them. They also need to be clear

about the direction of the business and aspirational about where the business wants to be.

Your employer brand communicates the employment experience you offer. It is not just a look, statement, style or a list

of jobs with good creative. An employer brand is the essence of what your organisation stands for. It communicates

your culture, values and beliefs. It reflects the personality of your organisation. It defines what makes you unique and

what you stand for. It attracts the people you would like to hire, and makes them to want to engage with you.

Scared or scarred – understanding the human mindsetFor an employer brand to connect, you need to understand the state of mind of those you’re looking to attract.

They might be emerging from the recession scared or scarred. Some people might be questioning whether now is the

right time to move, or whether it’s safer to stay. It’s likely that they’ll also be clearer about what they want from work,

and indeed the type of organisation they want to work for. Above all, they will need to have a very sound reason to

leave a secure role in the current climate. An effective employer brand provides exactly that sense of clarity and

granularity around career decisions.

Competitive environmentWe talk of the ‘war for talent’, but at times it’s not clear who we’re at war with. We might know our sector competitors

but what about discipline competitors? Where are the best graduates headed, who has the reputation for being the

best call centre employer, and who employs the best marketing, financial, sales and HR talent? Do you really know your

talent competitors and have they changed during the recession?

How confident are you that the value proposition you are taking to candidates stacks up competitively?

2

Investing in an employer brand• Employer branding is one of the top five organisational objectives for 45% of organisations

• 54% of human resources departments say it’s one of their top three objectives

• Just 6% are thinking of reducing the investment they make in their employer brand

Organisational benefits• 35% say their employer brand contributes to a reduction in employee turnover

• 45% attribute increased engagement in part to their employer brand

• 42% have reduced spend on third party recruiters

• 58% say they now have a better understanding of external perceptions due to their employer brand

Managing an employer brand• 71% will refocus the articulation of their EVP as the economy improves

• Two thirds have a specialist team responsible for their EVP

• There’s now a greater focus on EVP than ever before for 56% of organisations

• Only 21% consistently communicate their EVP in all recruitment communications

• Likewise only 27% use their EVP consistently in internal communications

• 83% say line managers are important during the EVP process to ensure successful implementation

• 92% say engagement with internal marketing and communication professionals is critical to the relevance of

the EVP process

• 62% say they will focus on ensuring their employer brand is best in class over the next 12 months

Research methodologyCarried out in March 2011, TMP Worldwide engaged with 512 human resources decision makers to establish their views

around, and experiences of, employer branding in their organisation through an online survey.

Key findings

Organisation size

33% up to 1,000 employees

10% between 1,000 and 2,000 employees




22% over 20,000 employees

Geographical reach of organisation

30% UK Domestic only

5% UK and Ireland

10% Pan European

55% Global

3

Employer branding utilises powerful marketing techniques to appeal to potential employees, just as marketing supports

the sale of products or services to a defined audience. Employer branding is now becoming a key organisational

objective. For those we surveyed, 45% say that enhancing their employer brand is one of their top five organisational

objectives. It’s even more important for human resources departments, where 54% are concentrating on it as one of

their top three objectives.

Organisations are investing in employer branding. 62% say they’ll have a major focus in the next year in ensuring their

employer brand is best in class and 49% will be increasing their investment. Only 6% are considering reducing their

investment in employer branding.

Spend your budgets wiselyOne of the greatest shifts in moving to a well-managed employer brand is to re-engineer budgets from being vacancy-

focused to being employer brand based. Recruitment expenditure has historically been calculated around the cost of

a vacancy so this requires a fundamental change in approach. If you only spend per vacancy you’ll only ever attract

people who are actively looking at that point. If you only monitor success on cost per hire then you’ll never do

anything different.

With increased strategic focus and also a shift in how budget is allocated and spent, organisations will expect to see

added benefits from an employer brand, in addition to the recruitment of exceptional talent.

Investing in employer branding

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Over the next 12 months our investment in employer branding will...

Increase

significantly

Increase

slightly

Remain

the same

Decrease

slightly

Decrease

significantly

We do not

measure how

much we

invest in our

employer brand

4

We’ve spoken about the benefits of an employer brand in terms of recruiting exceptional talent. Other benefits are

improved retention through better engagement leading to increased performance. Here we look at some of the wider

organisational benefits that our human resources decision makers attribute to employer branding.

Improved retention is delivered, with 35% saying their employer brand contributes to a reduction in employee

turnover. Important for retention is engagement of employees. 45% attribute increased engagement in part to their

employer brand. 57% say their investment has increased understanding of internal perceptions and, importantly,

56% say they’ve experienced an increase in referrals.

An actively managed employer brand positively benefits budgeting with 42% reducing spend on third party recruiters.

Further savings came through a reduction in the salary premium needed to bring in great talent, say 38%.

The employer brand has helped 58% of human resources decision makers to have a better understanding of how

they’re perceived externally. Likewise, 48% say their employer brand has had a demonstrable impact on winning awards.

These benefits will only occur when your employer brand is well managed. The next section looks at the core elements

of an employer brand.

Organisational benefits from an

employer brand

Benefits of a well-managed brand

Reduction in employee turnover over the last 12 months

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Reduction in spend on third party recruiters

Reduction in salary premium to pay talent

Increase in employee engagement levels

Improvement in customer service levels

Improved understanding of perception internally

Increase in referrals

Improved understanding of perception externally

Increase in winning awards

5

At the centre of an employer brand is the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). This is a clear and well-defined recruitment

positioning statement. It will not be a headline or tagline. Rather it will be the DNA of what you intend to communicate

to both external recruitment markets and internal employment audiences. It is important that this reflects the values

and beliefs of the organisation, at the same time as establishing key points of differentiation from the competition.

Of the human resources decision makers we surveyed, 40% have already defined their EVP, with a further 24%

considering or in the process of defining one.

It’s likely that an organisation’s strategy will have shifted with the changing economic situation and, as we have

explored, perceptions in the market have changed. Therefore, it’s critical that the right messages are crystallised and

communicated through your employer brand. Many of the human resources decision makers we surveyed have

recently reviewed their EVP. 39% reviewed their EVP in the last 12 months. 71% agree that as the economy improves

they will be refocusing on the articulation of their EVP.

Without a well-defined EVP an employer brand will become difficult to build. It will also be difficult, indeed nearly

impossible, to track the benefits that it will deliver or to measure how your organisation is perceived externally.

Creating an EVP is the first step. Building a meaningful employer brand that’s managed in the market is an ongoing

task, and this is why 66% of those we surveyed have a specialist or a specialist team responsible for their EVP.

Core elements of an employer brand

Does your organisation have a defined EVP?

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

We are considering defining one

We are in the process of defining one

No

Yes

Our organisaton has reviewed its Employee Value Proposition in the last...

6 months

0

5

10

15

20

9 months 12 months 18 months Two years Two years +

6

Your employer brand needs to be communicated creatively and effectively so that it’s seen in the right places andengages with the right communities. It needs to be seeded online in the right channels, with messages effectivelydelivered. Here is some advice to ensure that your employer brand is well managed and you’re reaping the full benefitsfrom your investment.

Be relevant and responsiveCreating an employer brand is an ongoing journey. We asked our respondents how long an EVP should last for and 73%say that it should last for at least two years. While the body of work might be done, an EVP and employer brand needsfrequent adjustment so that it remains fresh and relevant in the market. When asked why an EVP hasn’t been reviewed,13% say that as an EVP is a recruitment tool, it wasn’t deemed a priority. 31% say they had neither the time nor theresources available.

The focus is suddenly back on recruitment. 56% of HR decision makers say there’s now a greater internal focus onEVPs than ever before.

Ensure consistency of communicationOne of the main challenges for employer branding is consistency of communication. If an employer brand is onlyutilised on a campaign by campaign or vacancy basis, it becomes extremely difficult to build the brand. Only 21% of those we surveyed say they consistently communicate their EVP in all their recruitment communications. Over a quarter (26%) communicate it as often as possible and a further 15% manage it some of the time. Likewise only 27% consistently use their EVP in internal employee communications.

Have senior buy-inFor an employer brand to flourish within an organisation it needs the support and endorsement of senior management.Traction and engagement will only be achieved if there’s senior buy-in and understanding of the employer brandthroughout all departments.

Jayne Mee, Group People and Customer Experience Director of Barratt Development PLC, explained at a recent TMP Worldwide seminar, “Adoption of the employer brand by senior stakeholders is really important to its success. You know it’s working when it’s seen less as an human resources initiative but referred to by top people as ‘this is how we do things around here’.”

For those that have established an EVP in their organisations 80% say they have the endorsement of senior managersand 79% confirm that senior level support is critical to its success.

Engage with line managersLine managers are crucially important to cascade messages to employees. They are often involved in the interviewing

process and when new employees join they will be their first contact point with the leadership and management in

your organisation. If line managers do not communicate, or indeed embody, the values contained within your EVP

your employer brand can become disjointed where the external image does not match the internal reality. 83% of

human resources decision makers say that line managers are hugely important during the EVP process to ensure

successful implementation.

A fundamental question might well be, do 83% of line managers within your organisation realise the important rolethey play in embedding your brand and EVP?

Managing your employer brand

7

Work across departmentsEven though the employer brand is likely to be owned by the human resources department, it is enormously beneficial

to have a close relationship with other departments. 92% of those surveyed say that engagement with internal

marketing and communications professionals is critical to the relevance of the EVP process. All departments should

be involved in the definition and articulation of your employer brand. The graph below shows the extent to which

departments are involved.

Which parts of your organisation are involved in the

definition and articulation of your employer brand?

Senior management

0 20 40 60 80 100

Human resources

Marketing

PR

Communications

Talent management

Resourcing

Other

8

Be in competitionJust as the economy has changed significantly, it is likely that the recession has also altered your competitor base.

Some competitors will have gone under, others could have been acquired and new competitors are likely to be

emerging onto the scene.

It’s easy to limit our view of competitors to those who just compete head-on in terms of products or services.

Discipline roles such as finance, marketing and human resources mean the skill set often sits outside of the sector

(although sector knowledge is usually highly valued). Likewise, location is often important with potential talent looking

for employment within a defined radius of their home. It’s worthwhile monitoring where your best people come from,

and indeed where they go. Likewise, it’s useful to ask what other organisations are considered as potential employers.

These talent competitors need to be identified and those responsible for the employer brand should be monitoring

these organisations.

Best-in-class employer brandsA well-managed employer brand pays dividends. Taking the decision to have a best-in-class employer brand is a

strategic business objective. Of the 512 human resources decision makers we surveyed, 62% agree that they will have

a major focus over the next 12 months on ensuring that their Employee Value Proposition is best-in-class for their

sector. Yet, there are still organisations that do not have a well-defined and consistent EVP and employer brand.

This, for TMP, was one of the most fundamental out-takes from our research. Emerging from the recession, employer

branding is not something in which organisations are simply taking part. It has become a genuinely competitive sport.

And a key weapon in the war for talent.

We monitor the employer brands of our key competitors

0% 10% 20% 40% 50%

Completely agree

Broadly agree

Slightly agree

Completely disagree

30%

9

Is your organisation challenging you to bring better talent into the business? How are you going to reach people

who currently don’t believe that they want to work for you? It can only be achieved through a strong and consistent

employer brand delivered through the right channels. While 64% of human resources decision makers have a defined

EVP there are still over one third who operate without an EVP. These are some of the key challenges faced by those we

surveyed.

Very simply, TMP understands well some of the key challenges that will impact on the employer branding journey.

We seek then to work in partnership with our client partners as we negotiate some of these bumps in the road.

The barriers to employer branding

What are the key challenges you have encountered during

your work defining and expressing your employer brand?

Few challenges

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Engaging w

ith exte

rnal s

uppliers

Deliverin

g messages to

inte

rnal

and extern

al audiences

Deliverin

g messages consiste

ntly

Alignm

ent with

mark

eting/c

omm

unications

Makin

g the b

usiness case

Securing suffi

cient pro

ject budget

Gettin

g the b

uy-in of s

enior m

anagement

Freein

g up suffi

cient inte

rnal t

ime

10

A well-managed employer brand demands constant monitoring and accurate measurement. This measurement needs to

be aligned to your organisations very specific business objectives. Typical measures within organisations currently include:

These correlate with feedback from our survey respondents. Employee opinion survey results are the most popular

form of measurement (17%), followed with engagement levels (15%) and then cost per hire and time to hire, both at

11%. Relating the employer brand to organisational metrics such as profitability and productivity was lower with only

9% measuring the impact of the employer brands on these areas.

Monitoring your employer brand

Metrics and Measurement

Employeeengagement

Greater advocacy and referralsEnhanced productivityBetter retentionGreater internal career movementBetter alignment with vision/goalsGreater (survey) participation

Externalparameters

Higher external brand awarenessMore accurate external brand awarenessGreater propensity to win awards

Recruitmenteffectiveness

Time to hireCost per hireDirect sourcing migrationAbility to target inaccessible candidate groupsReduced applicant drop outIncrease in talent poolsHigher acceptance ratesMore spontaneous applications

What you

don’t measure,

you can’t manage

Via which metrics do you measure the impact of your employer brand?

Engagement levels

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Cost per hire

Time to hire

Organisational performance metrics, such as profitability/productivity, etc

increased levels of spontaneous applications

Lower candidate drop out instance

Increased levels of applicant response

Other

Advocacy levels

Improvements in our employer brand tracking initiatives

Creative awards

11

There’s much more that can be monitored in regards to external perception and opinions about your organisation as

an employer. With easy dissemination of information on the internet, it’s easy to listen to and monitor what’s being said

about your organisation. You can also respond and reply in the moment to those who are commenting and posting.

Reputation managementAn organisation’s strategy to measure its employer brand should include tools such as online reputation management

and social listening. This enables you to have an up-to-the-minute barometer of your brand reputation and perception

amongst your candidates. It allows you to respond quickly to a misinterpretation or leverage positive feedback,

stimulating spontaneous applications to feed into your talent bank.

There are a number of tools available from the simple Google Alert function to digital listening tools that can pick up

mentions of your organisation on Twitter and Facebook, such as Kurrently, TweetBeep and TweetDeck.

There are also communities where your potential candidates will gather. For graduates, look at www.thestudentroom.co.uk

For working mothers, www.mumsnet.com is a great website where everything is openly discussed in searchable forums,

from an organisation’s flexible working policy to experiences in job interviews. There are also sites like www.vault.com

and www.glassdoor.com that provide career intelligence including reports, employer perspectives and very frank

employee insights. Other sites include www.pingmycompany.com, www.jobeehive.com, and www.jobitorial.com.

An organisation can actively engage in these areas. Cisco, for example, has a graduate recruitment page on Facebook

with nearly 10,000 fans. They provide a forum where people can openly post a question and share experiences.

This is actively managed by Cisco, but not overtly controlled so graduates can engage and build relationships in

a forum where they feel comfortable.

Impact on customer serviceSome other measures were beginning to gain support before recession. Research by Mercer found that 65% of human

resources teams were measured on customer satisfaction in 2006 compared to only 34% in 20106. This reduction is no

doubt a consequence of a difficult economy and focus on controlling costs rather than preparing for growth in the past

few years. In our own research, 43% agree that increased engagement levels, driven in part by employer branding, has

led to an improvement in customer service metrics.

It’s important to monitor and report the bad as well as the good. We are now in a conversation society so you need to

respond quickly and appropriately to any messages in the marketplace. Take the hotel industry where www.tripadvisor.com

has become a phenomenally powerful tool. If a bad review is posted it can have an enormous impact on future bookings.

Hotels that respond quickly to address comments can mitigate the impact. We should be doing the same for an

employer brand.

Align with personal objectivesAn employer brand needs to be aspirational in external communication. Internally, behaviours that reflect the values

of your EVP should be recognised and rewarded. Linking your employer brand to personal objectives is one way of

reinforcing the behaviour you want to encourage internally. Have regular check-ins and monitoring to ensure that

your employees are representing the values in their interactions with customers, clients and stakeholders.

6 Mercer’s 2010 EMEA HR Transportation survey.

12

A well-managed employer brand means that you can engage exceptional talent externally and improve productivity

and retention. To achieve this means creating an employer brand that constantly evolves in response to the dynamic

environment in which you operate. The objectives should align with your business objectives so that your employer

brand accurately reflects the goals of your organisation. These will need to be constantly checked and adjusted as

your organisation navigates the market.

Your employer brand will need to be researched and tested to see if it reflects external views and opinions.

These findings will be vital in creating a resonant Employee Value Proposition.

The creative process of giving life to an employer brand in the external market is incredibly exciting. If budget can

migrate from vacancy to employer brand, you will get better penetration and recall in the market, as well as

consistency in your communications. By working with other departments you can also exploit the broader marketing

and PR activities to incorporate the employer brand.

Alignment with personal objectives and check-ins with your employees will help your employees live your brand values.

Then it will truly become a case of ‘it’s how we do things around here’. We’re then back to measurement, which will in

turn affect the objectives as your brand continues to move and evolve in your competitive market sector.

Conclusion

The constant evolution of your Employer Brand

EMPLOYER BRAND OBJECTIVES

What should our brand journey

seek & achieve?

EMPLOYER BRAND EVP CREATION

In the light of our objectives &

our findings, what core message

encapsulates an authentic

people proposition?

EMPLOYER BRAND RESEARCH

What are our key audiences

& influences telling us about our

employment offering of experience?

EMPLOYER BRAND INTEGRATION

How does your brand & proposition

become lived behaviours

affecting internal outcomes

& customer interfaces?

EMPLOYER BRAND MEASUREMENT

How is our brand & our proposition

performing? Does it remain effective

& fit for purpose?

EMPLOYER BRAND DEVELOPMENT

& ARTICULATION

How best can we bring this proposition

to life & to our audiences?

13

We hope you have enjoyed reading this white paper and that it’s stimulated thoughts and discussions about your own

employer brand.

If you’d like to find out more about employer branding and TMP Worldwide please contact us at:

London

Jon Porter

Managing Director

Phone: +44 (0) 20 7268 9110

Email: [email protected]

South West and Midlands

Tamsin Terry-Lush

General Manager

Phone: +44 (0) 7714 094679


Northern England

Nicola Scott

General Manager

Phone: +44 (0)161 209 5000


Scotland

Steve White

General Manager

Phone: +44 (0) 131 226 8257


Ireland

Dave Griffin

General Manager

Phone: +353 (0) 1 218 6859


www.tmpw.ie

TMP Worldwide, 265 Tottenham Court Road,

London W1T 7RQ | www.tmpw.co.uk

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior

consent of TMP (UK) Limited.

Confidentiality and copyright

14

So how will you know when you’ve got an employer brand that’s well managed – indeed is best-in-class?

• You’ll get engagement from great people who weren’t looking to change employers

• People will be curious about you as an employer and look to learn about you

• Your numbers of quality applications will increase

• You’ll start to build a pipeline of potential candidates, even if you have no vacancies at the moment

• Your employees will be really proud of where they work and happy to refer people to you

• Your customers and clients will believe you treat your people well and will be happy to do business with you

• You won’t have to rely on staffing agencies to fill your vacancies

• Candidates will self-select themselves based on clear communication about what it’s like to work in your organisation.

Employer Branding Whitepaper - TMP Worldwide

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Transcript of Employer Branding Whitepaper - TMP Worldwide