Archives for January 2019

HRD Summit: get inspired about great talent experiences

In just a few days, talent specialists from across EMEA will gather to learn and debate best practices in HR and the wider talent space.

HRD Summit 2019, here we come!

As anticipation sets in, we’re delighted to reflect on what we learned at last year’s summit.

In that spirit, we asked Luke O’Mahoney, one of our top solutions consultants and a hugely passionate talent enthusiast, to share his takeaways from the 2018 HRD summit. Enjoy!

HTD Summit announcement
We look forward to meeting you at the HRD Summit. Visit stand 90 to say hello!

People first = purpose first: reflecting on HRD 2018

By Luke O’Mahoney

The curtains have come down on HRD Summit 2018 and having spent a jam packed couple of days meeting, networking, learning, growing and exhibiting I now find time to take stock and get some of my thoughts and reflections down to share with you lovely people.

Historically when writing blog posts reflecting on events such as this one, I have opted for something of a linear and chronological breakdown of the talks I enjoyed.

This time, however, I want to keep things a little less descriptive and a little more holistic in order to articulate what the summit as a whole made me feel and the emotions evoked as a result.

Luke O'Mahoney reflecting on HRD 2018
Luke O’Mahoney shares his passion for helping create great talent experiences.

I am happy to say that I feel a tremendous sense of optimism (and excitement) for the future of our organisations, and by wider implication, our society.

Recruiting for potential

I was picked up and impassioned by the powerful personal story of Nilofer Merchant, who kicked off the summit with an enchanting and deeply personal account of her own struggles — losing her entire family and support network by revoking on cultural expectations. Nilofer refused an arranged marriage that would have forced her into a life in which she could not be the truest version of herself and become the educated, driven and empowered person she knew she was capable of becoming.

Nilofer made the link between this very personal struggle and what many organisations do to their people, force them into positions that do not match their true ability or their true potential based on predefined cultural and organisational expectations.

Organisations have a long history of recruiting based on job titles and track records rather than recruiting for people and potential. This is something that needs to change.

Whilst shocking and emotive, Nilofer’s story set the tone for the entire summit for me in a positive way: people should come first. If we want people to reach their greatest and truest potential within our organisations, we have to provide an environment, culture and network in which individuality and personal purpose is celebrated and encouraged.

This of course must be juxtaposed alongside the identification, articulation and celebration of a shared organisational purpose, acting as the ‘North Star’. Tim Sparkes brought this analogy to life in his excellent breakfast briefing on day two of the summit.

Hand holding sphere during sunset
Potential: go beyond predefined expectations to discover greatness.

To realise true greatness in productivity, engagement and personal fulfillment, organisations must be brave enough to proudly display their North Star.

The North Star can unify existing employees under its glow, while attracting external individuals who share that purpose and want to experience a feeling of value. That feeling is the result of meaningful activity and contribution to a greater good.

Unifying followers of your North Star

As we heard in the equally powerful, if less emotive, keynote by Josh Bersin, 88% of millennials believe businesses can be a major force for positive social change. This is also reinforced when you consider that 62% of millennials would take a reduction in pay to work for an organisation whose purpose links to their own core values.

It is worth asserting a caveat here as I have used the now contemptuous generational labeling, ‘millennials’.

Look, as far as I am concerned I think everyone of any age, gender, background or generational banding ultimately wants the same thing: to feel valued, respected and connected to wider sense of purpose.

The way I see it, this has been true for thousands of years! That is why we see such passionate and often volatile behaviours displayed by otherwise subdued and ‘peaceful’ individuals of all ages, social classes, ethnicities etc. when unified under a shared identity.

Organisations (like football teams, religious groups and countries) can evoke the same level of passion (hopefully to amplify positive behavioural traits rather than negative ones) by unifying members with a shared sense of identity through a connection to a common purpose.

North Star image
Unify followers of your organisational North Star with shared purpose.

The organisational ‘North Star’ becomes the unifying symbol of shared identity under which its people will gather and go to extraordinary lengths to protect and progress its cause.

Embracing the power of shared purpose

Perhaps there are some unnecessarily negative connotations to the analogies I have used, but hopefully the message is clear: the power of shared purpose should not be dismissed or underestimated.

To return more directly to the summit briefly, the other key themes discussed across the two days included automation, AI, flattening hierarchies and other new world of work trends.

My choice to reflect solely on the theme of purpose here is largely driven by my own passion for promoting the People First approach and my desire to contribute to the humanisation of the workplace and society as a whole.

One thing I firmly believe which was reinforced at the summit is that in order to be a truly people-oriented organisation, you need to keep this counterbalance equation in mind:

People First = Purpose First.

five smiling inspired people
Are you using a people-first approach to talent? It can help instill a sense of purpose.

The former is not achievable without the later. A purpose-driven organisation with empowered and impassioned people will be a powerful force for change, that much is for sure.

As ‘curators of the new business landscape’, HR has a tremendous responsibility and duty to ensure that organisational purpose is both identified, articulated, and then championed as a force for good.

Thanks #HRD18 – it was a blast. See you next year!

Come say hello at the HRD Summit in 2019

Thank you, Luke, for painting a picture of the kind of energy and inspiration we can expect from the HRD Summit. For everyone who will be attending the HRD Summit in 2019, please stop by and visit the Hudson RPO booth at No. 90.

From free professional photos, to a selection of surprises and goodies, we look forward to offering you the red carpet treatment! It’ll be nothing short of the high-energy, custom talent experience you can expect from Hudson RPO.

HTD Summit announcement
We look forward to meeting you at the HRD Summit. Visit stand 90 to say hello!

Employer branding on Instagram: candidates want to sneak a peek

Employer branding on Instagram: candidates want to sneak a peek

Content Team

Building an employer brand? You’ll need a creative strategy for connecting with preferred candidates, particularly if they’re not actively seeking a new role.

You’ll want to explore the best ways to share stories from your workplace — stories that will attract and engage high-quality candidates.

We call this ‘social talent attraction’. And in 2019, it’s no longer simply nice to have.

Using social platforms to interact with star talent must be a key part of your employer brand strategy. If it doesn’t, your brand will have a harder time competing for great talent.

person viewing Instagram on cellphone
Are you using Instagram to build your employer brand?

Leah Burdick, Vice President of Marketing and an experienced employer brand strategist, says:

“The talent market is competitive. Candidates are in charge: companies are discovering that you can’t just put out a job description and expect candidates to come running. You’ve got to charm them, much the way a consumer brand sells its products to customers.

“Social media plays a critical role in selling your brand to top candidates.”

With that in mind, let’s explore the significance of building a strong employer brand in social media. We’ll also take a closer look at one hotly recommended platform: Instagram.

Social talent attraction: why does it matter?

With more than 3 billion people using social media, and that number growing year-on-year, the time has come for employers to hang out among candidates, on their preferred platform(s).1

So, where are many of your great candidates hanging out? On Instagram, quite likely. Interaction rates are higher here than on any other social platform.2

Instagram is a great place to connect with younger talent in particular. It’s been reported that six out of 10 Instagram users are aged between 18 to 29.3

An example of employer branding on Instagram

Want to see an example of employer branding on Instagram?

Check out our Hudson RPO (APAC) Instagram page. It’s designed specifically for our Asia-Pacific audience, but provides a feel for what types of content you might consider when building an employer brand on Instagram.

From dynamic company events to vibrant work spaces, we love Instagram for its pictorial storytelling style.

If you’ve never met us before, but you arrive at our Instagram page, you’ll quickly discover our positive and collaborative nature.

Employer branding on Instagram
Discover how to build your employer brand on Instagram: it can show candidates what to expect from your team culture.

We use Instagram to showcase:

  • team celebrations
  • meet-ups
  • social events, and more

You’re even treated to a bit of behind-the-scenes, with still photography from one of our video shoots.

When it comes to text, we mix inspirational quotes, which do indeed capture our culture, with descriptive career opportunities.

But we mainly prefer to fill our Instagram platform with a range of images that capture the environment you can expect if you join Hudson RPO. That’s what employer branding is all about: showing candidates who you are as a team, allowing them to consider whether the cultural fit could be mutual.

Still not sure about employers using Instagram?

Whether you’re a personal user of Instagram (or any social site), the reality is: many of your candidates are. If your employer brand is serious about capturing the imaginations of truly talented people, then it’s hard to ignore Instagram.

Suzanne Chadwick, Director of Employer Brand, says:

“Instagram allows us to share employee stories of why they love working at Hudson RPO and what their career journey has been. Plus, we can re-share their images when they’re out and about with their work colleagues.

“Employer branding isn’t just about attracting new talent into your team, it’s also about engaging your current employees and making them the heroes of your employer brand. Instagram provides a great platform to do that.”

Three people at table with laptop
Candidates are social. An employer brand should be, too.

Instagram is a great place to showcase your team’s creative and social sides. It’s perhaps not as formal as LinkedIn. It’s also not as flooded with advertising as Facebook has become. And it’s not as short-lived as a tweet on Twitter.

Of course, those platforms do serve their purposes and should certainly be considered as part of the employer branding mix on social media. Different audiences hang out on different platforms. You need to ensure the right content reaches the right audience, at the right time. But when it comes to the power of visual storytelling, Instagram is a platform worth considering.

Want to learn more about building an employer brand strategy for your business?

Learn more information about Hudson RPO and Employer Branding.

Sources

1: https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/

2: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2017/03/28/why-instagram-is-the-top-social-platform-for-engagement-and-how-to-use-it/#3c230f1336bd

3: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/01/05/social-media-marketing-statistics

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

Related articles

Candidate ghosting? Ugh. A stronger employer brand can help

Candidate ghosting? Ugh. A stronger employer brand can help

Content Team

It’s ten minutes past the scheduled interview time, but where’s your candidate? Have you just been ghosted?

Unfortunately, candidate ghosting is a very real thing that HR and hiring managers encounter.

Aggravating? Of course it is.

You’ve presented a fantastic opportunity and invested precious time and resources into marketing the role. You’ve been communicating for a while with your preferred candidate(s).

Candidate ghosting image
A strong employer brand can help lessen the chances of candidate ghosting.

All is going swimmingly, or so it would seem. Then comes the interview. Or perhaps your candidate attends interview, but then he or she goes AWOL after that point.

Ugh.

Personnel Today recently wrote about the subject of candidate ghosting.¹ The publication reviewed 55,000 interview results over a year, and came to the conclusion that differentiating your employer brand must play a key role in your anti-ghosting strategy.

They wrote:

The problem is candidates often cast a wide net, applying to similar-sounding jobs in the same industry, and it becomes hard to tell one company from the other. The job you’re hiring for is lost in an indiscernible heap of career opportunities.

Their solution? “Showcase your company as a place where team members thrive.”

Guess what — we fully agree. Presenting a unique employer brand can help keep your opportunities at the forefront of candidates’ minds.

Differentiate your employer brand with great content

So, how do you go about developing a top employer brand?

Part of the answer lies in how your business presents itself online.

Do you have a careers website, or a careers page on your website? These enable you to showcase your team’s values, while providing a sneak peak into the day-to-day culture of your workplace.

You can even plug the site into your applicant tracking system (ATS) to direct interested candidates to current vacancies.

Employer branding video
Create an employer brand video to help attract and engage great talent.

Engaging videos can also help promote your employer brand. More than 80% of web traffic will be video by 2022, according to a Cisco study.² This underscores the importance of video becoming a core part of your strategy to reach and engage with candidates.

Check out this example of an employer branding video. By weaving together multiple perspectives, the video shows candidates why Hudson PRO offers a great career opportunity.

Using social media to set your employer brand apart

But what if you’ve not got the means to create a dedicated careers site, or compelling videos? Never fear. Make the most of your company’s image on social media. While it does require time and commitment, the wonderful thing about projecting your brand via social media is that your audience tends to already be there.

Depending on the resources available, you can take a more proactive approach with social media, regularly pushing content to your desired audience. Of course, if you do publish routinely, you should always consider whether your content is relevant to the audience, or you risk losing your audience to disengagement.

If your capacity is quite limited, you could consider publishing ‘evergreen’ content onto your core platforms. This is the sort of content that remains relevant through every season. You don’t necessarily need to refresh it very often.

As an example, consider content related to the work space, particularly if it’s bright and welcoming. We’ve got some great examples of this on our Hudson RPO Instagram page.

Employer branding on Instagram
Discover how to build your employer brand on Instagram.

Ultimately, if you develop and showcase an employer brand that truly differentiates from the competition, it will be harder for great candidates to disengage from great opportunities.

And all the sooner will you be saying: Buh bye, ghosties! Don’t even bother ‘not showing up’ again!

Want to learn more about building an employer brand strategy for your business?

Click here to learn more about Employer Branding.

Sources

1: https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/ghosting-in-recruitment-a-growing-candidate-trend/

2: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/index.html

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

Related articles

Unlock the secret power of RPO

Unlock the secret power of RPO

Content Team

If you ask Darren Lancaster where he believes the strongest areas of RPO growth will be, he’ll tell you: it’s not necessarily in taking the whole RPO service, but in picking and choosing value-add areas.

The pick-and-mix approach to talent acquisition could include pre-employment screening, an element of the workforce plan, or your employer value proposition (EVP), to name a few examples.

Darren unlocks the secret power of RPOs in a new SocialTalent webinar.

Whether you’re managing talent in a regulated, banking environment, for example, or operating in FMCG, which tends to foster a more progressive talent acquisition environment, talent outsourcing can enable your team to become more strategic business partners.

Darren Lancaster in Social Talent Webinar
Watch the talent acquisition webinar with Darren Lancaster on SocialTalent.

The webinar reveals how RPO can help guide your resource plan in terms of understanding and anticipating retention rates. It can also enable your team to become talent finders, ensuring your team is actively pipelining individuals, rather than just operating in a reactionary role.

Darren recommends your talent acquisition team be full of curiosity and integrity. They should also share a desire to discover new tools that can enhance recruitment processes.

He also discusses the value of a good applicant tracking system (ATS) to track a job, as well as a strong CRM system that can help monitor candidate experience.

Watch the webinar here.

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

Related articles

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