The Cultural “Fit” Factor: Aligning employment brand, culture

and social media to increase the ROI of recruitment and retention

Susan Leverentz, SPHRSenior PartnerAd Strategies

480-657-0299SusanL@recruitads.com

Program Information: • There are 35 educational slides in this session, 3 video clips,

humor, education, relevant and real examples and statistical study results.

• What more could you want - Really?

• What is Attract, Retain, Repel?• Employment Branding overview• Connection between culture and brand• Cultural Diagnostic Tools• Branding and Social Media

What is Attract, Retain, Repel as it relates to culture?

• Understand and be crystal clear on your culture as you promote your employment brand

• Employees will be either ATTRACTED to your organization or be REPELLED by this brand

• Employees who do come to work for you and enjoy an authentic and congruent work experience will stick around - RETAIN

What is Attract, Retain, Repel as it relates to recruitment and retention = ROI

• ATTRACT– how can you hire the best of the best from the current and future talent pool?

• RETAIN– how will you keep the employees who really are a good fit?

• REPEL– how can you prevent the ones that just don’t fit from applying?

The connection between culture and employment branding and its effect on ROI…

• Hard dollars spent on Recruitment and Retention = statistics

• Take one executive salary from 2008 that was a “bad hire”

• Generational challenges - Boomers, Gen Y, the new Knowledge worker

• Mergers and Acquisitions = Cultural integration issues

• Employee Engagement and productivity = do more with less and get back to work

• Corporate Scandals = loss of employee confidence and share holder value

• Organization’s ability to respond rather than react in times of crisis or challenges = loss of consumer confidence and brand stability

• DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know? Video Clip is on Youtube!

Did you know

Gallup Study on Employee Engagement:

• 29% of the U.S. work force is actively engaged, 55% is not engaged and 16% is actively disengaged.

• That means that 71% of the Americans who go to work everyday are not engaged in their job.

• Equates to businesses operating at 1/3 of capacity.

• Costs the economy up to $350 billion/year.

The cost of the disengaged……Calculator for you to take back to your organization

1,000 Employees x average hourly wage of $15/hour = $15,000

$15,000 x 2 hrs/day in lost productivity = $30,000

$30,000 x 20 days worked in a month = $600,000

$600,000 x 12 months= $7,200,000 in lost productivity.

These figures are based on a M–F, 8–5pm operation.

Employment Branding Study Results

• EMERGE International Employment Branding Study 2006-2008

EMERGE Study - 2007: Does employment branding provide a competitive advantage?

Statement Agree Neutral Disagree

Employment branding efforts provide a competitive edge in our recruiting efforts. 89% 9% 3%

Our company’s employment brand helps attract top talent. 67% 30% 4%

Our company’s employment brand helps retain top talent. 60% 33% 6%

Statement Agree Neutral Disagree

Employment branding is important to my company. 85% 13% 3%

Employment branding is one of the top five strategic initiatives for my company in the upcoming year. 49% 30% 22%

We have budgeted dollars for the upcoming year to work on our employment brand. 36% 19% 45%

EMERGE Study - 2007:

Is it important to have an employment brand?

Key finding from the EMERGE study shows…

18%

1%

81%

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

A cultural assessment would allow us to understand gaps that may exist between what we are and what we desire to be as it relates to retention and recruitment.

Conduct a culture and employment brand assessment to determine what “fit” will be

• Identity• Leadership• Relationships• Communication• Infrastructure• Employee Engagement• Finance

What should be measured and why?

Quantitative data allows you to determine who you are and who you are NOT! No more guess work or

assumptions

38 39 24

55 25 20

58 25 17

58 26 16

59 25 16

72 18 10

78 13 9

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Identity

Relationships

Leadership

Employee Engagement

Infrastructure

Communication

Finance

Healthy

Neutral

Unhealthy

How does organizational cultural “fit” relate to employment branding?

• Vision, Mission, Values - leaders create and sustain organizational culture

• A common way of thinking, which drives a common way of acting

• Shared assumptions and beliefs: the silent code of conduct

• It is the glue that holds an organization together – or not

• It is your employment BRAND in the truest form – whether you have created it or not

• How employees feel they fit and identify with the organization

ROI with an aligned employment brand?YES! Employees will:

• Stay = Retain and you will keep the continuity of intellectual property $$

• Perform = productivity $$

• Strive to exert extra effort $$

• Influence others to do their best $$

• Say positive things internally and externally that will help you attract talent $$

• Spread positive feelings and energy $$

EMPLOYMENT VALUE PROPOSITION

A narrative proclamation (to the employees) of how an employer will carry out the promise and uphold the values in the employment relationship.

It needs to be both rational and emotional.

Your Employer Value Proposition/Brand

Recruiting/Orientation

Training andCareer

Development

Pay, Recognition,Performance

Health andWell-being

FinancialSecurity

Work/Life

Integration

Work Environment

Content Communication Delivery

Exit

Consumers and Shareholders

Employees

Leadership

Employment Brand Promise Aligned to EVP

Source: Libby Sartain, co-author brand from the inside

Example of positioning your EVP:start each top line with “we offer”…….

Compensation Benefits Amenities ConnectionsLife Tools

Career Dev.

Competitive Salary, Stock Options, Bonus, and Promotional Opportunities

So that youcan grow with us and create the career and experienceyou want.

More choices, more options, more possibilities

So that youcan customize your package to meet your needs

Free Latte, Health Club, Foos Ball, Sport Courts, Covered Parking

So that youcan take a break and have fun at work

More opportunity to learn and grow

So that youcan grow your career with us and get the most important thingsin your life.

More solutions to help you plan your life and future:Financial Planning, Child Care Assistance, 401(k)

So that youCan Create Financial Security..

You can work with some of the brightest people around, in a dynamic, challenging environment

So that your work Makes a Difference

Source: Libby Sartain, co-author brand from the inside

Why do you need an employment brand promise?

• To Reinforce External Positioning

• To Create a Sustainable Competitive Advantage

• What We Stand For Versus What We Do

• To Create Internal Brand Loyalty and Trust

• To Compete With Other Employers for the Best Talent

• To Communicate the Value Proposition to employees

• What happens in the case of M&A – who’s identity wins, who’s identity looses, who’s identity do you use?

Cult-like cultures: what do they have in common? The 1999 book “Built to Last”

Strong sense of identity – BRAND - a core ideology – they are VERY clear about who they are and who they are not

Greater tightness of fit. Employees either “buy-in” or “get out”

Self selection process... “this is just not for me”

Show evidence of elitism – they create a sense of belonging [internally] and superiority [externally]

Who has a cult-like culture?• Southwest Airlines has earned its

reputation as one of the most outstanding companies in consumer and employment branding

• Southwest – it is who they are.

Photo Source: Libby Sartain

The Starbucks brand: it’s all “green” to me…And to them!

Boomer Challenges

• Our first Boomer retired on January 1, 2008. She already had the boat, Boomer One.

• 30,000 boomers will retire a day in the US.• We have to get creative to keep our older workers.• There is as much competition to retain the boomers as there is to

attract Gen Y.

The Next Gen Challenges

• Social networking is KEY to the next Gen. Facebook, YouTube , SMS and Podcasting are the new norms in communication

• There were 300 million users of Facebook as of Sept 2009

• LinkedIn is growing at 1 new member per second. Will have over 50 million members by end of 2009.

• We must engage the employee of the future.

Social Responsibility & The Next, Next Gen Challenges

• Current consumer awareness of, and demand for, sustainable practices is increasing:

• 80% of current employees want to work for a “good company” (one that “has a good reputation for environmental responsibility”) this percentage is expected to grow to over 90% in 10 years.

• 77% of MBA graduates would forego some income to work for a firm with a credible sustainable strategy

Source: (2007) Tandberg – corporate environmental behaviors and the impact on

brand valuesStanford Graduate school of Business, survey of 800 MBA’s from top

schools.

Herman Miller - This is YOU

Social Networking – Quick quiz

• Do you Google a potential candidate before making an offer?

• Do you tweet on twitter?

• Have you created a Twellowhood?

• Are you currently blocking access to Facebook at work or have malware protection?

• Do you agree that web 2.0 is just another fad?

• Have you had an encounter with a “virtual world”?

• Do you blog or feel bloated after a large meal?

Employee of the future: Social Networking - Who owns it and how will it be used

The novelty of social networking is confusing. What function in the enterprise should be responsible for it? HR, IT, Marketing

It is the process of socializing, virtually on a network which takes place between individuals with common interests

Affinity groups – are now internet based Blogs In the past, HR owned Affinity groups – should they also own the

social network? You may have one, or the start of one and not be leveraging it:

Active or Passive?

LinkedIn is most popular Social Network for Recruiters

“World’s Most Engaged Brands”

Altimeter Group / Wetpaint Study - July 2009 www.engagementdb.com

“World’s Most Engaged Brands” - Results

1. Starbucks2. Dell3. eBay4. Google5. Microsoft6. Thomson Reuters7. Nike8. Amazon9. SAP10. Intel

Altimeter Group / Wetpaint Study - July 2009 www.engagementdb.com

Social Media Engagement Correlates toFinancial Performance…

Altimeter Group / Wetpaint Study - July 2009 www.engagementdb.com

Elements your FB page should have

• “FANS”

• Company Info

• Candid Photos

• Polls

• “Day in the Life”

• Videos

• RSS

• Corp. Responsibility/

Sustainability

• Recruiter Photos

To best engage, Be Available

Sodexo offers 16 ways for candidates to network with them.

Very engaging!

• Yahoo (YHOO) employee Emily West is one of the 1,500 who lost her job today. Just like Ryan Kuder did during Yahoo's February layoffs, Emily updated her Twitter account throughout the whole ordeal:

• Managers are in early and tv crews are outside. Commence bloodbath.

about 3 hours ago from txt

This is NO Fairy Tale: Once upon a twitter time at Yahoo!

Twitter and Yahoo!• I checked the employee directory and a couple of people are gone from the East

coast that I know. about 2 hours ago from web

• They have pretty pre-printed signs on doors of the rooms where they are telling people unlike the red sharpie signs from the last round. about 2 hours ago from web

• Five people I trained were cut in NY, none from Boston. One girl in NY that started at the same time as me also got the axe. about 2 hours ago from web

• Four months of severance is the rumor. Plus they’re herding people to an employment service after they’re told the news. about 2 hours ago from web

• FUUUUCK, just saw my new hire trainee from October go into The Room with her manager. They are laying off an amazing employee 10 yards away. about 1 hour ago from web

Twitter and Yahoo!• My work BFF Michelle who helped me get my training job and taught me

so much is out. The tears are coming. I hate crying at work. about 1 hour ago from web

• I’m kicking myself for not bringing some Bailey’s for my coffee. about 1 hour ago from txt

• The campus gym just sent an email offering 20 min. $20 massages starting at 11. Doubt that’s a coincidence. HAW! about 1 hour ago from txt

• Some haters say that bloggers are turning the layoffs into a sport. I think that’s bullshit. about 1 hour ago from txt

• I’m out. 14 minutes ago from txt

Twitter: a real stream of consciousness

The new approach to employment branding

• Liberty Mutual campaign

• $40 Million dollars spent to transform their culture, their brand, their image, themselves.

• Is it working?

• VIDEO clip here

Why use Video in the Employment Branding process?

Over 123 Million Americans watch internet videos each month. Every minute, ten hours of video is uploaded to YouTube.

66% of the people watch video ads

44% of the people take action after watching a video ad

The popularity of YouTube says it all

Time

Results

1 to 3 MonthsDiagnostic, Data Collection, AnalysisDelivery of action plan

1 to 3 MonthsDiagnostic, Data Collection, AnalysisDelivery of action plan

3 to 6 MonthsEstablish value proposition Develop brand messageRoll out initiatives

3 to 6 MonthsEstablish value proposition Develop brand messageRoll out initiatives

1 to 3 YearsFull alignmentSignificantly better business resultsIncreased ROI of recruitment & retention programs

1 to 3 YearsFull alignmentSignificantly better business resultsIncreased ROI of recruitment & retention programs

12 MonthsRedeploy diagnostic to measure progress Track ROI

12 MonthsRedeploy diagnostic to measure progress Track ROI

Employment Brand Promise: Delivery Timeline

New ads and branding campaigns have emotional attachment angles

Why an external when it comes to Brand Creative Approach?

This is our core competency. While your internal marketing departments know your company’s brand, they may not have the psychometrics or external exposure to pin point the EVP or perception. External can be seen as a “trusted 3rd party”.

Source: Southwest Airlines

Employment Branding: Sign me up!

More information: Email: SusanL@recruitads.com

Or call: 480-657-0299