Using Branding & Social Recruiting to Improve Candidate Experience Presentation for SHRC15 at Red Branch Media

What’s in a Strategy?Branding is work; it’s not supposed to be easy.

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Is meant to be a collection of interrelated and overlapping concepts.

Brand Framework

Metrics

Experiments

Research Rationale

Validation

Hypothesis

Brand Development Brand Analysis

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Provides consistency for execution of in a repeatable, polished and uniform manner.

Brand Process

Brand Positioning

Brand Promise

Brand Identity Brand Story

Communication Strategy

Brand Architecture

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Assemble: Goals

Outline personal and professional goals, challenges

they may face & potential objections to working for your

company

Assemble:

Name & Face

Pick out a name and stock photo image to go along with

your candidate persona.

Identify

Existing EEs

Interview them about the role, their interests, what matters to

them, fears, interests, & attraction story.

Assemble:

BackgroundIdentify relevant info: current

employment, education, experience, hobbies, interests,

generation, family size, urban/suburban/rural

preferences.

Create

Messaging

• How this role can help solve their challenges & hit goals.

• A reusable elevator pitch to be used across all channels

Source & Snoop

Identify the talent, not to contact, but to study

experience, interests, language patterns, concerns, etc.

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The value of customer awareness, brand fans, & employee advocacy

Friends and Fans

Customer

Awareness

Your customers can and will share your employer branding

story.

“Brand

Fans”

May not work for you, may not even be available to buy from you –

but built ‘brand affinity’ drives them to share your story.

Employee

Advocacy

MAJOR underutilized

resource.

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Minding Metrics

Cost Per Hire (CPH), Source

Channel (CPSC), Click (CPC),

Cost Per Application (CPA)

Source of Attraction (SoA) &

Source of Application

(SoApp)

Candidate Lifetime Value

(CLV)

Quality of Hire (QoH),

Employee Lifetime Value

(ELV), eNPS

Gender and Diversity Mix

Talent Attraction Metrics Adding In eNPS Employee Net Promotor Score

Question:How likely are you torecommend family or friendsto apply with us?

Audience:• Pre-Hire / Candidate• Post-Hire / Employee via

new hire survey

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Where and how do you share your great brand story & campaigns?

Channel Strategy

Career SitesPrimary career site, microsites,

landing pages – these are online destinations YOU OWN.

Ads, QR Codes, I.R. Behavioral Targeting,

Retargeting, QR Codes, Image Recognition – specific value, but

somewhat limited

Email Marketing“Drip campaigns,” lifecycle

marketing, monthly newsletters

Social Media MarketingLinkedIn, Facebook, G+ (near defunct), Twitter,

Instagram (IG), Snapchat, Pinterest, etc.

Talent Networks2-way conversations, Employee Referrals

SEO / SEMGoogle, adwords, PPC,

linkbuilding

“Talent Community”“Talent Community” is often a mislabled Network; barrier for entry is 360-communication.

Recruiting EventsOnline, Hangouts, “In-

Person” Events

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Take “good” to “great” by inspecting expectations

All About Audits

• Sentiment Audit

• Sub-brand Audit

• Program Audit

• Workforce Marketing Audit

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Ensure You Have the Building Blocks of a Great Brand

Program Audit

Program PlanCheck for a written plan, with milestones, specific measurable goals (with

associated metrics), timetables and individual accountabilities (by role).

WOW FactorIn order to create a compelling Call-To-Action (CTA) in your targets, you need

to be able to build excitement with your brand offerings. Have you given

candidates several reasons across interests to want to work for you.

Address Relevant “Hot Topics”From environmental and sustainability concerns, global economy, job

security to technology in the workplace, ensure you program addresses

concerns around these areas.

Earned, Owned & Organic MediaADVERTISING IS NOT EMPLOYER BRANDING. If your ‘play’ is paid, you

need to retool your program’s focus to earned (online word of mouth &

engagement) and owned media (the online destinations you control).

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Ensure You Have the Building Blocks of a Great Brand

Program Audit

Clear DifferentiationYour EVP shouldn’t sound like everyone else’s. Compare your program features and

benefits against competitors (geo & industry) to ensure they stand out in some way.

StorytellingThe best branding comes through storytelling that’s easily shareable by employees,

candidates & media. Ensure you have compelling stories about what it’s like to work for

your firm, the meaning of work by job function/role & community impact.

Employee ReferralsYou know your employer branding is on point when 1/3 of your hires are a result of

earned (not paid) referrals, given the Industry average is 20%. (1) Falling short? Focus

on internal marketing campaigns and employee testimonials around benefits of work

relationships. .

Referral TrackingAnother important way to assess employer branding, Candidate Lifetime Value (CLV)

and employee advocate efficacy is through tracking of employee referrals of

candidates and products/services (where applicable). This can be done through

referral cards or unique ID codes per employee.(1) 2014 CareerXRoads Soure of Hire Study

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Ensure You Have the Building Blocks of a Great Brand

Program Audit

Career SitesYour website is the candidate’s opportunity to not only research your opinion of your

EVP, but also validate if what they’ve heard about your company is really true. It must

provide info about opportunity, employee testimonials, and share video and pictures.

Social Media Channels

Your social sites like FB, Twitter, IG, and LI should share campaigns rather than ad-hoc

posts that link back to owned career properties. “Campaigns” = multi-post storylines

with a purpose and a defined timeline (eg: Holiday hiring initiative, college recruitment).

Email MarketingTo determine how effective this component of your program is (or is not), look at the

number of sign-ups, unsubscribes, open rate, and link click-through rates monthly.

Don’t overcomplicate this… example: at AT&T, simply adding “hot job” links drove up

the % of hires from the talent network (CRM – owned leads; meaning not paid email,

lead-gen lists). Notice a dip in performance? Review content to ensure compelling

messaging & interesting info with actionable links are being shared. (1) 2014 CareerXRoads Soure of Hire Study

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Did You Know? Every employer brand has up to 9 sub-brand components that need monitoring:

Sub-brand Audit

1. Internal Sub-Brand: This is how well your employees are enabled to bring the organizations brand to life based on their employment experience and how closely aligned it is to messaging shared throughout their candidate experience (aka the “CandEx Gap”). This can be measured through surveys and assessing customer opinions of employee service levels.

1. Digital Sub-Brand: Effective branding programs ensure its easy for prospective candidates to find desired info about your company across all digital sites – yours and others such as Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc.

1. Workforce Marketing Sub-Brand: This monitors the image and information that your employees present when they are talking to others (customers, potential job referrals, fans, and friends). Typically measured through digital footprint audits, primarily through social listening.

1. Recruiting Event Sub-Brand: This assesses how well your program has successfully increased employer brand exposure and image through industry and recruiting events. Measured by traffic analysis, source of traffic reporting, traffic sentiment analysis, generated recruiting leads and candidate conversions.

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Did You Know? Every employer brand has up to 9 sub-brand compnents that need monitoring:

Sub-brand Audit

5. Media Sub-Brand: Assesses the amount of exposure that your brand/organization receives in relevant, desired outlets and to what extent that coverage is positive. Set media alerts to manage & work with PR.

6. College Recruitment Sub-Brand: Monitors exposure and reputational sentiment of your employer brand among the college students you’re targeting.

7. Leadership Sub-Brand: This focuses on positive management practices. The more your leadership excels, the higher this index will be. Measure this through anonymous surveying of employees and also be sure to include questions from this category in exit interviews.

8. Community Sub-Brand: Keep tabs on your image in the surrounding communities in which your business has a presence. Monitor press around proactive efforts to “give back,” identify any potential negatives associated with your locations and provides information to counter them.

9. CSR Sub-Brand: Proactively work to build the brand’s image/reputation surrounding positive environmental impact. An easy win is to repurpose consumer & internal brand collateral/content.

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Through all elements of your program ensure brand consistency in these areas with written brand guides.

Brand Identity

Minimize candidate confusion by ensuring each recruiting program has the same collateral, detailed EVP (and how to speak to it), and brand messages.

Messaging“Brand voice” reflects organizational

personality & stays the same day-to-day.

Conversational tone conversely, tends to differ depending on the audience and

channel.

Brand Voice & ToneCorrect use of the brand

logo, a specific color palate and distinctive fonts create a consistent visual identity

that supports brand strength.

Visual IdentityPhotos, videos, and sound

recordings help tell brand stories. Typically there are guidelines as to

the kinds of images that can be used to help instill a sense of style,

place and industry impact.

Creative Assets

Mandate internal and 3rd party agencies adhere to your brand guidelines and conduct trainings to help.

Social Media StrategyCreate the Blueprint.

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Identify Key ObjectivesExamples for Talent Attraction Social Media Strategy

Raise Awareness

Build Pipeline

Competitive Advantage

Employee Connections

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put your great subtitle here

Create Social Platform Strategy

Align Your Content With Each Digital Channel

Prioritize and map content and storytelling initiatives to specific channels based on

audience segmentation, channel analysis, campaign programming, and brand priorities.

Branded ContentCross-Channel Promo

Employee Storiesand Testimonials

3rd Party/Real-TimeStories (PR)

Culture & “Life at”Content

Hot Jobs & CareerContent

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Prove-Up Social Value

Define KPIs

SOCIAL

KPIs

HIGHER eNPS

HIGHER PR VALUE

LOWER CPA

HIGHER MEDIA REACH

LOWER

CHURN

HIGHER ARPU

Engaging in online conversations increases affinity & likelihood of referrals

Measure current sentiment & engagement time

Track increase/decrease in audience engagement/response time

Participating in social has positive effect on image

Measure online sentiment of audience

Calculate PR/Reputation value of social interactions

Marketing through social is cheaper, lowering cost per acquisition

Track spend in social campaigns

Reaching your audience through social is cheaper than traditional media

Track spend in campaigns

Track reach of campaigns (impressions, actions, influence)

Engaging in online conversations increases sticky factor of candidates on hire

Track churn/attrition rates among all hires (current average)

Track churn associated with candidates involved in social interactions

If candidates are customers, increased social affinity results in higher spend

Track origins of candidates- were they pre-existing customers?

Track social touchpoints that influenced buying behavior pre- & post- CandEx

Calculate cost per eyeball and social referral rate

Track average revenue per candidate & segment towards origins/touchpoints

Chart increase/decrease in attrition rates

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Fact: Most people can barely consume 285 pieces of content a day.

Define Content Themes

Role Storylines

Support Stories

Talent Network

InfographicsEdugraphics

Company Events

Placed Media

Referral Posts

Career Paths

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The Brand StoryYour Employer Brand is EARNED.

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Hint: It’s Not You. Audiences detest self-centeredness, even from a brand.

Identifying the Hero(es)

THIS IS THE KAYNE SLIDE

Our Job Opportunities

We need these roles filled & here’s

how we’re willing to hire for it.

We Require

To be considered, you

must have at least this

experience.

We Provide

These are the benefits we’ll

provide in exchange for the

work we need.

Our Products and Services

“We do X” or “we make Y.”

Our Focus and Clients

This is what we care about &

who cares about us…

About Us

Here’s our history & who we

are…

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The “I’m an Employer Brand Manager, Not a Pop Star” line is an excuse. Engage by:

Engaging the Hero

Job Opportunities

Put a focus on growth potential

roadmap, challenging projects.

Shared Requirements

For every “take”

(requirement), share what you

“give” (work benefit).

Show You Care

An easy CSR win for recruiting is

to engage & offer career advice to

your EB fans.

Align their Interests

Share what you can “geek

out” with audience over &

tie to your business output.

Hero Focus

Use employee testimonials and

storylines to help audience see

themselves in your story. .

Put their background first

Marry their education and experience

investment w/ your org background

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Answer: The Audience Is The Hero. Take a page from Swift Brand Story Management.

THIS IS THE SUCCESS SLIDE

She’s Perfectly Imperfect

She’s made a point of letting the

world see her “tune up” & get ready.

Can Laugh at Herself

You’re not the only one

who made a “my ex’s

sell records” meme….

Engages on CSR Topics

As an anti-bullying supporter,

she’ll regularly engage w/ victims

online, offering support.

Fans are “Friends”

She talks with her fans as a

peer, treating them like

“friends.”

Audience at Center Story

Her “brandstanding” revolves

around her fans.

Swift Acts Believable

Engages in normal activities for

her age, talks with people, etc.

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Learn the structural differences in how we share content:

Incorporating Story

(exhaustative)

DOCUMENTATION

(explanatory)

ORAL DELIVERY

(dramatic)

CINEMA & LITERATURE

REPORT PRESENTATION STORY

Focuses on information,

and exhaustive figuresEmphasising explanation and

making meaning clear

Emphasizes evocative

and implied information

FACTS DATA PERSUASIVE MOTIVATING EXPERIENTIAL EMOTIONAL

30Story Presentation Form

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03

SITUATION

EY Employee

wants to

start a biz

TAKES A RISKLeaves EY

ENJOYS SUCCESSMaintains relationships as EY

alumni, wins global award.

01

02

HAS A DREAMBe an Entreprenuer

CHALLENGE

To do so, he

has to leave

security of

corporate

work.

RESOLUTION

He starts APPS

BIZ, joins EY’s

alumni group.

STORY

PATTERNMaria’s Story shared multiple EY stories

No matter when you join us or how

long you stay.” Ernst & Young is

committed to entrepreneurs.

“The exceptional EY

experience lasts a

lifetime....

ERNST&

YOUNG

Better Brand Resonance“They have given you their time, which is a precious slice of their

lives. It’s your job to [bring] value to their lives.” ~Nancy Duarte

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The Audience JourneyYOU ARE PROPOSING CHANGERequires decision to consciously start something new

ACKNOWLEDGE THE STRUGGLE IS REALWhat you want doesn’t come without a struggle for your ‘heroes’ (aka candidates)

PLAY THE MENTOR & PREPARE THEMPrepare audience for what they can expect on the rest of their journey. Set them up for success.

SHARE THE IMBALANCE (created need)To get your audienc to act, you must juxtapose “What IS” with “What Could Be.”

CREATE THE CONTRASTContrast who they were before with who they could be when they join your special world. DRAW ATTENTION TO THE GAP.

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There are 3 Key Components that must be present:

Communicate “The Big Idea”

Articulate Unique POVThey came to learn your org’s perspective or reality. Give it to them.

Convey What’s at StakeWhy should the audience care? Why does it matter?

Be a Complete SentenceIncreases likelihood emotion will be used & creates more compelling thought.

Dell Example of “Big Idea” Communication:

“One of the best ways we’ve found to improve the work experience of our

employees, professionals like you, is by offering them flexible scheduling.”

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See how CMO Beth Comstock creates compelling employer branding storyline, empowering teams:

General Electric Empowers Teams

Move to Being Move to Doing Benefit/Outcome Personalize

From “going it alone” to working in teams, benefiting

from multiple POVs.

From fearing critics to embracing critiques as creative/work process.

Working with partners fills in capability gaps and accentuates

expertise.

“I believed I had to do it myself and didn’t ask for help. I learned that you have to invite

others in and that it’s okay to admit you need help. People want to help and be part of

something bigger than themselves.

Case study example from Nancy Duarte’s Resonate, p93

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There are FIVE TYPES OF STAR MOMENTS to help drive “big ideas” home:

Creating S.T.A.R. Moments

Emotive Storytelling

Stories share info in ways people tend to remember,

such as Deloitte’s “First Year Wisdom” campaign -

easily repeatable and sharable.

Shocking Statistics

Draw attention to statistics that provide “big wins” for

your employer brand, such as outstanding tenure or

Dell’s environmental impact through their flexible

scheduling & remote work program.

Reminder:

This is meant to create a

hook in the audience’s minds

and hearts. Visuals are key!

Memorable Dramatization

These convey insights through storytelling, like

“Maria’s Story” did for EY.

Repeatable Sound Bytes

Small repeatable headlines help feed the press and increase

likelihood of social sharing, as it did for American Heart

Association’s #MyWorkMatters campaign.

Evocative Visuals

Pictures aren’t just worth a thousand words, but

emotions as well – as AT&T discovered with their

Veteran Recruitment & Diversity images.

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03

SITUATION

EY Employee

wants to

start a biz

TAKES A RISKLeaves EY

ENJOYS SUCCESSMaintains relationships as EY

alumni, wins global award.

01

02

HAS A DREAMBe an Entreprenuer

CHALLENGE

To do so, he

has to leave

security of

corporate

work.

RESOLUTION

He starts APPS

BIZ, joins EY’s

alumni group.

STORY

PATTERNMaria’s Story shared multiple EY stories

No matter when you join us or how

long you stay.” Ernst & Young is

committed to entrepreneurs.

“The exceptional EY

experience lasts a

lifetime....

ERNST&

YOUNG

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Any Questions???

• Ask now or you can tweet us using #EBGravity and we’ll respond via Twitter.

• #SHRMTalent15 attendees can receive a copy of our• audit guide, • social media strategy checklist, or• 1-sheet campaign document

Hand your business card to Dwane at the back of the room and we’ll email you a copy!

Branded Strategieswww.brandedstrategies.com

cm@brandedstrategies.com

+1.214.585.2474

Get in Touch@TheOneCrystal @TheCarrieCorbin