Branding for Influence with LinkedIn & CEB

Branding for Influence with CEB & LinkedIn

Who’s in the room?

Most Popular

Most Endorsed

Earliest Adopter

Most Connected

Ana Rosa

Alonso Shane

Hicks

Sanjay

Razdan

Charlotte

Johns

9.00am: Introduction & Welcome

9.15am: Branding for Influence with Thomas Handcock,

Practice Leader at CEB

10.15am: Open Discussion & Break

11.00am: Influential Employer Branding on LinkedIn with

Aoife Morehead, Talent Brand Consultant

12.00pm: Close

Agenda

CEB Recruiting Leadership Council

Branding for Influence

A Framework for Member Conversations

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These materials have been prepared by CEB for the exclusive and individual use of our member companies. These materials contain valuable confidential and proprietary information belonging to CEB, and they may not be shared with any third party (including independent contractors and consultants) without the prior approval of CEB. CEB retains any and all intellectual property rights in these materials and requires retention of the copyright mark on all pages reproduced.

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CEB is not able to guarantee the accuracy of the information or analysis contained in these materials. Furthermore, CEB is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or any other professional services. CEB specifically disclaims liability for any damages, claims, or losses that may arise from a) any errors or omissions in these materials, whether caused by CEB or its sources, or b) reliance upon any recommendation made by CEB.

© 2014 CEB. All rights reserved. RR0433514SYN

Moving from Appeal to Influence p. 1

Focus Branding on Critical Talent p. 12

Create Messages That Consult p. 17

Build a Network of Brand Influencers p. 24

CONTENTS


2014 EMPLOYMENT BRANDING EFFECTIVENESS SURVEY

Organization Survey

We interviewed more than 80 recruiting and branding executives and

thought leaders and surveyed nearly 2,000 recruiting staff from over 100

organizations globally to assess the impact of branding activities on the

quality of applicant pool.

Labor Market Survey

We surveyed nearly 4,700 passive and active labor market participants

from 15 countries globally to assess the impact of branding activities

on high-quality and low-quality potential applicants’ likelihood to apply.

Participating Organizations Partial List

Participating Organizations Partial List

1


Moving from

Appeal to Influence

2


Poor-quality applicants lead to…

…poor quality of shortlist

…low quality of hire

…more new hire turnover

…reduced new hire productivity

…lower business unit profitability

Between 2011 and 2014,

applicant volume rose by

33%, but applicant quality

remained low. Trend in Application Volume Median Number of Applicants per Open Position

Average Quality of Applicant Pool Percentage of Applicants for a Given Position Who

Are Considered High Quality (Likely to Become High-

Performing Employees) by the Recruiter

2011 2014

30

40

n = 572 (2011); 977 (2014).

Source: CEB 2011 Candidate Rules of Engagement Survey;

CEB 2014 Employment Branding Effectiveness Survey.

Source: CEB 2014 Employment Branding Effectiveness Survey.

28% High-Quality Applicants

The Corporate Brand Effect

Organizations with well-known

corporate brands have 43% higher

application volume than those with

lesser-known brands, but applicant

quality is virtually identical.

PROBLEM 1: HIGH VOLUME, LOW QUALITY

3


PROBLEM 2: NEW TALENT NEEDS STRAIN BRAND Organizations are under

increasing pressure to attract

new types of talent, and

employment brands struggle to

keep up.

■ As organizations globalize at an

unprecedented rate, they enter labor

markets where they are unknown or

perceived differently than they are in

core markets.

■ As more organizations diversify their

products and services, Recruiting

must hire people with skills their

brands were never meant to attract.

■ Even when talent needs remain the

same, recruiting must still evolve its

employment brand to attract new

generations or people who can help

drive a culture change.

New Mind-Sets

Percentage of Organizations

Undergoing a Cultural Shift “ Our business has been underperforming for

years, and the brand is a big driver of

our shift to a culture of innovation.”

Head of Recruiting

Technology

36%

n = 90.


New Generations

Percentage of Organizations Forecasting an

Increase in Hiring Volume from Universities “ Most of our workforce will retire soon, but

millennials don’t know who we are.”

Head of Recruiting

Insurance

2011 2014

49% 66%

n=45 (2011); 47 (2014).

Source: CEB 2011 Recruiting Forecast Survey; CEB 2014 Recruiting Forecast Survey.

New Skills

Projected Percentage of Growth in

US Employment, 2008–2018 “ The talent we need for our biggest

growth area isn’t attracted to our

corporate brand.”

Employment Branding Director

Consumer Products

All Occupations

STEMa

Occupations 19%

10%

Source: Robert D. Atkinson and Merrilea Mayo, “Refueling the U.S. Innovation Economy,”

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, December 2010. a STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

New Locations

Percentage of Recruiters Attracting Candidates in

New or Different Labor Markets

Compared to Three Years Ago

“ Since our business is still emerging in India,

it is hard to find candidates who

are proud to work here.”

Employment Brand Manager

Retail 67%

n = 1,044.


New Types of Talent Needed Employment Branding Challenge

4


YOUR CURRENT GOAL: A MORE APPEALING BRAND

Elements of Today’s Typical Employment Branding Approach

Most organizations focus

employment branding efforts on

becoming better known as a

great place to work.

■ Many organizations have applied

marketing principles to their

employment brands to be as

appealing as possible.

■ The typical organization creates a

core brand with universally appealing

messages that sell the most

compelling aspects of the

organization and communicates

those messages through the most

popular channels.

■ When combined, these elements

lead to a “branding for appeal”

strategy.

Core Brand Focus Messages That Sell Channel-Driven Outreach

Core Brand

Customized Brands

“See our career

opportunities.”

“Be challenged

every day.”

“Our culture is very

collaborative.”

Choosing the appropriate overall brand

theme is rated the #1 most important

branding activity by recruiting and employment

branding leaders.

The average organization expects

to increase use of 6 different

brand channels this year alone.

64% of organizations focus their

brand messages on positive aspects of the

organization’s EVP.a

Branding for Appeal

Promoting the organization as a great place to work

Employment Brand:

The perceptions the labor market

has about an organization as an

employer

Employment Branding: The

efforts employers take to manage

labor market perceptions of the

organization

n = 74 (Core Brand Focus); 1,044 (Messages That Sell); 31 (Channel-Driven Outreach).

Source: CEB 2014 Employment Branding Effectiveness Survey; CEB 2014 Recruiting Forecast Survey. a

Sixty-four percent includes respondents who strongly disagreed, disagreed, or somewhat disagreed that their employment branding messages emphasized the negative aspects of working at their organizations.

5


BRANDING FOR APPEAL ADDS TO INFORMATION

OVERLOAD

How Applicants Learn About Employers Today Relative Influence of Information on Applicants’ Decision to Applya

In today’s information-rich labor

market, appealing employment

branding adds to the amount of

unhelpful information applicants

receive.

■ Potential applicants have access to

an unprecedented amount of

information to inform their application

decisions.

■ When applicants look to

organizational communications to

decide where to apply, appealing

branding tells them that many

organizations are great places to

work. Rise in Amount of (Low Quality)

Information from Other Sources

Source: Robin Dunbar, “The Social Brain Hypothesis,” Brain 9(10), 178-190; Stephen Wolfram, “Data Science of the Facebook World,” 24 April 2013, http:/ /blog.stephenwolfram.

com/2013/04/data-science-of-the-facebook-world/; LinkedIn, http:/ /www.linkedin.com; Glassdoor, http:/ /www.glassdoor.com; CEB Q4 2013 Global Labor Market Survey;

CEB Q3 2013 Global Labor Market Survey. a

Organizational communications includes the organization’s careers website, social media presence, and job postings. Information from other sources includes friends and family, current and former employees, news stories, etc.

n = 708.

Impact When Organizational

Communications Brand for Appeal

Core Brand Focus

Universally appealing branding themes go unnoticed when

experienced en masse.

Messages That Sell

Similar selling points across employers make them

indistinguishable from each other.

Channel-Driven Outreach

Broader presence augments the same unhelpful

information for applicants to consider.

130% Growth in number of contacts

available to the average applicant since 2006

35x The exponential growth of LinkedIn users

since 2006

22x The exponential growth of Glassdoor

membership since 2011

45% Employees who admit to being less than

honest when telling friends and family what it is like to

work at their organization

20% Organizational

Communications

80% Information from Other Sources

n = 5,410.

6


MORE INFORMATION MORE INFORMED

Applicant Uncertainty About Where to Apply

More Skepticism

Applicants struggle to make the

right decisions based on the

information available to them

about and from potential

employers.

■ Applicants are more skeptical about

the appealing things employers say

about themselves and, consequently,

less confident about where they

should apply.

■ Applicants in high-demand

segments are even more skeptical

of employers, yet they are more

likely to know which employers to

consider, which suggests high-

quality applicants are being

heavily targeted.

“Compared to three years ago, I am more

skeptical of what employers say about

themselves.”

“If I wanted to leave my current employer, I know

which other employers I would consider applying

to.”

Less Confidence

61% Agree or

Strongly Agree

31% Agree or

Strongly Agree

n = 4,663.

Source: CEB 2014 Employment Branding Effectiveness Survey. a

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

n = 5,412.

Source: CEB Q4 2013 Global Labor Market Survey. b

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

■ Applicants in Emerging Markets: 66%

■ STEMa Talent: 61%

■ Millennials: 65%

■ Applicants in Emerging Markets: 43%

■ STEMb Talent: 31%

■ Millennials: 35%

7


PERSUADE THE BEST, DEFLECT THE REST

Strategic Employment Branding Shift Required Today

Branding for influence gives

applicants the trusted guidance

they need in today’s information-

rich labor market.

Branding for Appeal

Promoting the

organization as a

great place to work


Giving applicants trusted guidance to make

better decisions about

whether to apply

Key Trade-Offs of a Branding for Influence Strategy Influential Brands Help Applicants Make Better Decisions By…

Awareness of

the Employer

Attention to the

Employer

Perception of

the Employer

Consideration

of the Employer

Application

Submission

…focusing their attention, rather than increasing

awareness, in an environment in which it is easy to

identify potential employers.

…driving consideration of fit instead of improving

perceptions, because employers want the highest-

quality candidates to apply while dissuading poor-

quality candidates.

Source: CEB analysis.

8


THREE STEPS TO BRANDING FOR INFLUENCE


Giving applicants trusted

guidance to make better

decisions about whether to

apply

1 Customized

Brands Focus

2 Messages That

Consult

3 Messenger-Driven

Outreach

Core Brand

Customized Brands

“Check out

this company that I

didn’t know hires

for…”

“Your work helps

achieve our mission

by…”

“Given your

interests, I think the

right job for you will

be…”


Branding for Appeal

Promoting the

organization as a

great place to work

Core Brand

Focus

Messages

That Sell

Channel-Driven

Outreach

Core Brand

Customized Brands

“See our career

opportunities.”

“Be challenged

every day.”

“Our culture is very

collaborative.”

9


10

40

70

LARGE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF INFLUENTIAL BRANDING

Quality of Applicant Pool by Organizationa

In Ascending Order

Shifting from appealing to

influential branding quadruples

the strength of your applicant

pool.

■ At organizations that

brand for influence, 43% of

applicants are considered high

quality—compared to

28% at organizations that brand

for appeal and 24% at

organizations that do not

manage their brands.

n = 1,044 recruiters.


The percentage of applicants for a given position who are considered high quality (likely to become high-performing employees) by the recruiter.

43%

70%

10%

24%

28%

Qu

ali

ty o

f A

pp

lican

t P

oo

l

On average, branding for appeal increases

applicant quality only slightly, from 24% to

28%.

Branding for influence drives a much bigger

increase in applicant quality— to 43%, on

average.

Average

Organization with

an Influential Brand

(Giving Applicants Trusted

Guidance to Make Better

Decisions About Whether to

Apply)

How to Read This Chart

The blue line represents each of the

100+ organizations we surveyed,

ordered from left to right based on

its average quality of applicant pool.

The three labels along the bottom

represent the average organization

that does not manage its brand, the

one that brands for appeal, and the

one that brands for influence,

respectively.

Average Organization with an Unmanaged Brand (No or Ineffective

Management of the Employment Brand)

Average

Organization with an

Appealing Brand

(Promoting the

Organization as a Great

Place to Work)

1.Branding for Appeal 2. Branding for Influence

2

1

10


BUSINESS IMPLICATIONS OF BRANDING FOR INFLUENCE Branding for influence creates

significant downstream and

monetary returns.

■ By moving from branding for appeal

to branding for influence, the

percentage of your applicants who

are high quality can increase by

54% (from 28% of applicants being

high quality to 43% being high

quality).

■ This increase in applicant quality

translates to 22% higher quality of

shortlist and 9% higher quality of hire,

holding everything else constant.

■ Higher-quality hires are higher

performing and less likely to leave,

leading to returns from business

unit profitability and turnover cost

savings, which reach millions of

dollars at a typical organization.

Source: CEB 2014 Employment Branding Effectiveness Survey; CEB 2013 Selection Effectiveness Diagnostic; CEB 2012 Global Recruiting Effectiveness Survey. a The percentage of applicants for a given position who are considered high quality (likely to become high-performing employees) by the recruiter. b Organizations with influential brands spend an average of US$1,509,211 annually, whereas organizations with appealing brands spend an average of US$1,467,725. a Quality of shortlist is measured based on hiring managers’ responses to the following question: Thinking of the most recent position that you filled, on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being

best), how would you rate the quality of the candidates you interviewed?

d Quality of hire is defined as the new hire’s current and likely future effectiveness at completing his or her individual tasks, contributing to others’ performance, and using others’ contributions to improve his or her own performance. See the Appendix for more detail on CEB’s quality of hire definition.

By Shifting from Branding for Appeal to Branding for Influence, the Typical Organization Can See…

Greater quality of

applicant

poola from a 3%

average increase in

branding costsb

22%

Higher

quality of shortlistc

54%

Higher

quality

of hired

More high-

performing

new hires

Lower

new hire

turnover

Increased

business unit

profitability

Turnover

cost savings

9%

2.5x

23% US$1.4

million

US$2.7

million

Note: See the Appendix for details regarding all calculations.

11


Create Messages

That Consult

Focus Branding on

Critical Talent Build a Network of

Brand Influencers

ROADMAP FOR THE PRESENTATION

12


INFLUENCE REQUIRES DEEPER CUSTOMIZATION

Applicant Perception of Brand Influencea by Degree of Brand Customization

Deeply customize branding to

each talent segment to influence

applicant decisions.

■ Surface-level branding

customization is insufficient to help

applicants make better decisions

about where to apply.

■ Potential applicants need to

experience deeply customized

employment branding

that clearly relates to their

background, skills, and values.

n = 3,772.


Applicant perception of brand influence is a measure of the extent to which applicants agreed that the information they learned before applying to an organization helped them decide whether they would succeed there.

Ap

pli

can

t P

erc

ep

tio

n o

f B

ran

d In

fl u

en

ce

Degree of Brand Customization

100

50

0

Surface-Level Customization Deep Customization

Less customized employment branding recycles standard

branding initiatives throughout the organization.

Sample Initiatives:

■ Promoting messages from the core brand that align with each

segment’s EVP preferences

■ Pushing out segment-specific content to central career

channels

■ Including profiles of employees from different talent segments

on the central careers website

More deeply customized employment branding engages each talent

segment with relevant details about the employment experience.

Sample Initiatives:

■ Crafting new messages and content that reflects each segment’s

work experience

■ Creating targeted microsites and social media profiles that align with

segment-specific channel usage

■ Training different employees from within each talent segment to

champion the employment brand

13


MEETING TALENT NEEDS BY MANAGING A

PORTFOLIO OF CRITICAL TALENT BRANDS

Thomson Reuters’s Portfolio of Critical Talent Employment Brands

Instead of focusing all efforts on

its core global employment

brand, Thomson Reuters targets

brand messages directly at

critical talent segments.

■ Thomson Reuters creates a brand

blueprint based on core EVP

messages rather than creative

attributes, such as logos and taglines.

■ Using the brand blueprint as a

guide, Thomson Reuters creates

sub-brands for target segments,

rather than just “dialing up” global

brand attributes.

■ Thomson Reuters determines which

communication channels should

carry which messages by assessing

the channel’s audience and the

current hiring needs of

the organization.

Brand Blueprint

■ Work that matters

■ Careers without boundaries

■ Flexibility to perform

Source: Thomson Reuters; CEB analysis.

1. Create Brand Blueprint 2. Define Sub-Brands for

Critical Segments

3. Tailor Communication

Messages

Content

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

Sales

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

Campus

■ Diversity

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

Diversity

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

Emerging Markets

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

■ xxxxxxxx

Technology

■ Working on innovative

products

■ Perfecting technical

expertise and skills

■ Using tools and

technology to find the right

work–life balance

Job Fair

14


NOT JUST “DIALING UP”

Thomson Reuters’s Segment-Specific Brand Creation Activities

Thomson Reuters creates sub-

brands for target segments,

rather than just dialing up global

brand attributes.

■ Thomson Reuters reviews HR

strategy and workforce plans to

identify talent segments critical to

achieving business outcomes.

■ The company creates distinct sub-

brands to reach the critical

segments.

Define Detail Disseminate Double Check

What

Thomson

Reuters Does

Define the brand

statements from the

target audience’s

perspective.

Clarify the sub-brand

with additional detail

where necessary.

Ensure the sub-brand is

communicated through

relevant channels.

Confirm there is a clear

relationship between the

sub-brand and the brand

blueprint.

Why It Works Using the original brand

blueprint as a starting

point eliminates

unnecessary rework.

Adding segment-

specific detail

maximizes relevance for

the target audience.

Aligning

communication

channels reinforces the

audience’s perceptions of

the brand.

Validating the link

between the global

brand and sub-brand

maintains overall

consistency.

Example for

Technology

Candidates

Work that matters:

Working on innovative

products

Careers without

boundaries: Perfecting

technical expertise and skills

Flexibility to perform:

Using tools and

technology to find the right

work–life balance

The technology blog

includes in-depth stories

and profiles of technology

projects.

Create a technology

careers app.

Boost the mobile

friendliness of the

global careers site.

BRAND

BRAND

Drawbacks of Dialing Up Global

Attributes

When organizations focus on global

brand attributes, they may insert a

segment- specific word (e.g., “work

that matters to technology

employees”) or emphasize the global

attribute in segment- specific

communications. These messages

often do not resonate with the

segment.

Most organizations simply focus on one or two

attributes from their global brand rather than

provide the definition and detail that niche, in-

demand candidates need.


15


Create Messages

That Consult

Focus Branding on

Critical Talent

Build a Network of

Brand Influencers


16


Maximum Impact of Employment Brand Message Type on Quality of Applicant Poola

The most influential brand

messages are competitively

positioned, emotionally resonant,

and drive reflection about fit, but

few organizations use these types

of messages.

■ Competitively positioned and

emotionally resonant messages

increase the quality of applicant pool

by 19%, and messages that drive

reflection about fit increase the quality

of applicant pool by 17%.

■ However, these are the least

prevalent types of employment

brand messages that

organizations use.

■ Brand messages focusing on

authenticity of the employment

experience and alignment with

applicant preferences have limited

impact on the quality of applicant

pool but are the most prevalent.

Aligned with Applicant

Preferences

Accurately Conveys Employment

Experience

Driving Reflection About Fit

Emotionally Resonant

Competitively Positioned

n = 1,092 (maximum impact); 70 (percentage of organizations).


Organizations using messages that are competitively positioned, emotionally resonant, and that drive self-reflection have employment brands that are 28% more influential than organizations that do not.

Percentage of

Organizations

Using Each Type of

Message 15% 26% 26% 35% 39%

0%

10%

20% 19% 19%

17%

8%

0%

17

COMPETITIVE, EMOTIONAL AND FIT BASED

MESSAGING MOST INFLUENTIAL


Many organizations brand their

messaging according to

organizational strengths

instead of identifying and

communicating true

differentiators that will set

them apart from talent

competitors.

COMPETITIVELY POSITIONED EMOTIONALLY RESONANT REFLECTION ABOUT FIT

Potential Employment

Brand Message

Perception of Message as a

Strength

Relevance of Message to

Strategic Objectives

Relevance of Message to

Mission, Values, and

Consumer Value

Proposition

Inputs:

■ Internal and External

Focus Groups

■ Best Practice Research

Inputs:

■ Employee Engagement

Survey

■ Internal and External

Focus Groups

Inputs:

■ Annual Report

■ Relevant Business

Strategy Documents

Inputs:

■ Annual Report

■ Relevant Marketing

Strategy Documents

Inputs:

■ Competitors’ Recruitment

Advertisements

■ Competitors’ Web Sites

Our collegial work

environment provides… High Medium High High

The highly differentiated

work–life benefit is… High Medium Medium High

You are compensated

based on…

High Medium Low Low

IDENTIFY TRUE DIFFERENTIATORS, NOT JUST

STRENGTHS

St.George’s Brand Message Effectiveness Diagnostic Illustrative

True Differentiated Brand Message

Documents and other materials help

populate the Messaging

Effectiveness Diagnostic.

Although the work–life message does not rate highly

against all internal criteria, it is an effective message

because it differentiates the organization from talent

competitors.

Employment Brand Message

Source: St.George Bank; CEB analysis.

A verifiable message that nobody else can say

Source: St.George Bank; CEB analysis.

■ St.George uses a simple

diagnostic to validate which brand

messages are truly differentiated

and focuses branding on these

messages.

Opportunity of Messages

for Competitive

Differentiation

18



POSITIONING ISN’T ALWAYS ABOUT

DIFFERENCES

Thomson Reuters’s Comparative Association Message in India

In a competitive talent market

where it is relatively unknown,

Thomson Reuters India explicitly

refers to the companies it

compares itself to, helping

potential applicants understand

its specific strengths.

■ Thomson Reuters associates

itself with a mix of well- known

brands and industry competitors.


Association with well-known brands and other

media and publishing companies

Financial Overview We are Bigger or More Profitable Than…

19


FOSTER AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION BY

CLEARLY COMMUNICATING AN ACHIEVABLE PURPOSE

Johnson & Johnson’s

employment brand

clearly communicates an

achievable purpose, thereby

fostering a stronger emotional

connection.

■ Johnson & Johnson conveys how

to achieve its purpose through its

credo, which comprises simple

statements written in clear

language.

■ Johnson & Johnson makes the

achievability of its purpose

believable by personalizing it for

candidates and

demonstrating how employees

achieve it in their day-to-day

professional lives.

Employment

Brand

Challenges

Johnson

& Johnson’s

Solutions

Desired labor market perception: “The organization has a purpose

and I can contribute to it.”

Show applicants

how to achieve your

purpose through clear

communication.


credo

Make your purpose

personal by showing

employees achieve it.


personalized purpose

Desired reaction among high-quality applicants: “The organization has a

purpose I care about, and I can contribute to it.”

Source: Johnson & Johnson; CEB analysis.

Johnson & Johnson’s New Employment Brand

“Be Vital” Attributes:

■ Applicant centered

■ Experience oriented

■ Increased focus on Credo values

How do we help

potential applicants

understand how

they can achieve the

organization’s purpose?

How do we enable potential

applicants to

believe they can achieve the

organization’s

purpose?


20



POLARIZING MESSAGES CAN MAKE FIT (VERY)

CLEAR

Netflix’s Polarizing Culture Statements

Netflix publishes messages

about organizational culture

that will appeal to some

candidates and dissuade

others.

■ Polarizing messages are more

effective than broadly positive or

appealing messages in helping

applicants consider their fit with the

organization.

Sample Online Responses from

Potential Candidates

“I’m a health and safety advisor

within local government (UK).

Those first few slides have stirred

something in me, and I’ve never

wanted to work somewhere as

much as I do at Netflix!”

“Having read this, I wouldn’t want

to work at Netflix, even though I’m

a high performer.” Source: Netflix, http:/ /hbr.org/2014/01/how-netflix-reinvented-hr/ar/1; CEB analysis.

21


STIMULATE SELF-REFLECTION

Goldman Sachs’s Career Quiz

Goldman Sachs’s short pre-

application diagnostic helps

potential applicants consider

where they will fit best within the

organization.

■ Potential applicants respond to a

series of short questions about

what types of projects or activities

they would like to work on.

■ The diagnostic uses the

answers to inform potential

applicants about which types of roles

at Goldman Sachs would be best for

them.

■ The diagnostic is an

informational tool only and is

not part of the formal

assessment process.

Source: Goldman Sachs, http:/ /www.goldmansachs.com/careers/why-goldman-sachs/explore-goldman-sachs-careers-quiz/; CEB analysis.

Question 7 of 14

Tech Turnaround

Your management consulting firm has a new client—a technology

company that has been losing money for several years. Pundits have

written off the company, but your team believes it can help bring the

business back to profitability. What part of this engagement would

you most like to work on?

Performing an analysis of the company’s business and

operations

Researching its competitors to see how they operate more

efficiently

Writing the final report to the client

Your Best Matches

View Top 3 Matches

Executive Office

Compliance

Internal Audit

Legal

Services

Human Capital Management

Operations

Finance

Global Investment Research

Investment Banking

Investment Management

Merchant Banking

Securities


22


Create Messages

That Consult

Focus Branding on

Critical Talent

Build a Network of

Brand Influencers


23


Recruiting is an influential

messenger, but it is part of a

broader ecosystem of potential

influencers who have a much

greater impact on applicant

quality.

■ Recruiting’s maximum impact as an

influential messenger is 8%

compared to the 33% impact other

messengers have.

■ Recruiting must overcome

challenges associated with

empowering different groups of

messengers to optimize the quality

of the applicant pool.

Importance of Different Types of

Messengers, Irrespective of Message

Content Maximum Impact on Quality of Applicant Poola

Brand Influencers

8%

33%

Recruiting Brand Influencers

General

Employee

Population Recruiting’s Challenge: How do we better

equip the general employee population to

influence potential applicants?

Brand

Detractors Recruiting’s Challenge: How do we

mitigate the destructive influence of brand

detractors (e.g., disgruntled former

employees)?

Brand

Ambassadors Recruiting’s Challenge: How do we get the

most influence out of our brand ambassadors

(e.g., senior leaders, new hires, formal brand

ambassadors)?

External

Influencers Recruiting’s Challenge: How do I engage

influencers to have the most impact?

n = 1,044.

Source: CEB 2014 Employment Branding Effectiveness

Survey. a Recruiting has a 19% maximum impact on influence, whereas

other messengers have a 41% maximum impact on influence.


RECRUITING A SMALL PART OF THE BRAND

INFLUENCER ECOSYSTEM

24


TURN BRAND ADVOCATES INTO BRAND

INFLUENCERS

How Suncor Enables Brand Influencers

Suncor provides a group of

employees with action- oriented

training and greater visibility to

potential applicants so they can

act as brand influencers, not just

brand advocates.

■ To help employees make the

transition from brand advocate to

brand influencer, Suncor has

created a training session focused

on three influencer abilities: verify,

consult, and navigate.

■ Once training is complete, Suncor

makes influencers more visible to

applicants, thereby helping them

reach high-quality potential

applicants in all channels.

■ Training employees to be

effective communicators

enables them to bring the

Suncor brand experience to

life when interacting with

applicants.

Who are Suncor’s brand

influencers?

■ 150 brand influencers

■ Nominated by business units

■ Usually high performers and

highly engaged

■ Spread across critical talent

segments

■ Mix of job levels

ROI for Brand Influencers

Through devoting one full day to training and limiting their time commitments, Suncor’s brand influencers:

■ Feel more engaged in the organization through the opportunity to help Suncor achieve its goals,

■ Are recognized informally for their participation by managers and leaders of their business units, and

■ Expand their networks by interacting with potential applicants within their industry.

Fit Verification Model

Provide actionable

information about talent needs

so influencers can verify

preliminary fit, even for roles

with which they are not

familiar.

A. Verify The Applicant Will Thrive in Suncor’s Culture

Talent Needs

Suncor’s Values 1. Safety above all else.

2. Respect.

3. Raise the bar. 4. Commitments that matter.

5. Do the right thing.

Action Steps

Surface Behaviors that Indicate this

Value Mentions interest in sustainability

Participates in community service Seeking a

long-term career

B. Verify Whether the Applicant Is in a Critical Talent Segment

Talent Needs

Strategy-Critical Talent Segments 6. Petroleum Geologist

7. Power Engineers in Alberta

8. Women in Leadership

Action Steps

Consider Key Questions about Each Potential

Applicant Is the individual interested in a role as a

petroleum geologist? Does the individual have

experience (work or education) working as a petroleum

geologist?

Consultative Conversation

Framework

Teach brand influencers a

sales-inspired conversation

framework so they can

deliver tailored information

based on applicant need.

Three Steps to

Consultation

Step 1:

Diagnose Applicant Needs by

Probing Intelligently

Step 2:

Deliver Customized

Messages by Addressing

Preferences and Concerns

Step 3:

Enact a Plan for Further

Engagement by Providing Next

Steps

Objective of Step Understand the potential applicant’s

career interests and concerns by probing

intelligently and empathetically.

Connect with the potential applicant

by explaining how Suncor delivers on

their career preferences and

dispelling inaccurate concerns.

Help potential applicants create an

action plan for future engagement with

Suncor.

What’s At Risk if You Get

the Step Wrong

Teeing up the wrong topics for

the rest of the conversation

Wasted applicant time, effort,

and goodwill if messages

don’t apply to them

Wasted applicant time, effort,

and goodwill if messages

don’t apply to them

Information Provided in

Training to Prepare

Influencers

Guidelines on how to ask probing

questions instead of closed

questions.

Inventory of messages about Suncor

that match different applicant

preferences.

Application information for good fit

applicants and alternate opportunities list

for poor fits.

Consultation Role Playing

Ask brand influencers to

practice interacting with

applicants in different

situations to gain

confidence navigating

difficult conversation

scenarios.

Online Applicant

Engagement

Make influencers readily

available through social

media to leverage the power

of employee influence in all

channels.

Action-Oriented

Training

Greater Visibility

to Applicants

1.Verify 2. Consult 3. Navigate 4. Reach

Source: Suncor Energy, Inc.; CEB analysis.

BRAND DETRACTORS BRAND AMBASSADORS

25


Suncor is in the process of

making influencers readily

available through social media

to leverage the power of

employee influence in all

channels.

BRAND DETRACTORS BRAND AMBASSADORS

26

Background

EXTEND THE REACH OF EMPLOYEE INFLUENCE

Suncor’s Steps to Online Applicant Engagement

Recruiting Sets Clear Boundaries on Social Media Use

Define:

■ Types of information to share, and

■ Types of interactions to have.

2

Recruiting Helps Influencers Upgrade Their Profiles on

LinkedIn

Influencer Profiles Must:

■ Have professional photos,

■ Include “Recruiting Partner” in the title, and

■ Contain a clear description of current role.

1

Influencers Engage in Consultative Conversations with

Applicants

Applicants are more likely to apply once influencers

authentically address applicants’ questions, such as the

following:

■ What is it like to work in northern Alberta?

■ What responsibilities is someone at your level given?

■ Can you give me more details about the project you are

working on?

4

Influencers Identify Active and Passive Applicants to

Connect With

■ Active applicants self-identify and can easily identify

influencers online to start conversations.

■ Recruiting helps influencers identify potential passive

applicants in their networks.

3

Calvin Jacobs

Geologist at Suncor + Recruiting Partner

Calgary, Canada, Area | Energy & Oil

Summary

Senior geologist holding a degree in

petroleum geology, sedimentology, with

over 10 years of oil industry experience in

geological modeling and research and

development.

If you are interested in a role at Suncor or

want to learn more, feel free to contact me.

People Also

Viewed

Advice for Contacting Calvin

Source: Suncor Energy, Inc.; CEB analysis.

104

connections

■ Suncor is currently

conducting a pilot program that

will enable influencers to use

their skills in online channels,

such as LinkedIn.

■ Recruiting will prepare

influencers for online

interactions by upgrading their

profiles and setting clear

boundaries on social media

use.

■ Influencers can then engage with

active applicants who contact

them and passive applicants

within their own networks.

Tips for Keeping the Time

Commitment Reasonable:

■ Allow influencers to decide when

and how often they monitor

LinkedIn.

■ Provide influencers with a

contact in Recruiting who can

help them manage high volume.

■ Make any additional training

available virtually.


Create Messages

That Consult

Focus Branding on

Critical Talent

Build a Network of

Brand Influencers

ROADMAP FOR ACTION

27


Appendix

■ Roadmap

■ Action Plan

■ Resources

28


BRANDING FOR INFLUENCE STRATEGY

Statement of Strategy

Improve applicant quality by more than 50% by giving applicants trusted guidance to make better decisions about whether to apply, instead of promoting the organization as a

great place to work.

Rationale for Change

■ Our employment brand is under increasing pressure to attract new types of talent.

■ Applicants look to an unprecedented amount of information to decide where to apply.

■ Appealing employment branding adds to the amount of unhelpful information potential applicants receive, leaving them struggling to decide where to apply.

Twenty-eight percent of our

applicant pool is composed of

high-quality applicants.

Current State:

Branding for Appeal

Forty-three percent of our applicant

pool is made up of high-quality

applicants, leading to 9% higher

quality of hire.

Desired State:


Initiatives

Brand Planning:

Focus Branding on

Critical Talent

Shift from targeting a

wider array of talent

segments to in-depth

customization that

incorporates only the

most important talent

segments.

Brand Outreach:

Build a Network of

Brand Influencers

Focus less on

managing a

channel strategy and

more

on managing

internal and

external influencers.

Brand Messaging:

Create Messages That

Consult

Rather Than Sell

Instead of

highlighting the

organization’s

selling points,

your messages should

challenge applicants’

thinking.

2 3 1

29


BRANDING FOR INFLUENCE: ACTION PLAN


Imperatives for Best Practice

Action Items

Compare to Your Current Practice

Immediate Action Items

Select three to five only

Brand Planning:

Focus Branding on Critical Talent

Share the Branding for Influence approach with my recruiting team, CHRO, Marketing, and

Communications, etc.

Diagnose our employment branding maturity level.

Identify our most critical talent segments as the main audiences of our branding efforts.

Create our “brand blueprint” (i.e., a list of our core EVP messages, without creative attributes, such as logos or

taglines).

Create a sub-branding process to identify specific messages, channels, and creative attributes for each segment.

Brand Messaging:

Create Messages That Consult

Rather Than Sell

Identify opportunities to differentiate ourselves from other organizations.

Identify opportunities to associate ourselves with other organizations.

Communicate our organization’s purpose with simple statements written clearly.

Demonstrate how employees achieve our organization’s purpose in their day-to-day professional lives.

Highlight non-obvious career transitions.

Emphasize the aspects of our corporate culture that might dissuade some applicants.

Give potential applicants self-diagnostics to see which function or role is right for them.

Brand Outreach:

Build a Network of Brand Influencers

Provide opportunities in which employees can easily share stories about their responsibilities and careers.

Recognize great stories that employees share.

Use a response protocol for brand detractors that prioritizes the most influential detractors and

comments.

Create a holistic strategy to preempt, monitor, learn from, and respond to influential brand detractors.

Teach our recruiters or brand ambassadors a sales-inspired framework to have fit-focused conversations with

potential applicants.

Help our recruiters or brand ambassadors practice consulting with potential applicants in different situations.

Make our recruiters or brand ambassadors “always on” through social media.

30


BRANDING FOR INFLUENCE: RESOURCES

See the Employment Branding Topic Center for these branding resources and more.

Brand Planning:


Branding Strategy Toolkit

Create the right brand strategy that accounts

for your strategic situation and talent needs.

Branding for Influence Business Case

Make the case to brand for influence to your

recruiters and partners in Marketing,

Communications, and HR.

Employment Branding Blueprint

Get step-by-step guidance customized to the

maturity level of your employment branding

activities.

Brand Messaging:

Create Messages That Consult Rather Than Sell

Branding Message Builder

Use this worksheet to brainstorm and evaluate

potential brand messages.

Recruiting Effectiveness Dashboard

Launch this full-service diagnostic to track why new

hires are joining your organization and inform your

brand messaging.

Influential Branding Messages Inventory Refer to

this inventory for 50 examples of brand messages

that give applicants trusted guidance on whether to

apply.

Brand Outreach:

Build a Network of Brand Influencers

Brand Ambassadors Program Guidelines

Use our ambassador program in a box to make your

recruiters, new hires, critical talent, etc., more

influential to potential applicants.

Branding for Influence Playbook

Help your recruiters, HR business partners, and

managers do 10 things to make branding for

influence part of their daily routine.

31

Influential Employer Branding on LinkedIn

July 2015

Agenda

LinkedIn: Our evolution

Followers: Why the fuss?

LinkedIn’s Top 10 Influential Brands: What do they have in common?

Students on LinkedIn 39

Case Study: GoDaddy

LinkedIn: A global pool of talent

4M+ INDONESIA

3M+ PHILIPPINES

2M+ MALAYSIA

1M+ SINGAPORE

1M+ SAUDI ARABIA

21M+ BRAZIL

115M+ UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA

11M+ CANADA

30M+ INDIA

7M+ AUSTRALIA

1M+ NEW ZEALAND

4M+ SOUTH AFRICA

1M+ UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

19M+ UNITED KINGDOM

10M+ FRANCE

7M+ ITALY

2M+ BELGIUM

1M+ DENMARK

4M+ TURKEY

5M+ NETHERLANDS

2M+ SWEDEN

6M+ SPAIN

8M+ CHINA

364M+

Members

worldwide +2 New members per second

LinkedIn Members consume

content 6x times

more

than they do jobs

Rethinking the myths…

42

43

LinkedIn Employee publishes highly influential post

on our culture, receiving over 1600 views

Brand Appeal:

“Free food, free gym, dry cleaning, massages, cool working environments,

no suits, bright people, private healthcare, childcare vouchers…”

“But mainly because since joining

LinkedIn, I have realised that these are the

ingredients you use to decorate the cake. If

what is under the icing is dry and

flavourless, no matter how good it looks,

you have a very disappointing Birthday

party.”

44

James Batup, Senior Relationship Manager, LinkedIn

45

Brand Influence:

• On interviews - “a refreshingly informal approach”

• On our vision – “Economic Graph”

• On our employment policy – “The Alliance”

46

2,882,244

HP Thanked 1M Followers in a Unique Way

HP was the first company on LinkedIn to reach 1M followers in 2013. They celebrated with a blog post, created an amazing infographic, and the story was shared on Mashable.

47

http://marketing.linkedin.com/blog/what-hps-1-million-linkedin-followers-means-for-marketers/

http://www.slideshare.net/LImarketingsolutions/hp-1-minfographicfinal?src=s-bl

http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/hp-linkedin/

http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/hp-linkedin/

48

Followers Engage

OF FOLLOWERS ARE INTERESTED IN JOB OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE COMPANIES THEY FOLLOW

MORE LIKELY TO RESPOND TO YOUR INMAIL

FOLLOWERS ARE

51

Followers Fit the Target

OF YOUR HIRES WERE FOLLOWING YOU ON LINKEDIN BEFORE BEING HIRED

53

Followers Amplify

54

Followers can be segmented

Diageo created a custom cocktail to celebrate reaching 250,000 Followers

55

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMRPOZY0eZE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMRPOZY0eZE

56

The 2015 10 Most

Influential Brands

on LinkedIn

57

©2013 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Confidential – Do Not Distribute

The most effective content marketers reach

customers in multiple ways

CMS integrates your efforts

58

CMS

Groups

Company Updates

Sponsored Updates

Employee Posts

Influencer Posts


Reach Frequency Engagement

These are the three levers that influence

your CMS

X X

59


Your Content Marketing Score measures within your

target audience, WHO engages with your content

77,266,000 members

2,237 members

Target Audience

Members you would like to reach

(monthly active users)

Content Marketing Engagement

Members who engage with

your content

Global All

Like, share, comment, follow, click

Content Marketing Score

Unique Members Engaged = = x Multiplier 29

Active Target Audience

60


What is a Content Marketing Score?

A score that quantifies and benchmarks

the influence companies have on LinkedIn

A score that can be filtered by audience

A score that is stacked up against a

competitive set

1

2

3

61


Key questions

Content marketing addresses the following questions

I really care about a specific audience.

Are they engaging?

Are people engaging with my content?

How do I rank against my peers?

How influential are my employees?

62

What do these brands have in common?

OF TOP INFLUENTIAL BRANDS HAVE THEIR

EMPLOYEES SHARING THEIR CONTENT TO THEIR

NETWORKS

OF TOP INFLUENTIAL BRANDS HAVE EMPLOYEES

PUBLISHING POSTS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR

CONTENT EFFORTS

OF TOP INFLUENTIAL BRANDS REGULARLY

SHARE STATUS UPDATES ON THEIR LINKEDIN

COMPANY PAGE

AN AVERAGE OF 12.6 UPDATES PER WEEK

OF TOP INFLUENTIAL BRANDS ARE UTLITISING

SPONSORED UPDATES TO EXPAND THE REACH

OF THEIR CONTENT

Case Study: GoDaddy

Branding for Influence: GoDaddy

71

So, what did they do?


72

Step 1: Brand Planning

• Go Daddy Branding Focus:

• Women in Technology

Create messages that consult rather than sell

73

Step 2: Brand Messaging

Create messages that consult rather than sell

74

Step 2: Brand Messaging

Build a network of brand influencers

75

Step 3: Brand Outreach

76

“For many of you, however, the question of “who” you will be in life is still not answered. This morning I want to contrast for you the value “who” – you – are versus

“what” – you – are. I want to impress upon you just how wrong our priorities are between the two – and how

much that contrast in value can (or has) already affected your life.”

77

“As with consumer technology, it’s clear that women’s opinions matter deeply to the

success of the small business cloud services industry.”

“With only 18% of technical roles filled by women at GoDaddy, we sit only 1% above the rest of the Bay Area pack. This is nothing to

celebrate.”

78

“My first act as CEO was to completely overhaul our brand and advertising—dropping the commercials that women clearly articulated to be objectifying and over-

sexualized for a value prop that emphasizes the entrepreneurial spirit of our customers, many of whom are women. The old brand did not represent our passion for the success of our small business customers and sent a signal, wrongly, that GoDaddy was not a place that

respected women.”

79

“Another way GoDaddy is working to transform our technical environment is by balancing as many Agile development teams as possible with 50% women vs.

sprinkling one or two women per team across all teams”.

80

Interview with Fast Company

81

The result?

82

In April 2015, GoDaddy made the Anita Borg Institute’s list of Top Companies for Women Technologists, which

evaluated technology companies on their representation of women at all levels and year-over-

year trends in recruitment and promotion of women in the workforce

http://anitaborg.org/news/press-release/top-companies-2015/

©2015 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 83

Tips for starting to build your Talent Brand Strategy

3 tips when beginning your branding strategy

1. Get buy in from key stakeholders

Show visuals of how your brand looks today

Compare with your peers

Use addressable market data

2. Identify the business need you are trying to address

i.e. we are expanding in to a new market, we will lose £X if we do not find the right

people for this project.

3. Agree success metrics upfront

Very hard to prove success if we never clarified what success looks like from the

beginning

Appendix

87

So why does this matter

for Recruitment teams?

Because

Content is

proven to drive

bottom line

hiring results

Companies who post at least

1 status update / week on LinkedIn…

Get 40% more views

to their

LinkedIn job

postings.

and 25% more apply

clicks