💡 Employer Brand Headlines: The "I Don't Wanna" Edition (#129)
My mission: move the conversation around employer brand forward.
Employer Brand Headlines, is brought to you by James Ellis.
In this issue…
Panic! at the ATS
Not joking about company values
Ask better questions
The big idea
I get it. You are surrounded by the articles and podcasts and news stories about the great resignation. Your boss is surrounded by them. Their boss is surrounded by them. I’m surrounded by them (and not just because I like to collect interesting things to share with you). I even saw a story that “lack of talent” is currently the #1 CEO fear in the US (personally, I suspect that after seeing Netflix and Peloton’s stock drop +20% in one day, lack of talent went to the number two biggest fear).
If everyone’s reporting it, it must be true, right? I mean, no one’s reporting having too much staff, are they? Have you seen any articles about how they have working harder, but they are still able to hire great people who do great work? Me, neither. But then, those stories don’t make the clicks happen, I guess.
But people are getting hired every day. People around the country and around the world who have talent and desire to use it are looking for fulfilling work in places that value them. And they quite often find it. I did it. Some (maybe even a lot) of you have recently did. When you went through your recruiting process, did you smell panic, or did it seem within bounds of how recruiting usually works? If there was a real panic, would I still be waiting to hear about three jobs I applied for in September, or would recruiters be asking me who they could talk to in my network, offering me a cash bonus?
For all the stories about companies freaking out, living and working in terror that their entire offices will quit and they won’t be able to hire replacements, there are hundreds or thousands of companies making adjustments and getting on with it.
Did you hear about the hospital in Wisconsin SUING 11 people who just quit to go to another hospital. And a judge issued an injunction! Can you imagine how horrible it is to work at that hospital that 11 people leave in the same week and leadership’s reaction is to ask a judge to force them to stay?! These are the companies who are terrified of the great resignation. These are the places who use a salary like a cudgel, beating people they consider helpless to leave into staying at a job they hate… even when they have new jobs somewhere else.
Am I describing your company? Probably not (I hope not, anyway). Are you in danger of people who feel fed up and unseen and unvalued leaving? Sure. Should you pay people what they are worth (instead of what you can get away with)? Yes. Should you offer benefits and flexibility to suggest that you understand that we are living in a pandemic seemingly without end? Yes. Should your management training stress something more important than “how to run a PIP without getting us sued”? Absolutely.
The fight to get the talent you need to understand the value exchange of working for you has gotten more transparent and complex, but that just means you need to up your game and keep up.
So stop panicking. There’s still work for us all to do.
Podcast update
Yeah, I warned you I was bringing this back, and here we are. The Talent Cast’s Talent Chooses You audiobook, episode #1 of ~27 is now live and available where ever you get your podcast fix.
Headlines!
You want predictions? You got ‘em.
In one folder, this is 127 different marketing agency’s 2022 trends, outlooks and predictions. If you’re walking to a meeting with marketing or leadership, skim a few of these to get your head straight. [SweatHead Community]
A serious moment for values (stop snickering…)
1: There is a huge gap between a company’s stated values and an employee’s values.
2: There is a huge gap between a company’s stated values and their actions.
3: There is no #3 other than to say that until you resolve points 1 and 2, you should probably go ahead and shut up about your company’s values.
Want to make an impact? Change your questioning habits.
Companies are complex, messy, and political mechanism to solve problems. They work better when the people in them are better at questioning. There’s a lot of good stuff here for anyone going through an internal EVP process [strategy+business]
Why Brand Strategy Is Important
Turns out, we’re not the only ones who have to fight the “branding is important” fight. (see also: Reversing The Decline Of Marketing’s Role) [Branding Strategy Insider]
What email subject lines are working now?
The Hustle A/B tests 4 subject lines every single day to 1.5 million readers. What works? You’ll be surprised. [via Recruiting Brainfood]
The customer (experience) is always right
The thing about CX that we need to understand is that it already exists, and that whatever a candidate sees, feels and experiences IS the CX. [Siegel+Gale]
How are people changing priorities in the new year?
More grist for the mill around the idea that people are spending more time (and money) thinking about to make their lives better in very different ways. This extends to how they think about work. [Google Trends]
Why Yesterday’s Consumer Insights Are No Longer Enough
‘[A brand’s] competitive advantage is rooted in their understanding of the nuances of human behavior to create meaningful differentiation. Their insight may materialize into an incredible feature, a desirable style of service, or a motivating brand promise and societal contribution – something that sparks a strong emotional connection and ongoing brand desire.” Seems relevant [Branding Magazine]
The Programmatic Poop Funnel
I remember being in an agency selling programmatic media and hearing the pitches to clients that these ads were magic. Turns out, they are magically able to put money in agency’s and tech’s pocket, but not so magic at increasing awareness and action. [Ad Contrarian]
Inside the fortune cookie
“All truth is a tale I tell myself.” -Brion Gysin
Thanks, everyone!
There are now more than 1,200 links in the link archive. Enjoy!
Finally, if you have a question, just reply to this email and it comes directly to me.
Cheers and thanks!
-James Ellis (LinkedIn | Twitter | Podcast | Articles)
Where the subject line came from:
The Call - I Don’t Wanna
No one has a voice like Michael Been’s. No one.
