⚡ Employer Brand Headlines: The "Blue Monday" Edition (#121)
My mission: move the conversation around employer brand forward.
Employer Brand Headlines, brought to you by James Ellis
In this issue
People can’t be told…
Culture and strategy
Being the only
The craft of employer branding
The big idea
When I was at Universum (hi Kortney!), we were working with data around 45-50k US-based surveys, which gave us some pretty interesting insights around how people think about and look for jobs.
Generally, we assume that people are primarily simple: self-interested and focusing on finding a job that gives them what they want, be it status, money, support, autonomy, etc.
But people aren’t that simple. They are in the process of making a complex, life-changing decision using data from multiple sources to make a bet on their own future. No one makes that decision on the basis of a single issue. It isn’t all about money or all about autonomy or all about status.
It’s like buying a house. We may say our most important factor is having great outdoor space, but if that outdoor space occurs in an unsafe neighborhood or in a space with a horrible school district, we’ll pass.
You’d think that women would care about working at a company that talks about their dedication to gender equality, but Universum’s data showed that it wasn’t something women were driven by. It was a factor, but buried in the middle where it wasn’t a clear driver of talent.
But you know who did list “commitment to gender equality” as a driver? LGBTQ folks. To them, it seemed that a public commitment to gender equality suggested that this was a company where they could fit in.
Prospects and candidates can’t be told you’re a great place to work. They are looking for the signals that matter to them about who you are and what matters. They are building their own picture of who you are as an employer within their minds.
Your job is to surround them with information about who you are and then keep the door open. Done well, the right people will “get it” and see you as a desirable place to work.
So stop trying to skip to the end and give them your answer. They HAVE to make their own.
One more thing...
For those of you wondering an audiobook version of Talent Chooses You, I have some good news. Recruitics is sponsoring the creation of the audiobook and turning it into a free podcast. That’s right: Season two of The Talent Cast is me reading my own book, annotating it and adding new ideas as notes, turning it into Talent Chooses You 2.0.
So starting in January, I’ll be releasing an episode every week for about 6 months. I’ll let you know when we start publishing!
Headlines!
What to Do When You’re the Only Woman in the Room
You want to hire more women. Or black folx. Or veterans (et al). Everyone starts the same way: hiring the first one. But asking someone to be the first one (the “only”) is a tough ask. Understanding what they are about to go through might help you hire and keep that first person as you figure out how to hire the next.
Mastering the connection between strategy and culture
Culture is what happens when no one’s there to enforce a rule. Consequently, your culture will determine how successful your strategy can be.
www.strategy-business.com • Share
Manage Your Talent Pipeline Like a Supply Chain
TL;DR: Widen the net to embrace diverse talent, reject college degrees as a blanket expectation and invest in growing internal staff. But when the HBR says it, your boss will listen…
#talentmarketing #recruiting #startups
The burden shouldn’t be on HR/TA/EB to explain why people should be able to post blogs and lead podcasts. The burden should be on Legal/HR/Comms to justify why they can’t.
Why Craft Makes for Better Branding
Lessons and meta-lessons in this one…
8 Ways to Foster a Positive Employee Experience in a Hybrid Workplace
My money says that 50% of companies will bend over backwards to return to the old normal (for better or worse), while hybrid and remote will stop being an outlier and become as normal as commuting.
www.yourthoughtpartner.com • Share
17 Obscure Persuasion Techniques for Conversion Optimization
I’m not big on building your brand on persuasion techniques, but there’s a lot to learn about how to attract attention and convert it into interest.
Empowering Employees to Be Your Biggest Advocates
Step one: tell them where the guide rails are. If they wonder “will I get in trouble for this?” they won’t advocate.
employerbrandwagon.com • Share
The IOC Champions the Power of Believing in Each Other
I can’t believe that no one has already used #BelieveInEachOther in their employer branding yet.
Inside the fortune cookie
“The rules for complex systems: a rule for generation, a rule for reduction and a rule for maintenance.“ -Brian Eno
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:
New Order - Blue Monday 88 (Official Music Video)
I’m currently reading Peter Hook’s book Substance about his time in New Order, from Ian Curtis’ death to the dissolution of New Order. It is a sloppy, messy book, and very few people come out of it looking smart or kind, but that’s why I have this song in my mind right now…
By James Ellis, Employer Brand Nerd
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