Do you care enough to attract top talent?

How socially responsible is your organisation? Do you realise how important a factor this has become in your ability to attract and retain top talent? Many of the Generation X and Y job candidates prefer a socially responsible organisation over one that relies on ‘old school’ remuneration and benefits. Some might say that they are the caring generation, one that wants to make a difference to the world and one that is increasingly selective when making their next career move.

So what is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines corporate responsibility as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce, their families and the local community and society at large.

So how does an organisation embrace CSR in an honest and meaningful way?

It takes a lot more than a community newsletter and having staff plant a few trees. It requires a close look at the organisation’s behaviours and business practices. Are they totally ethical, responsible and considerate of the impact they have on staff, stakeholders, society and the environment?

“...a genuine attempt by an organisation to build meaningful relationships between the corporate sector and the rest of society”

As with most organisational initiatives, it has to be driven from the top and permeate all the way to the bottom. It must be an integrated part of day-to-day business that is constantly monitored and refined. Employee engagement with CSR only happen when open consultation happens at all levels, from the boardroom to the factory floor. It is a long term commitment, a keystone in the organisation’s foundations, not a flippant overnight PR gesture to satisfy boardroom concerns.

“...operates in ways that meet, or exceed, the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business”

CSR strategies can be wide ranging, such as facilitating disabled workers, considerations for indigenous and ethnic workers, environmental initiatives, safety policies, health & wellbeing programs, flexible work options and community sponsorships.

CSR conscious organisations are tuned in to the power of people and the positive impact an engaged and inspired workforce can have – which inevitably leads to success in the community and success in business.

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg

Share on Facebook

Communicating on the inside

For an organisation to achieve optimal employee engagement, it must communicate with its audiences clearly, appropriately and consistently and back this up with appropriate behaviours. Employees need to believe what they read, hear and see.

The CEO and senior team need to champion communications that inform and motivate employees, that consistently reinforce company values and attitudes with a ‘look & feel’ and voice that is recognised as belonging to that organisation. They must demonstrate a caring and responsible attitude and always remain visible and accessible.

Communications play a key role where regular ‘face to face’ meetings are difficult to arrange – either because people are in different locations or they simply cannot find the time as a result of intense workloads. They bridge the gap of painting the bigger picture of ‘what’s happening at the top’ and how it impacts on the way the business is run and its future potential.

Feed in the ‘bigger picture’ messages as well as the day-to-day stuff. Communications to employees should clarify the organisation’s vision, direction and values on an ongoing basis. This will deliver a level of comfort that the organisation is in safe and capable hands and reinforce the importance of the role that employees play in achieving objectives.

“I’ve really no idea what they have in mind”
When communications don’t happen, employee engagement diminishes.
> CEO and senior management start to become invisible
> employees become critical of the senior team and perceive that they don’t care or don’t want to make their intentions known
> employee morale begins to suffer and motivation goes out the window

“I’m busy. I’ll read it next week”
Too much communication on the other hand can be bad. Employees can find it difficult to filter out the important messages that they need to take note of. Communications can become bland, featureless and struggle for original content. They ‘move off the radar’. Once this happens it is very difficult to re-engage with employees.

“That’s not what my manager told me”
Frontline managers often become the messengers of organisational goals, strategy and performance. Care must be taken to ensure that they communicate messages accurately and consistently and have the necessary training and tools to do so. Failure to do so may cause them to shy away from the responsibility or make a half hearted effort which is inconsistent with communications from other managers. Fragmented and diluted messages may do more harm than good. Managers should be well briefed on the objectives and content of communications to ensure enterprise-wide consistency and take up. Organisations should adopt best practice by briefing managers, sharing the information with them and giving them direction on how it should be delivered to employees.

“Some of it got lost in the translation”
Avoid disengagement with other offices and business units. Internal communications are more difficult where offices are in multiple locations or an organisation comprises different business units. They may need to be adjusted to suit local audiences, local culture and languages. What works in Papua New Guinea may not work in Manchester, and what works in a filling station may not work at the refinery. Respect cultural differences and ensure communications are tailored specifically to local conditions. It requires help from people on the ground who possess insight and in-depth knowledge of the local audience –
> does the message need to be adapted? 
> does it need additional explanation?
> does it need to be translated?
> will it cause offence?
> is the style and tone appropriate for this audience?
> will it make any sense?

“We forgot to include the creative WIIFM factor”
One of the main aims of internal communications is to motivate employees and hopefully inspire a change or enhancement in behaviours. To achieve this often means engaging with them creatively on an intellectual and emotional level and delivering on the WIIFM factor – What's In It For Me. By this I mean having a recognisable theme such as sports to provide a performance-related aspect to the communication – teamwork and striving to win... or space travel – the quest to go beyond accepted limits and chart new territory. The hope is that the employee will relate to the metaphor and be inspired by the brand vision, embrace the challenge, engage as a team member and push the boundaries.

“The community has a lot of respect for my employer”
More and more employees want to be reassured that they are working for an employer that conducts itself in an ethical and responsible manner and respects local communities and the environment – an employer that is not subject to adverse media attention for unseemly CSR behaviour and malpractice. The big mistake many companies make is not to involve employees in the development of CSR strategy and communications. Let them contribute and be part of it. Get them to understand what it is all about and how important it is that the required behaviours must be demonstrated by everyone, not just the company. It deserves a lot more effort than just ticking the boxes in the annual CSR report.

Remember that it is highly likely that the investment you make in internal communications will not only have a positive effect on your employees but also on the financial performance of your business.

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg

Share on Facebook

Australia – Is your employer brand under threat?

How are the deteriorating economic conditions in global markets affecting companies’ employer brands? Business confidence in Australia has dropped to its lowest levels since the September 2001 terrorist attacks, influenced by soaring food and fuel prices and high interest rates. Regardless of this, it is suggested that unemployment will remain steady at 4.3%.

The National Australia Bank’s monthly business survey indicates that employment conditions have deteriorated to record their first negative monthly reading in over six years.

In Australia Hudson produce a regular report on the state of employment entitled the ‘Hudson Report on Employment Expectations’. This substantial report which has established itself as a key socio-economic indicator for the Australian market surveyed more than 7,000 employers from more than 19 core industry groups.

The results for the July-September 2008 quarter include the following:

> 34.2% of these employers indicated an intention to increase permanent staff levels, a fall of 3.7% over the previous quarter

> figures for individual states were:
ACT 30.0%
WA 52.8%
QLD 42.2%
SA 42.8%
NSW 32.8%
VIC 28.3%
The continuing resources boom is helping maintain employer optimism at the peak, however sentiment in construction/property/engineering is the highest at 53.4% with resources a close second at 45.8%.

> 52.6% expected to maintain present numbers of staff

> 6.6% intend to decrease permanent staff levels

Overall these reports are not painting a particularly bleak picture. Although business confidence has obviously dropped, there is no suggestion of massive layoffs, bankruptcies and recruitment stoppages.
The difficulties experienced by recruiters to find quality talent remain and are unlikely to diminish for some time. Organisations are still faced with the continuing task of retaining top talent and keeping them engaged and motivated.

I guess those people at Heywood Innovation still have a job to do.

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg

Share on Facebook

Too many empty chairs...

It seems that despite much publicised recessionary trends we still have too many jobs that can’t be filled. Or is it that too many employment brands aren’t functioning the way they should? Or are people just too interested in excessive amounts of leisure time?

According to a recent Manpower survey Australia in particular is experiencing difficulties getting bums on seats with 52% experiencing difficulty finding staff. Mind you it’s even worse elsewhere - take Singapore for example with 57%, Hong Kong with 61%, Japan 63% and Romania 73%. Anyone want a job in Romania? On a worldwide basis 31% of employers have this challenge.


As you would anticipate, there is a reverse trend in the Americas, where most of the present economic problems are rooted. Here employer numbers having trouble finding employees have more than halved compared with last year.

In biggest demand are skilled manual trades, sales reps, technicians, engineers, management/executives, labourers, administrative assistants, drivers, accounting and finance staff and IT staff. But surely there should be an even bigger demand for employment branding consultants to help sort out this mess! You have our phone number right?


Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singpore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg

Share on Facebook

HI POD - Are your employees leaving before you find out their name?

Listen to HI POD - Are your employees leaving before you find out their name?

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.

Are your employees leaving before you find out their name?

Hey guess what, the latest statistics out there in employer branding land suggest that 25 percent of new recruits decide how long they will stay by the end of the first week in their new job. It goes further to suggest that over 50 percent make that decision by the end of the first month. I guess first impressions count after all.


HR managers had better be very afraid.

Early leavers bolting for the door cite the following reasons…

1. Lack off cultural fit with the existing team
Did they not get to meet with the team before saying ‘yes’?
2. Misunderstandings as to what their role involved
Was it in writing, was it discussed at length and did they get the chance to discuss the role with fellow workers?
3. Being left unsupervised and unsupported too early
Did they have a supervisor and a buddy system?
4. They were not inducted properly nor given the support at the start
I’ll say that again… Did they have a supervisor and a buddy system?
5. They really were not interested in the first place
The interviewer should be trained to spot this in the application submission and detect any hesitation at the interview
6. They fear not being successful in the role
Perhaps they need more encouragement to get them through the first few weeks and to address any questions and concerns they may have

Employers need to know their own limitations and those of job candidates. A recruitment agency must take on the huge responsibility of identifying both and plan accordingly.

Post placement surveys of each new employee are essential to identify mismatches and misunderstandings so that appropriate action can be taken to rectify the situation. This can be tricky as some candidates have the ability to mask their true feelings down to a fine art, particularly if they have not as yet developed a sufficiently high level of trust in their new employer.

It is generally accepted that there are five key questions to be asked when selecting new employees:

1. Do they understand the organisation’s brand?
Can they identify positive aspects of the organisation’s brand? Can they identify how the organisation is differentiated from others? Do they understand what are the organisation’s values, vision and positioning in the market?

2. Are their behaviours appropriate?
Is the employee stable? Do their recognised habits fit with this role? Do they understand the company culture and know how to fit in?

3. How motivated are they?
Do they want to go the extra mile? Do they have business acumen? Do they want to get involved? Do they have the organisation’s success at heart?

4. How innovative are they?
Can they identify challenges and issues, think through them and find a solution?

5. Knowledge
Can they actually do the job? Do they understand what it entails? Do they have the education and training that enables them to perform the tasks required of them?

6. Comfortable in teams
Do they want to help people? Do they have the people skills to work together as a team and leverage other people’s ideas and involvement?

Tick these boxes and you’re likely to land a long term employee. If they leave early I guess you’d better engage a review of your employer brand. Or perhaps it’s the office wallpaper?


Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg

Share on Facebook

The Importance of People and Brand

People often assume that ‘branding’ is the sole domain of the marketing department in their organisation. In my experience it takes organisations a long time to recognise that brand promises must be delivered by all the people in the organisation, at all levels, all of the time. Customers are quick to spot the inconsistencies in brand delivery when they happen and can be very unforgiving.

Business articles on branding inevitably discuss the broader aspects of organisational, corporate, or employer branding. Organisations are waking up to the concept that having strong brands requires ongoing focus on the roles played by people, service delivery, process efficiencies, environments and consistency of experience delivered to customers by each one. Each relies on the other, with people being the overriding factor that determines overall success.

The employer brand must build positive perceptions externally as well as internally, particularly in the way an organisation promotes itself in the recruitment market place. Job applicants need to experience the company brand from everyone they meet, everything they read and everything they see – from viewing the first recruitment ad, through the interview process and at the point of induction.

It is important for an organisation to test how successful their employer brand is with new recruits, at each touch point that influences the candidate’s perception of the employer brand. This should be extended to identify employee, customer and stakeholder perceptions of the brand and the degree of consistency between them.

The customer experience of the brand should be paramount. Your people need to deliver on the brand promise and consistently develop better experiences for the customer that engage with them and win their hearts. At all customer touch points employees must display appropriate behaviours built on self-esteem, confidence and pride in the organisation.

Employees fully engaged by the brand are a key factor in differentiating businesses from competitors.

Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and joint founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.

Share on Facebook