Australia’s robust economy has defied the financial downturn that has savaged many other countries around the world. The brain drain of Australian talent that escaped these shores in pursuit of fame and fortune overseas is now looking over its shoulders and recalling fond memories of home. The reality is that as more Australian companies commit to re-hiring after a long market drought the expats now see bigger employment opportunities back here while the US and Europe in the main are still floundering in a financial black hole. And so the tide turns. Recruitment agencies here are starting to receive accelerating numbers of enquiries from expats seeking new opportunities of better jobs, higher paid jobs, more job security and the opportunity to soak up the sun on a decent beach once again. Yes, there is always a seasonal shift to these shores but the expats now have more reason to return.
With new job numbers increasing by 40,000 in October pushing the unemployment rate down to 5.7 percent compared to 7.9 percent in the UK and 9.5 percent in the US, there is good reason for them to pack their bags. The Australian Bureau of Statistics claims we worked an additional 13.4 million hours last month.
Helping them in their quest to head home are Australian employers who battened down the hatches during the economic storm, hid beneath their desks, stopped communicating and ignored the golden rules of employee engagement. These are the ones whose employer brand strength has been diminishing over the months, leading to disengaged employees who are now heading for the door. Many employers are waking up to the fact that the investment needed to build a robust employer brand is far less than the cost of replacing valuable staff. An employee exodus in the coming months has even been suggested by the more notorious media commentators. Expats here they come.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia with affiliates in Melbourne, Gold Coast, London, Singapore and Mumbai.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Don’t say we didn’t tell you
I would have thought it was pretty obvious really. You should have seen it coming a mile away. You didn’t need tea leaves to give you a sign. If you’d read only a little bit of the material we’ve been pumping out these last 12 months you’d have got an inkling of what is now starting to happen. And it took those good people down at Hudson to spell it out for us. Employees are going to do some walking. Yes, you heard it first right here, unless you’ve already visited the Hudson website, read the papers today and scanned twenty or so Google-friendly blogs. They’ll do it after they’ve trawled Seek, checked out a few job ads in the paper and visited a few of those nice recruiting people. So if you’re a boss or one of those HR types, don’t come complaining to me that a whole stream of employees are giving you the wry smile and pushing the dreaded envelope across the table in your direction. I warned you. I told you 12 months ago that those organisations who build and maintain a strong employer brand will come out smelling of roses once the market recovery happens. Those who didn’t heed the warning would rue the day they stopped communicating with their employees, hid under their desk, went on a long fishing holiday and scribbled a note about a clampdown on pay rises and had their secretary pin it on the canteen notice board when everyone had gone home. Tsk tsk. For employers the news isn’t good. Evidently the Hudson 20:20 Series report Talent Tightrope: Managing the Workplace through the Downturn involved 3,000 employees (and 247 employers) across Australia and New Zealand, and goes something like this:
The good news for employers...
> more than a third of employees said they would consider a pay freeze or reducing or losing a bonus
The bad news for employers...
> in 2008 63 percent stated that an insufficient salary was the main reason for them to leave a job... in 2009 it was only 45 percent
> ‘career development considerations’ were far more important to the majority as the reason they quit their jobs
> 44 percent of employees indicated that employee morale had plummeted
> 26 percent of employers thought that workplace morale had dropped
> 35 percent of employees are increasingly concerned about the impact of the downturn on their personal circumstances
> 32 percent of employees are genuinely concerned about losing their jobs
> 42 percent of employees said they feel their job is less secure than the same time last year
> 47 percent of employees are seeking a new role
> 56 percent of employees would consider roles they previously would not have looked at
In the words of Mark Steyn, CEO of Hudson A/NZ... “In every aspect of current workplace sentiment, whether job satisfaction, motivation, morale, perceived stress levels or job security, employers are clearly unaware of their employees’ frame of mind”. He went on to say “If employees are disgruntled or unhappy with their current roles, the moment a better opportunity presents itself they will leave. It is this danger of a mass exodus that employers must be aware of and take urgent steps to avoid.”
But wait, there’s more...
Another survey by recruitment firm Aequalis Consulting just happened. This is what they gleaned from 280 job seekers.
> 45 percent lack trust in senior management
> 62 percent were experiencing lower morale
> only 22 percent are not planning to move jobs when economic recovery happens
But wait, there’s even more... another survey by global recruitment consultancy Robert Half has found
> 77 percent of professional workers expect a pay increase once the market recovers
So there you have it. The good news for recruitment agencies is that 47 per cent of employees are seeking a new role. The bad news for employers is that 47 per cent of employees are seeking a new role. The good news for job seekers is that those plum jobs of 12 months ago are going to come back again pretty soon. The bad news for many employers is that they’re going to have plenty of envelopes sliding across the table if they haven’t got their act together.
The good news for employer branding consultants like Heywood Innovation is that...
> those organisations who fear what’s going on in employees minds had better commission an online employee survey quick smart while they’re still in their seats
> those cut-through recruitment campaigns are going to be needed again
> employers are going to need to communicate with staff again
> organisations who aren’t perceived as a good employer are going to need lots of help
> tired old intranets will need a rethink
> there is a need to create competent careers sections on many websites
As an employment branding professional I’m banking on the fact that most employers are just waking up to these facts and will probably be starting to feel a bit uneasy that bad things may be about to start happening to them. Their biggest fear is that they don’t know what employees are thinking right now.
I’ve been saying for quite a few months that “What you don’t know will hurt you the most”.
So what do I recommend you consider first?
If you’re one of these employers I recommend that you give serious consideration to an online employee survey to get inside your employees’ heads and figure out what they’re thinking and how happy they are. It may just save you from getting trodden underfoot by the stampede.
If you’re in Sydney or not too far away call me on 8256 3999 and we’ll work up a solution for you.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
The good news for employers...
> more than a third of employees said they would consider a pay freeze or reducing or losing a bonus
The bad news for employers...
> in 2008 63 percent stated that an insufficient salary was the main reason for them to leave a job... in 2009 it was only 45 percent
> ‘career development considerations’ were far more important to the majority as the reason they quit their jobs
> 44 percent of employees indicated that employee morale had plummeted
> 26 percent of employers thought that workplace morale had dropped
> 35 percent of employees are increasingly concerned about the impact of the downturn on their personal circumstances
> 32 percent of employees are genuinely concerned about losing their jobs
> 42 percent of employees said they feel their job is less secure than the same time last year
> 47 percent of employees are seeking a new role
> 56 percent of employees would consider roles they previously would not have looked at
In the words of Mark Steyn, CEO of Hudson A/NZ... “In every aspect of current workplace sentiment, whether job satisfaction, motivation, morale, perceived stress levels or job security, employers are clearly unaware of their employees’ frame of mind”. He went on to say “If employees are disgruntled or unhappy with their current roles, the moment a better opportunity presents itself they will leave. It is this danger of a mass exodus that employers must be aware of and take urgent steps to avoid.”
But wait, there’s more...
Another survey by recruitment firm Aequalis Consulting just happened. This is what they gleaned from 280 job seekers.
> 45 percent lack trust in senior management
> 62 percent were experiencing lower morale
> only 22 percent are not planning to move jobs when economic recovery happens
But wait, there’s even more... another survey by global recruitment consultancy Robert Half has found
> 77 percent of professional workers expect a pay increase once the market recovers
So there you have it. The good news for recruitment agencies is that 47 per cent of employees are seeking a new role. The bad news for employers is that 47 per cent of employees are seeking a new role. The good news for job seekers is that those plum jobs of 12 months ago are going to come back again pretty soon. The bad news for many employers is that they’re going to have plenty of envelopes sliding across the table if they haven’t got their act together.
The good news for employer branding consultants like Heywood Innovation is that...
> those organisations who fear what’s going on in employees minds had better commission an online employee survey quick smart while they’re still in their seats
> those cut-through recruitment campaigns are going to be needed again
> employers are going to need to communicate with staff again
> organisations who aren’t perceived as a good employer are going to need lots of help
> tired old intranets will need a rethink
> there is a need to create competent careers sections on many websites
As an employment branding professional I’m banking on the fact that most employers are just waking up to these facts and will probably be starting to feel a bit uneasy that bad things may be about to start happening to them. Their biggest fear is that they don’t know what employees are thinking right now.
I’ve been saying for quite a few months that “What you don’t know will hurt you the most”.
So what do I recommend you consider first?
If you’re one of these employers I recommend that you give serious consideration to an online employee survey to get inside your employees’ heads and figure out what they’re thinking and how happy they are. It may just save you from getting trodden underfoot by the stampede.
If you’re in Sydney or not too far away call me on 8256 3999 and we’ll work up a solution for you.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Let’s get back to business
In these recovering markets, I anticipate the following:
1 Employer emphasis is now shifting back to recruitment. After some of the toughest business conditions many organisations have ever experienced, employers realise more than ever that employees are the life blood of their organisation and can make the difference between success and failure. There is a fear however that employees have been ‘biding their time’ for the past year and may be now keen to test the recovering jobs market. A case for some urgent focus on employee engagement.
2 The ongoing strength of an organisation’s employer brand relies heavily on an ability to maintain communication with employees and address their concerns regarding the future and ongoing job security.
3 Companies are looking for ways to reduce recruitment costs. They are loathe to tolerate the high recruitment costs of previous years. Reducing costs however, is not about less communication and less marketing. It is about finding ways to be more capable and perform more recruitment tasks in-house.
4 The upturn will advantage those organisations that have used their time and resources wisely, to keep their employees informed and engaged with the company’s vision and confidence in the future.
5 A new style of company leader is emerging who is people-focused and can inspire a workforce to make deeper commitments to its employer. These newly engaged and motivated companies will be the new leaders in 2010.
6 Employer branding is increasingly recognised as an essential complement to a company’s corporate brand. An increasing proportion of advertising and marketing budgets will consequently be channelled into employee-focused activities.
7 Companies who define and strengthen their employment proposition will be favourably positioned ahead of competitors in recovering markets.
8 Recruitment companies will increasingly realise the value of employer branding to themselves and to their clients. They will stimulate closer relationships with practitioners of employer branding, particularly those with end-to-end service offerings.
9 Employees will expect their employer to be open and truthful about the employment experience and keep the promise that was made at the point of recruitment.
10 Organisations will realise that people are the essential fabric of their business and critical to future business success. Consequently they will have a deep desire to know employees’ present perception of the employment experience.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
1 Employer emphasis is now shifting back to recruitment. After some of the toughest business conditions many organisations have ever experienced, employers realise more than ever that employees are the life blood of their organisation and can make the difference between success and failure. There is a fear however that employees have been ‘biding their time’ for the past year and may be now keen to test the recovering jobs market. A case for some urgent focus on employee engagement.
2 The ongoing strength of an organisation’s employer brand relies heavily on an ability to maintain communication with employees and address their concerns regarding the future and ongoing job security.
3 Companies are looking for ways to reduce recruitment costs. They are loathe to tolerate the high recruitment costs of previous years. Reducing costs however, is not about less communication and less marketing. It is about finding ways to be more capable and perform more recruitment tasks in-house.
4 The upturn will advantage those organisations that have used their time and resources wisely, to keep their employees informed and engaged with the company’s vision and confidence in the future.
5 A new style of company leader is emerging who is people-focused and can inspire a workforce to make deeper commitments to its employer. These newly engaged and motivated companies will be the new leaders in 2010.
6 Employer branding is increasingly recognised as an essential complement to a company’s corporate brand. An increasing proportion of advertising and marketing budgets will consequently be channelled into employee-focused activities.
7 Companies who define and strengthen their employment proposition will be favourably positioned ahead of competitors in recovering markets.
8 Recruitment companies will increasingly realise the value of employer branding to themselves and to their clients. They will stimulate closer relationships with practitioners of employer branding, particularly those with end-to-end service offerings.
9 Employees will expect their employer to be open and truthful about the employment experience and keep the promise that was made at the point of recruitment.
10 Organisations will realise that people are the essential fabric of their business and critical to future business success. Consequently they will have a deep desire to know employees’ present perception of the employment experience.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
Sunday, September 13, 2009
“How many of your employees would describe your organisation as a great place to work?”
Gallup Australia undertakes a Biannual Australian Engagement Study in Australia. It surveys the levels of workplace engagement of Australian employees. Although the most recent study relies on 2008 figures and may not accurate reflect the 2009 situation (which may be worse), the study reveals that 21 per cent of employees are actively disengaged. What is very worrying is that this is estimated to be costing employers $33.5 billion annually! In addition to this, evidently 45 per cent of these employees intend to stay with their employer for the next twelve months (ie through 2009). The big challenge for the employers is how many of their disengaged employees can be transformed into engaged employees, and how will they achieve it?
One question that is guaranteed to make employers cringe is “How many of your employees would describe your organisation as a great place to work?” It’s a great leveller and a direct reflection on how the organisation performs as an employer.
I believe that it requires some determined questioning to accurately gauge levels of employee engagement. It is not a subject to be taken lightly as disengagement has a direct impact on an organisation’s bottom line – more so than most employers seem to realise. The world’s leading drinks producer Diageo relies on six questions which employees are required to answer annually. With the best of intentions, I really cannot believe this is a sufficient number. From the answers it receives, Diageo determines whether employees are ‘engaged’ or ‘super engaged’. Evidently 41 per cent are in the ‘super engaged’ category. This seems to be supported by voluntary turnover figures which dropped from 18.4 per cent to 13.5 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
Conducting online surveys to gain insight to employee perceptions is of significant value. Sadly, in my experience not too many employers conduct such surveys and certainly not regularly.
The next level however is to hold ongoing face-to-face meetings between varying groups of employees and senior management to provide employees the opportunity to engage in open dialogue (and prove, despite rumours to the contrary, that bosses are real people). A live meeting with ‘real’ people is much more valuable than reading an inter office memo. It’s where clarity, understanding, encouragement and inspiration tend to come from.
Ask yourself this question... Are regular meetings between employees and senior management part of your organisation’s culture, and actively encouraged? If not, why not?
Engagement is directly related to employees having a great place within which to work and thrive. Open and honest communication is a key contributor to this.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
One question that is guaranteed to make employers cringe is “How many of your employees would describe your organisation as a great place to work?” It’s a great leveller and a direct reflection on how the organisation performs as an employer.
I believe that it requires some determined questioning to accurately gauge levels of employee engagement. It is not a subject to be taken lightly as disengagement has a direct impact on an organisation’s bottom line – more so than most employers seem to realise. The world’s leading drinks producer Diageo relies on six questions which employees are required to answer annually. With the best of intentions, I really cannot believe this is a sufficient number. From the answers it receives, Diageo determines whether employees are ‘engaged’ or ‘super engaged’. Evidently 41 per cent are in the ‘super engaged’ category. This seems to be supported by voluntary turnover figures which dropped from 18.4 per cent to 13.5 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
Conducting online surveys to gain insight to employee perceptions is of significant value. Sadly, in my experience not too many employers conduct such surveys and certainly not regularly.
The next level however is to hold ongoing face-to-face meetings between varying groups of employees and senior management to provide employees the opportunity to engage in open dialogue (and prove, despite rumours to the contrary, that bosses are real people). A live meeting with ‘real’ people is much more valuable than reading an inter office memo. It’s where clarity, understanding, encouragement and inspiration tend to come from.
Ask yourself this question... Are regular meetings between employees and senior management part of your organisation’s culture, and actively encouraged? If not, why not?
Engagement is directly related to employees having a great place within which to work and thrive. Open and honest communication is a key contributor to this.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Why do only 16%* of companies have a clear employer branding strategy?
Based on these figures sourced by the Employer Branding Institute, you could be forgiven for thinking that many employers don’t really care too much for their employees. Or aren’t they aware of this ‘employer branding thing’? Is it a new phenomenon in the developed world only embraced by the biggest of corporate achievers? Is it too expensive to entertain by ordinary companies? Will it distract HR managers from their recruiting tasks and holding exit interviews? Is it not on the CEO’s vision-for-the-future agenda? Was it a good idea that got swept under the carpet when these recessionary times hit home? Are employers sitting on the fence waiting to see if it can make the early adopters some money and keep employees in their place? Do they think it’s an overnight sensation and will be quietly forgotten in 2010? Is it a new Chinese idea designed to corrupt the minds of honest workers? Is it something those good people from McKinsey dreamed up in their lunch hour? Is it a crank idea published on Youtube by geeks working in the Social Sciences Dept at Manchester University? Are they confusing it with Facebook? Is Tom Cruise promoting it? Are they adopting the stance “We’ve already got a logo and a Flash website and we don’t need another one”? “We bought one on the internet and it only cost US$49”. “The CEO’s wife says that they should be happy to work for us”. “We’ll perhaps try it next year when we have more time”. “Our competitors don’t have one so there doesn’t seem much point in us having one”. “We have to get the car park re-surfaced which is our No.1 priority right now”. “We’ll have one so long as it doesn’t conflict with the staff Christmas Party”. “Can we have one for a trial period?” “Does it come with a guarantee?” “Our new uni graduate studied employer branding so I guess we’re OK for the moment thanks”. “Is this EVP stuff something your company has dreamt up?” “This other crowd came in to see us last week and they’re selling employer brands for $2,500, and they’re including a free course in NLP”. “Our sales team are dead against anything that takes up their valuable time and hampers their sales efforts”. “My PA looked at your literature, laughed and told me that employees only ever want one thing... more money”. “Sorry, we’ve already developed our own EVP with some help from our interior designers”. “We’d love to take you up on your offer of developing for us a new employer brand, but we’re just about to enter into a merger with another company – call us again this time next year”. “Our HR manager says she’s too stressed to think about employer branding right now”. “The CEO’s son is developing one for us as part of his school project”.
Where was I? Oh yes. You need a clearly defined strategy before you start off down the super highway to developing an effective employer brand. There are many potholes and a collapsed bridge waiting for the unwary. Just like M&A branding, the chances of success can be remarkably low if you don’t decide up front what and how much you want to get out of it. And it makes a whole heap of sense if the CEO and senior management are leading the process. It needs to be totally aligned with the organisation’s overall business strategy and not just a ‘one-off’ initiative from the marketing department. With some careful planning it will make a significant contribution to the organisation’s ability to attract, engage and retain talent.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
*down from 37% – info received from Brett Minchington of renamed Employer Brand International
Where was I? Oh yes. You need a clearly defined strategy before you start off down the super highway to developing an effective employer brand. There are many potholes and a collapsed bridge waiting for the unwary. Just like M&A branding, the chances of success can be remarkably low if you don’t decide up front what and how much you want to get out of it. And it makes a whole heap of sense if the CEO and senior management are leading the process. It needs to be totally aligned with the organisation’s overall business strategy and not just a ‘one-off’ initiative from the marketing department. With some careful planning it will make a significant contribution to the organisation’s ability to attract, engage and retain talent.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
*down from 37% – info received from Brett Minchington of renamed Employer Brand International
Thursday, July 23, 2009
A powerful business tool
Believe it or not there are still some organisations out there who don’t rate employer branding in the ‘must have’ category (yet). They don’t even realise they have one and that it probably isn’t performing quite as well as it should. Do they spend all their time trying to get more customers to buy more product and wonder why it’s one long struggle? Do they wonder why the big advertising dollars they’ve entrusted to their advertising/communication/keepers-of-the-brand aren’t getting the results they want... or are they just blaming it all on the financial downturn? Did they commission research to find out from their customers and potential customers why they aren’t too enamoured with the product/brand on offer and why wallets/purses are remaining closed? Did they ever wonder if it might be something to do with the fact that employees haven’t been quite as engaged with their employer and job these last twelve months or so?
Employees have had it pretty tough this year. They’ve seen markets fall, companies go under, unemployment rise, promotion prospects die a death, house values plummet and disposable income reduce. No wonder sales teams are distracted and disengaged, morale is low and they don’t quite have the same enthusiasm to engage with customers the way they used to. They’ve lost faith in the organisation and what it used to stand for. They’re questioning its ability to survive/grow/provide for them excellent career prospects. They’re keeping their heads low or, if they’re really worried, scanning the employment pages. And it doesn’t help if employers aren’t too forthcoming with information on what’s happening with the business, thereby leaving employees in a bit of a vacuum. The future for many employees is presently looking a bit fuzzy, and will probably remain so for some time.
Customers have a knack of picking up on changes in companies, products and sales staff. They’re fickle and unforgiving. They want to believe sales staff are really enthusiastic about the product they’re selling, have complete faith in it and are being really honest about its attributes. That slightly disengaged look, the hesitation, the distant gaze, the forced smile, the curt responses... won’t sell product. The customer has second thoughts and walks away.
People sell products and services. They’re essential to the sales process and convincing customers that the brand is aligned with their needs and the product is something they really need to own.
There’s a big market readjustment going on out there. It’s called competitive advantage. In 2008 organisations were going at it hammer and tongs fighting the marketing wars striving to gain market advantage by optimising sales techniques, increasing advertising budgets etc ... all the usual stuff that goes on. This year much of that has gone out the window. Money is scarce. Everyone has pulled back so we’re lead to believe. Canny organisations however, those with vision who recognise that a distressed market is an opportunity to get ahead of the competition, are investing in their people right now to get them primed and pumped up to take advantage of the recovering markets and leave competitors behind. This is where the value of employer branding comes to the fore. Because as we all know... you start on the inside first don’t you? Unless you do, customers will never be inspired by your sales staff.
Unless sales staff engage with their employer, customers won’t engage with your sales staff, so they won’t engage with your product. And everything will grind to a halt. And we don’t want that now do we? I recommend that organisations channel some of those precious advertising dollars into something more immediate. It’s called employer branding.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
Employees have had it pretty tough this year. They’ve seen markets fall, companies go under, unemployment rise, promotion prospects die a death, house values plummet and disposable income reduce. No wonder sales teams are distracted and disengaged, morale is low and they don’t quite have the same enthusiasm to engage with customers the way they used to. They’ve lost faith in the organisation and what it used to stand for. They’re questioning its ability to survive/grow/provide for them excellent career prospects. They’re keeping their heads low or, if they’re really worried, scanning the employment pages. And it doesn’t help if employers aren’t too forthcoming with information on what’s happening with the business, thereby leaving employees in a bit of a vacuum. The future for many employees is presently looking a bit fuzzy, and will probably remain so for some time.
Customers have a knack of picking up on changes in companies, products and sales staff. They’re fickle and unforgiving. They want to believe sales staff are really enthusiastic about the product they’re selling, have complete faith in it and are being really honest about its attributes. That slightly disengaged look, the hesitation, the distant gaze, the forced smile, the curt responses... won’t sell product. The customer has second thoughts and walks away.
People sell products and services. They’re essential to the sales process and convincing customers that the brand is aligned with their needs and the product is something they really need to own.
There’s a big market readjustment going on out there. It’s called competitive advantage. In 2008 organisations were going at it hammer and tongs fighting the marketing wars striving to gain market advantage by optimising sales techniques, increasing advertising budgets etc ... all the usual stuff that goes on. This year much of that has gone out the window. Money is scarce. Everyone has pulled back so we’re lead to believe. Canny organisations however, those with vision who recognise that a distressed market is an opportunity to get ahead of the competition, are investing in their people right now to get them primed and pumped up to take advantage of the recovering markets and leave competitors behind. This is where the value of employer branding comes to the fore. Because as we all know... you start on the inside first don’t you? Unless you do, customers will never be inspired by your sales staff.
Unless sales staff engage with their employer, customers won’t engage with your sales staff, so they won’t engage with your product. And everything will grind to a halt. And we don’t want that now do we? I recommend that organisations channel some of those precious advertising dollars into something more immediate. It’s called employer branding.
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Do employees have a high regard for a company’s commitment to CSR?
Just when you thought you’d mastered corporate governance... CSR arrives on the scene.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines it as ‘... the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development, while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large’.
The Australian Human Rights Commission describes it as ‘corporations having a degree of responsibility not only for the economic consequences of their activities, but also for the social and environmental implications.’
No longer is it sufficient to simply provide jobs, pay taxes and provide customer service. It’s all about your organisation committing itself to the present and future wellbeing of society, and actively supporting a sustainable global economy. CSR is widely recognised as a major contributor to company reputation – and we all know how important that is to business success – inevitably impacting on share price and product sales.
Potential employees are more likely to seek out organisations who can demonstrate a commitment to CSR. An organisation’s CSR activities can have a measurable influence on employee morale and retention. Employees who are satisfied with their organisation’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility are likely to be more positive, more engaged and more productive than those working for less responsible employers.
Ask yourself this. How highly is your organisation regarded in the local community? What measure does it take to protect the environment? Does it actively support good causes? Does it look after its employees? Does it have a reputation for caring?
There is increasing demand for organisations to be more open, more accountable and willing to report publicly on their performance in social and environmental arenas – no matter what their size or activities.
Common views on CSR range from...
‘It is fundamental to the positive reputation a business builds in the minds of its employees’
‘It distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses’
‘It is nothing more than superficial window-dressing’
‘It is an attempt to place more control over powerful multinational corporations’
“Organisations with no measurable commitment to CSR are less likely to attract top performers”
What is your view?
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines it as ‘... the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development, while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large’.
The Australian Human Rights Commission describes it as ‘corporations having a degree of responsibility not only for the economic consequences of their activities, but also for the social and environmental implications.’
No longer is it sufficient to simply provide jobs, pay taxes and provide customer service. It’s all about your organisation committing itself to the present and future wellbeing of society, and actively supporting a sustainable global economy. CSR is widely recognised as a major contributor to company reputation – and we all know how important that is to business success – inevitably impacting on share price and product sales.
Potential employees are more likely to seek out organisations who can demonstrate a commitment to CSR. An organisation’s CSR activities can have a measurable influence on employee morale and retention. Employees who are satisfied with their organisation’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility are likely to be more positive, more engaged and more productive than those working for less responsible employers.
Ask yourself this. How highly is your organisation regarded in the local community? What measure does it take to protect the environment? Does it actively support good causes? Does it look after its employees? Does it have a reputation for caring?
There is increasing demand for organisations to be more open, more accountable and willing to report publicly on their performance in social and environmental arenas – no matter what their size or activities.
Common views on CSR range from...
‘It is fundamental to the positive reputation a business builds in the minds of its employees’
‘It distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses’
‘It is nothing more than superficial window-dressing’
‘It is an attempt to place more control over powerful multinational corporations’
“Organisations with no measurable commitment to CSR are less likely to attract top performers”
What is your view?
Tony Heywood is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.
tony@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au
www.brandsynergy.com.sg
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