Portfolio Category: Employment Branding

Top Employer Brands Harness Culture Building Activities to Unify Employees 

 

The concept of “team-building” is not new, nor is it unique. But to understand the importance of teamwork, and how to develop an effective team, is often overlooked. When building a company’s culture, whether in the small business or startup space, the sense of belonging within the team is essential for understanding and buying into the mission of the organization.  

 

But that’s not all that bonding is good for. Team building activities aid in succinct problem-solving and decision making, fostering meaningful communication, boosting morale and ushering in a collaborative work culture. And of course, personal bonds between coworkers lead to greater employee retention and overall happiness in the workplace. 

 

However, more often than not, the mere mention of “team-bonding” activities elicits groans of displeasure. This does not need to be the case. We know that team bonding and creating effective lines of communication and collaboration are essential for company success. With a few fresh ideas, you can plan team building activities that your teams are sure to enjoy:

 

• Scavenger Hunt
  Photograph everything on a list within a certain time limit. The first team to complete each item on the list, wins!  https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/creative-team-outing-ideas

• Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower
  Have a few groups at different tables with 20 sticks of uncooked spaghetti, one roll of tape, one yard of string and one marshmallow on the table. Set a time limit, and start building the tallest tower. The one with the tallest tower that can stand on its own wins! https://www.wrike.com/blog/ultimate-guide-team-building-activities/

• Two Truths and a Lie
  Every team member secretly writes down two truths about themselves and one lie on a small piece of paper. Team members then have to guess which is the lie. It helps get to know each coworker a littler better. https://www.huddle.com/blog/team-building-activities/

• Retreats
  Taking the team building out of the office can shake up how people get to know each other.

• The Name Game
  Write the name of a famous person on a sticky note. Place the sticky note on the back of a team member. They then have to ask the rest of the team questions to try to figure out who they are.

• Group Volunteering
  People want to help people. Get everyone out of the office and giving back to a cause that matters to your team.

• Treasure Chest
  Have everyone write down something they really want in life. Place these notes in a box/treasure chest. Then go around the room, and everyone gives ideas on how that person can achieve their goals.

• Creative Happy Hours
  Plan a brewery tour at your local craft brewery, or host a wine tasting.

• Board Game Marathon
  Nothing brings people together like a bit of healthy competition and fun. Think about choosing some nostalgia inducing classics.

• Kickball Leagues
  Anyone can play this classic. Get into it. Make up team names, design t-shirts, compete!  

• Book Club/Show Club
  This is a cost-effective and easy way to get everyone involved. Choose a book and/or television series that everyone’s into. Catch up and talk theories each week. 

• Lunch Lotto
  Draw names monthly for a group of coworkers to have lunch together (on the company’s dime). Gets people who don’t normally talk to interact together and build better relationships within the company. https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/16-ideas-for-creating-a-stronger-team-and-better-culture.html 

• Fitness Competition with a Healthy Goal
  Create different teams with different goals. Each team member can come up with a goal intended for them to reach. https://baproinc.com/5-culture-building-activities-employees-will-appreciate/

• Feeding Time
  Have monthly pizza parties, coffee and donuts, or catered lunches at the office. People love food, especially if it’s free. It will give employees something to look forward to. https://theundercoverrecruiter.com/create-fun-company-culture/

• Education Days
  Take everyone to a seminar or class. Maybe it’s related to your field, or maybe it’s an art or cooking class.

• Murder Mystery Dinner Party
  Pick a scenario and theme for your party. Have everyone dress up according to the theme, and then provide name tags, maps, and suspect files. The group has to work together and solve the mystery.

• Fantasy Leagues
  Set up fantasy baseball or football leagues that everyone in the office can join. Up the stakes with a few prizes for the top performers at the end of the season.

• Idea Workshops
  Set aside an afternoon for employees to present ideas for the organization, and then allow the rest of the team to give feedback or bounce ideas off. 

• Video Game Tournament
  Bring out someone’s old console and play some fun co-op or party games like Mario Kart.

 

The time will come for you to host your own team building activities. Whether a small business, startup or large company, a successful workplace environment comes from effective team building. Take these concepts, and build on them to advance the team growth and effective communication strategies needed to develop the company culture and company success you’re after. It begins with your team.

 

 

Deconstructing Employment Branding to the Basics

 

Many traditional businesses are just now starting to have the conversation about how their company culture or human capital impacts their bottom line and many still struggle to see how employment branding can reduce expenses and increase productivity. Meanwhile, today’s fastest growing and most disruptive companies make corporate culture a priority, putting their people first. And, the positive results are indisputable — increased employee engagement, lower turnover, higher productivity, and stronger profits.

 

Just as consumers are harnessing the Internet to research and understand the products and services they want to buy, prospective employees are evaluating your brand to see if there is a mutual fit. On the consumer front, companies spend a lot of time, money, and resources measuring and evaluating the customer journey and all of the various touch points required to turn a browser into a buyer. To make that sale, they must garner trust, position themselves as an authority, and have social credibility.

 

Well, job candidates are making the same journey and it is just as important to gain their trust, position the company as an authority, and have strong social credibility. Yet, many companies still don’t take the time to examine the journey and touch points relevant to potential recruits.

In order to convert the job seeker into a recruit, it is essential to break down the various micro-moments of a candidate’s journey.

 

1. The Website

This is typically the first stop for prospects trying to gain an understanding of your brand’s products, services, mission, history, values, philanthropic contribution, and overall personality. Historically, websites were simply informational, but today they serve as a two-way conduit for engagement with both consumers and employees. They still contain information, which must be conveyed in a succinct and meaningful way. This information is essential to build trust and credibility with both parties.

 

Building out a careers page containing a company overview and available job positions isn’t enough, anymore. Brands must have a richer and more engaging experience, just as they do on the consumer side, with well-thought-out imagery, videos, PDF’s, case studies, and other content.  Employers must paint a clear picture of their values, and the sense of community they are trying to build.

 

2. Job Descriptions

This is the first touch point a prospect usually has with your company. While you want to convey what differentiates you from competitors and detail the roles and responsibilities of the position, it’s important to construct job descriptions in a way that helps to pre-qualify ideal candidates for you. We often see job descriptions that focus more on how the individual will support the business as opposed to how the business will support the individual or his or her role in contributing to the larger mission and vision of the organization. The job description is your company’s first chance to share your culture, share what makes your team have pride, and share its vision for how others might see themselves in that environment.

Some of the best job descriptions we have seen tap into people’s imagination and frame the personality, characteristics, and even habits that individuals might employ to be successful within the position. They paint a picture of what lies ahead and describe how success will be measured. Lastly, they encourage candidates to share their vision of the contributions they will make to the organization, which is far more telling than a simple resume or standard cover letter.

 

3. Culture Videos & Testimonials

Every brand has a narrative; a compelling story that defines its culture and builds community internally and externally. Some call it their “why.”  Carefully crafting this story in a meaningful and unique way allows brands to quickly build rapport and trust. Video allows people to get a more transparent sense one’s personality, authenticity, and values. Company culture videos can illuminate the inner workings and common ground for current and prospective employees alike.

 

Like any business plan or communications message, methodically and strategically crafting your message is imperative. Poor questions, the wrong tone, or stumbling through a testimonial doesn’t provide true value and can be detrimental.  When done strategically, company culture videos can attract people to your brand and reveal what it’s like to work there more effectively than words and photographs, alone.

 

4. Cause Marketing

Millennials and Gen Z are aligning with philanthropic causes at a younger age than their parents. Brands are quickly learning that a social impact initiative is important for their brand.  Tell the story of how your for-profit company has a larger impact through partnering with a non-profit organization. It can be a bridge that creates a stronger sense of community and engagement.

 

Either internally or externally, a strategic alliance with a non-profit can be a great way to highlight the impact your business is making. Patagonia, for example, recently used their $10 billion tax break, resulting from the Trump administration’s recent tax cuts, to help environmental causes in South America and Patagonia. The company’s continuous and sustained efforts have made a significant impact and consumers are clearly more than happy to pay a premium for outerwear and equipment if it means supporting the playground in which they use the gear.

 

It’s vital that you tell the right story and align with the right nonprofit, or all of this can be destructive to your brand. Being able to walk the talk, and get employees to go to these events, support these institutions financially, and sing the praises of your impact is more important than simply putting it on your website.

 

5. Interviewing & Onboarding

Your employment brand doesn’t just stop when you get on the phone with a candidate or have him/her into the office for an interview. Correspondence back and forth, how you say no, and how you bring people into the organization is representative of your employment brand as well.

 

We often tell companies how you say “no” is just as important as how you tell candidates “yes.” If a candidate receives a form email or, worse, no email at all, the company’s reputation can be irreversibly damaged. It’s important to evaluate the entire journey, including the interview process, the people with whom they interact, the onboarding process, and even how promotions are handled.

 

If people feel like they are sold a bad product, they can return it and will leave a bad review. When you are talking about employees, though, the consequences are far greater than a simple product return and bad review. If employees feel like they were misled, the ripple effect can be far more damaging. If they remain with the company, they may be less productive, less engaged, and less valuable. If they leave for a competitor, vendor, or strategic partner, they will spread the word about their experience, damage the employer’s reputation, and make it more difficult to attract talent going forward.

 

How to Successfully Approach Culture During Mergers or Acquisitions

The business of merging or acquiring a company creates significant people challenges. This is notably true for the many employees that don’t have a seat at the table during these game-changing decisions. Mergers and acquisitions usually cause big changes to the status quo. And, let’s face it, humans don’t always like change.

During the early stages of a merger or an acquisition, employees experience a lot of uncertainty over what their new workplace is going to be like, and what their role will look like in the new structure. This anxiety can create chaos and potentially damage the success of the business.

Whether your company is merging with another or gaining new leadership through an acquisition, CEOs and executives are responsible for calming employee anxiety during this seemingly unstable transition period. How do you do that? Well, mergers and acquisitions are two different beasts and should, therefore, be approached differently. But either way, establishing a clear culture and value system that people can jump on board with is absolutely essential. Keep reading to find out why cultural integration is the key to successful mergers or acquisitions.

Mergers –

A merger, or the process of combining two separate companies, is scary to employees, mostly because they’re accustomed to the way things have operated and are unsure of where their place in the new, larger company will be. Think of it this way– Imagine your family moving into a new home alongside another family. Will the rules be the same? Will you still have your own room? Living with another family would feel unnatural, right? Employees feel similarly about their work home being restructured to make room for new people and processes.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. People are scared of the unknown, so be sure employees understand how the two companies will integrate and what their role will be within the newly formed culture. This will ensure employees are prepared to deal with new teammates, managers, and daily operations.

Think that any two companies in the same industry can merge? Think again. Before a merger, executives need to first perform due diligence to ensure their two separate cultures will form a complementary dynamic. Finding common values and defining a culture that both sets of employees can get behind will guarantee the new company has a clear path and can efficiently move forward, instead of wasting time trying to figure out how to work together.

Don’t get us wrong, there will be some employee turnover in every merger. That’s natural. Not every employee will align with the newly integrated culture. If you properly educate employees and clearly define a synergistic culture, people that don’t fit will be easy to spot, and the team members who truly belong will feel at home right from the beginning.

Ignoring culture during a merger is detrimental because you run the risk of the two companies clashing, frustrating the majority of employees to the point where their productivity levels are severely lowered, or worse, they quit. Avoid your employees going through culture shock, and take the time to properly educate them on their new workplace environment. Do this as if  the success of the merger depends on it, because it does!

 

Acquisitions –

The process of being acquired can be equally confusing and stressful for employees. Though they won’t’ have to deal with being combined with another organization, they will have to come to terms with adjusting to new owners and, possibly, new office managers.

Often times, a company is acquired because it already possesses a strong company culture, a market-leading product or service, and great people. These same great employees love the current culture and unique energy of their workplace, so an acquisition can, understandably, cause them to worry that the acquiring company will change everything.

To make the acquisition as smooth and successful as possible, new owners should clearly and widely communicate ideas for the future of the company.

Putting everything on the table up front will create value and help employees be more comfortable during the transition. If employees aren’t aware of the new owners’ values, or feel they won’t align with them, they will be tempted to work somewhere else.

We get it, there are a lot of factors involved with making mergers and acquisitions a success, but integrating and defining culture and a core value system is the most important way to ensure morale, employee retention, and productivity levels remain high during these times of change. While the approaches to mergers and acquisitions are different, both depend upon understanding the importance of cultural integration and communicating with employees.

Don’t know where to start? SoCap Agency, a full-service Denver marketing agency, has a team of corporate culture experts to guide and mentor you through the tricky process of integrating culture during a merger or acquisition.

 



What You Need to Know About Retaining Millennial Employees

With the job scarcity of 2008 now in our rearview, the pendulum is swinging back the other way and the need for finding and keeping good talent is now a key business priority. If we are not skilled in attracting and keeping strong and capable workers, we face one of the greatest risk factors for business success.

Deloitte (2015) found that what leads businesses to long-term success is employee satisfaction, loyalty, and fair treatment, highlighting the strong correlation between talent management and bottom line business results.

Millennials in the Workplace:

Although older generations tend to see them as newcomers to the workplace, more than a third of American workers today are millennials (Pew Research). If Millennials are the greatest percentage of workers today, then reducing their turnover in our companies is critical to our business strategy. Helping Millennials see a career path is part of the strategy. Helping them develop as leaders can contribute to your talent management success.

Millennials are ambitious and ready to take on leadership positions to bring big changes to the workplace. They believe in tech and its ability to transform work, want to invest in innovation, and place greater value on mentoring and leadership development. And while millennials are still seen as the newcomers in the workplace, many are already taking the reins, implementing changes, and leading older generations.

Leadership Strengths:

Millennials tend to adopt a more inclusive and empathetic leadership style. With this more employee-centric leadership comes a greater desire to change traditional practices across the company. They understand the importance and need for development opportunities at every level of the organization, not just those who are already on top. Millennials want fair opportunities for all employees, understanding that more development benefits the organization with better leaders. In addition, while older generations are more comfortable with the way things have always been done, Millennial leaders are much more likely to question these traditions. In the SuccessFactors survey, Millennial executives were less confident in their organization’s ability to develop talent for the digital workplace and plan for succession than their peers of older generations.

Where Millennials Need Development:

While Millennials leaders are pushing for change within their organizations, many feel they don’t have the skills to do so. Overall, 63% of Millennials said their leadership skills aren’t being fully developed (Deloitte). And while many lead older employees every day, over one-third of Millennials surveyed said doing so is difficult (Beyond.com). While Millennials place less value on the traditional workplace hierarchy, it still exists, complicating their ability to lead effectively. Millennials aren’t the only ones who feel they don’t have the right skills for leadership positions — older generations feel the same way. Forty-five percent of Baby Boomer and Gen X respondents said that Millennials’ lack of managerial experience could have a negative impact on a company’s culture (Beyond.com).

Mentoring is a powerful tool for talent management of the Millennial workers and easing current pain points.

• Pain point #1: We have a tough time recruiting the RIGHT young people.
  • The mentoring fix: By offering internships and mentoring to top college performers, you then have your pick of those people when the time comes to hire. Over three-fourths of Millennials want to be mentored. They appreciate the immediate, robust feedback that mentoring can provide. When people know you have an active mentoring initiative, your organization becomes more attractive to young talent.

 

• Pain point #2: Our turnover rate is killing us. How do we retain the good ones?
  • The mentoring fix: Mentoring helps reduce turnover. Losing employees costs 100-300% of the replaced employee’s salary (SHRM). The good news is people are 77% more likely to stay their job when in a mentoring relationship, and 35% look for another job within 12 months if mentoring is not provided (Spherion). Retention rates are higher for mentees (72%) and for mentors (69%) than non-mentoring participants (49%) (Sun Microsystems). Mentoring helps keep valuable employees: Over 40% of internal job moves involving high potential employees end in failure(HBR), but mentoring reduces this possibility through regular accountability and encouragement to take on new skills and develop leadership abilities.

 

• Pain point #3: We don’t know how to engage Millennials and help them succeed.
  • The mentoring fix: Seventy-five percent of Millennials would like to have a mentor, looking to baby boomers for the learning and advice. (HireVue) Eighty-three percent of professionals would like to be involved in a mentoring program, yet only 29% are in workplaces that offer them (Robert Walters recruiting). When we encourage mentoring and other learning relationships, people become more engaged with their work and feel their efforts are noticed and appreciated.

 

Mentoring is just the beginning. Expanding learning and leadership development opportunities can help transform inventive millennials into effective and dynamic trailblazers. Helping your workers feel a sense of belonging and that they are important to the mission of your organization will help your people not only stay but actively contribute to the success of your company. If you can encourage your workers to embrace their influence and potential leadership, take one more step toward making an impact in their job and with those around them, your organization will begin to see real bottom-line results.

 

By Dr. Liz Selzer

 



 

What happens to an employee when there is a cultural mismatch?

When an employee leaves your company there are intangible costs associated to them exiting your workforce which many companies don’t recognize. From operations and procedures to contacts that they had which were never documented or transferred to their superiors or the new employee to morale within the workforce there are elements which organizations can’t tie KPI’s to easily.

In this infographic we highlight what is the true ripple effect of losing an employee and the reverberations that your company culture will feel echoing through the hallways. The hope is that you’ll see how a toxic culture will affect multiple layers of your organization and you can begin to understand the importance of creating a hyper-attractive culture.

 

 

 

 

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& which do you want to be known as?

 

What’s the difference between a mentor and coach?

I often get asked this question, and admittedly there are conflicting assertions out there about what role a mentor and coach play in personal and professional development.  While I would not argue this to my grave, I knew I had to come to an understanding of these two terms if I was to stay relevant in the leadership development industry.

Mentoring, by my definition, is “a reciprocal and collaborative learning relationship between two or more people who share mutual accountability for helping a mentee work toward integrated personal and professional development and work synergistically toward organizational goals.”

Coaching, by definition, is a set of skills for managing employee performance to deliver results. Coaching is a form of development in which a person called a coach supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance.

In essence, the key difference is the integrated aspect to mentoring that I do not believe works the same in coaching.

• Mentors take a more integrated look at their mentees’ lives as a whole. *** Coaches are concerned with the aspects of life that affect professional performance.
• Mentors are biased in favor of the mentee, coaches are more impartial, and keep an objectivity to help them see what behaviors need to change to improve performance.
• Mentors are person-focused, looking at their mentee from all aspects that affect their life and decisions. Coaches are job-focused and are recognized for how effectively their coaching improves professional performance.
• Mentors are a sounding board, often letting mentees work their issues out through guided problem solving. Coaches are more directive and instructive, helping their clients to learn new skills and improve existing ones.
• Mentoring and coaching use the same skills and approach but coaching is short-term task-based and mentoring is a longer-term relationship.

Both mentoring and coaching are key strategies for personal and professional development, and the best leaders work with both. Lifelong learning is an important part of being a strong leader, and both mentoring and coaching use the power of relationship to help leaders go one step further in their influence.

***There are “Life Coaches” who are much more like a mentor than a regular business coach. They are an exception to this differentiation.

 

Written by Dr. Liz Selzer

 

 

The Best Practices for How to Successfully Lead a Remote Team

Have you ever led a conference where people are clearly not engaged? Have you ever written an email you felt was clear only to find that people responded either with vague, unhelpful information or don’t respond at all? Have you made assumptions about a remote team member that were not accurate? Leading remote teams has its challenges.

What are the challenges?
While you may be able to list quite a few challenges if you have worked with a remote team, in my experience most of the challenges come down to three things:

• Distance makes communication that much more difficult. Communication in written form can be misunderstood, lacking verbal and non-verbal cues.
• Monitoring productivity. When you can’t see what your team members are doing in real time it can be difficult to feel like you know what they are accomplishing.
• Helping remote workers to feel they are truly part of the team. Ensuring they know they matter as people, and are important to the success of the group.

These challenges exist, but learning to work with remote teams is not something we have the luxury of ignoring.

Distance leading is a skill most of us will need to cultivate.

Leading remote teams is and will continue to be required of many leaders. This is because remote working grew by nearly 80% between 2005 and 2012, and there’s no end in sight. (Redbooth.com) More companies are becoming global, increasing the need for remote teams. As the search for remote talent becomes easier through technology, hiring from a much bigger pool of talent than location-based companies can be a plus. The desire for flexibility and “work from home” options contribute to dispersed teams. And, the gig economy brings consultants into the mix, often from different locations.

What are best practices for leading a remote team?

Surprisingly, leading a remote team is not all that different, in principle, than leading a local team. Moving past the idea that it will be more difficult will help you lead well from the strengths a leader currently possess.

• Set expectations for productivity, communication, clear work hours and off hours. This will give them boundaries without micromanaging.
• Treat all team members the same regardless of whether they are remote or not. This means use the same evaluation processes, the same reporting, the same amount of time meeting with them, the same expectations for procedures. Focus on meaningful metrics more than face-time at the office.…you get the picture.
• Promote opportunities for non-work interactions and informal communication. Providing a place for posting of personal happenings, events, family pictures, etc. will help remote employees feel they are cared for as people, not just a faceless person that produces. Pair up remote workers with local ones for added interaction and connection.
• Set regular meeting times. Make sure these meetings are focused with a clear agenda so people can prepare. Don’t cancel these meetings, keep them as sacred. Be cognizant of the time differences and find time that is convenient for everyone.
• Stack the deck for success. Be disciplined in your hiring process, on-board well, giving remote workers a test period to begin so you can gauge success factors. Regularly ask for feedback on how they are doing. Be clear and consistent with organizational structure and company culture.  Give them the necessary resources to do their job.
• Purchase a robust collaboration system and technology that prioritizes collaboration such as clearly articulated workflows and project procedures.
• Make sure remote workers see their career path with your company. This will help with retention and engagement.

 

Written by Dr. Liz Selzer

 

 

“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.” — Henry Ford, Founder, Ford Motor Company

These wise words by Henry Ford have never been more true than in today’s corporate world where attracting and retaining top-level talent is a constant struggle. But how can you go about transforming training and development processes into valuable experiences for your employees and ultimate success for your business?

 

Start by understanding that as you develop your staff, growth occurs on two levels: first on an emotional, or heart, level through a shift in core beliefs and values priorities and, secondly, on a practical level through actions and targeted results. It is unrealistic to just tell people they need to change and expect them to do it. People can’t be forced into personal development. They have the power of choice and will exercise that power.

 

Developing your human capital must come through intentional encouragement of four important aspects of your business practice. Building a culture that supports learning and development requires concrete experiences that support and preserve the desired behaviors and ultimate productivity. So how do you provide experiences that make learning “sticky?” And how can you improve simple training to produce actual transformation? The following four practices will help:

1. Mentoring—The Power of Relational Learning: Mentoring does not need to be a complicated process or program. In fact, within certain parameters and given good preparation, it is one of the most basic, organic forms of learning available. Mentoring can be a great way to connect, encourage, and motivate your workforce, supporting practical learning through proactive relationships. Instead of learning something once, mentoring relationships support the long-term application of learning through accountability and encouragement. It is a powerful way to move people forward, while using the resources you already have.
2. Leadership Development– It May Not Be What You Think: Traditionally the focus of leadership development has been on identifying talent and putting those future leaders on a fast track of training, exposure, and encouragement to step into leadership roles. But the problem is, while these highly talented individuals produce great work product, they can be some of your most volatile employees, targeted by head hunters and often holding the self-important tendencies that make them vulnerable to the highest bidder.

What if, instead, that middle 80% of your organization realized that what they do on a day-to-day basis truly matters. Because these employees are typically more loyal and stable, you will see widespread improvements on productivity with people who will stick around to see how their efforts play out in the mission of your company. The effects can be significant if your company raises engagement levels by just a few percentage points. Momentum is built. Your company values and mission are furthered. And your customers will see it in every interaction they have with your company, because everyone is on board.

3. The Diversity Connection–It’s Not About Tolerance: How often have you been asked to tolerate another person’s differences, to put up with them in favor of work harmony? This has been a common theme, played out with drudgery and even resentment at times… tolerance spurred by a necessity for legislative compliance more than genuine respect for people who are different. This insinuates that other people’s differences are offensive, and we should be tolerant instead of reacting to them. But the act of tolerance creates negative barriers between employees. If we can, instead, adopt a learning approach, practiced by respecting and including people who are different from us, we can change tolerance into belonging. Studies have shown that cultures that promote inclusion and belonging are the most productive. Inclusive cultures help individuals thrive, and create momentum for skill development as each person is inspired by their unique role in the mission of the organization.
4. Your Brand–It’s the Bottom Line: When employees connect with your brand’s promise, you are who you say you are, inside and out. This powerful congruence encourages consistent behavior. Everyone in your company champions your values and your brand. Champions – or ‘true believers’ – see the future of your brand and how it will make a difference in the market. When every employee relates to your specific brand promise, momentum is built by consistency of attitudes throughout the company.

 

By following these four guidelines, you will be able to develop your human capital so that it sticks for the long-term, allowing you to reap the rewards of a powerful, people-centric culture.

 

Why Mentoring Can Dramatically Increase Employee Leadership

 

Mentoring is increasingly becoming a critical component to any successful organization. In fact, mentoring initiatives contribute to corporate cultures characterized by increased employee engagement, retention levels, productivity, collaboration and much more. Investing in your people through mentoring benefits the organization both now and in the future. Let’s take a look at 41 reasons you should have a mentoring initiative in your organization.

 

Benefits for Mentees:

1. Support in attaining skills/ knowledge/ attitudes/ culture awareness
2. Encouragement for faster learning and growth—both personal and professional
3. Increased confidence
4. Access to role models
5. Greater exposure and visibility
6. Increased feeling of being more valued as an employee
7. Improved communication and expanded network

 

Benefits for Mentors:

8. Learning
9. Expansion of sphere of influence
10. Reinforcement of accomplishments
11. Opportunity to reciprocate
12. Recognition
13. Focused investment on one person
14. Improved people skills
15. Opportunity to change another’s life

 

Benefits for Organizations:

16. Gives a recruiting edge
17. Speeds identification, development and retention of talent
18. Supports organizational commitment to employee personal growth and organizational contribution
19. Improves communication and reduction of silos
20. Supports knowledge, culture, values and strategy transfer for greater productivity
21. Encourages a learning culture
22. Increases loyalty and retention with more motivated and engaged employees
23. Promotes a greater sense of community and more inclusion with diversity
24. Advances succession planning
25. Uses the resources you already have

 

Mentoring Statistics:

26. Retention rates are higher for mentees (72%) and for mentors (69%) than non-mentoring participants (49%). (Sun Microsystems)
27. When peer mentoring is done effectively the “average engagement capital” can increase by 66%. (Corporate Leadership Council, 2011)
28. People are 77% more likely to stay in a job if they are in a mentoring relationship—particularly your younger generations. 35% of employees who do not receive regular mentoring look for another job within 12 months. (Emerging Workforce study by Spherion, 2012)
29. 83% of professionals would like to be involved in a mentoring program, yet only 29% are in workplaces that offer them. (Robert Walters Recruiting)
30. Companies with low engagement had an average operating margin that was 32.7% lower than companies with engaged employees. (“Engaging for Success”)
31. Mentoring increases learning retention: With mentoring managerial productivity increased by 88% verses 24% with training alone. (ASTD)
32. Mentoring encourages beneficial diversity: Diversity training has been proven to have negative effects. (TIME) Only mentoring teaches people how to practically work across differences. (MLT)
33. Mentoring helps keep valuable employees: Over 40% of internal job moves involving high potential employees end in failure. (Harvard Business Review). Losing employees costs 100-300% of the replaced employee’s salary. (Society of Human Resource Management)
34. Mentoring fills your leadership pipeline: Employees who received mentoring were promoted 5 times more often than those who did not. (Forbes)
35. Mentors were 6 times more likely to be promoted. (Forbes)
36. 1 out of every 5 women does not have a mentor. (Source LinkedIn from Everwise)
37. According to SHRM, baby boomers are set to retire, taking a massive amount of skills and knowledge with them. (SHRM)
38. Sixty-two percent of employers at Fortune 1000 companies believe future retirements will result in skilled labor shortages over the next five years. (HireVue)
39. Seventy-five percent of millennials want a mentor, and 58 percent of them turn to baby boomers first for advice. (HireVue)
40. By the year 2020, there will be a possible worldwide shortage of 13 percent of highly skilled, college-educated employees, equaling around 38 to 40 million workers. (Dobbs and Madgavkar)
41. Eight out of ten organizations told a ManPowerGroup survey they are “taking the steps to grow the talent pool and ensure access to the rights skills that will help drive business results.” (ManPowerGroup)

 

Written By Dr. Liz Selzer

 

How to Create a Culture that Employees Love

 

Employee engagement has become tricky for companies today to navigate. With the rise of the information age, people can learn, be, and do just about anything. Some, for instance, have left their corporate day jobs and are now making $1M a year by creating YouTube videos. We live in a world of “I want to do this job,” however, many companies still try to engrain “I have to do this job” in their employees. This is inherently unsettling, and causes employees to feel unsatisfied in the workplace.

People no longer want to simply get a job, climb the corporate ladder, contribute to a 401k, and happily retire. While, yes, everyone desires the comforts and security of a job and retirement plan, they also want to work towards a goal and do a job that matters. Old methods of employee engagement that obligate employees to attend company functions, meetings, and the occasional philanthropy event no longer, and maybe never did, appeal to people.

So what is the solution? Companies that want to stay relevant need to introduce new methods of employee engagement that actually empower employees and help them grow professionally. Great employee engagement starts with helping employees achieve their goals while simultaneously doing their job. For instance, simply showing up to work every day is no one’s dream, but true employee engagement can prove to employees that showing up to work every day can help fuel their personal and professional goals.

This does not mean providing individual attention to all 200 employees’ specific goals. Instead, successful employee engagement is having systems in place that allow individuals to empower themselves, such as continuing education and unique leadership experiences that promote personal and professional growth.

Embracing empowerment through peer-led events, mentorships, and training programs increases employees’ skills and ensures them they are completing something meaningful for themselves and their company.

In addition to growth and empowerment, effective communication is essential to true employee engagement. Proper communication and interaction with peers is often a weak point for many companies, yet it is rarely addressed or taught in the workplace. By creating a safe and encouraging environment to ask powerful questions and challenge ideas, companies are able to provide meaning and a voice for their employees.

Companies can further engage their employees by opening the table for collaboration and allowing everyone on the team to address problems across departments and create solutions. This kind of bilateral communication ensures that all voices are heard equally. When a new employee or someone lower on the totem pole feels free to share their ideas around new processes or procedures, they are given a sense of belonging and purpose within the organization.

 

Lastly, proper recognition is key to creating a culture that will inspire employees. When an employee makes a contribution to the team, they need to be recognized for it to ensure they know their work is significant to the company. Otherwise, they will feel undervalued, and as if their contributions are unimportant. Whether it be peer to peer recognition or from leadership, there are many forms or recognition, and they should all be promoted within the workplace.

When employees feel valued and understand how their work affects the company as a whole, they will be far more motivated to go above and beyond. Thus, recognition is beneficial for not only the employee, but the employer, as company leaders will see an increase in performance and productivity across the board.

True employee engagement involves much more than obligatory workplace functions. If companies want to create a culture that employees love, they must develop organizational systems and programs that actually engage, challenge, and empower employees personally and professionally. People today don’t want to do a job, because they have to. They’re seeking jobs that serve a clear purpose and help them reach their goals.

By promoting employee growth and empowerment, opening the doors for communication, and taking time to recognize their efforts, employees will work harder and more efficiently, because they want to be there. This will avoid the imposed “top-down” mentality enforced by some corporate leaders, and create a natural and inspiring work community.

The benefits of always having a mentor to learn from.

The question came after I had just spoken to a group of college students on the importance of mentoring as a tool to support professional growth. My response was, “Always!”

Any person at any given time can find mentoring opportunities. This is because we can learn from the people we interact with every day. Mentoring does not have to be a formalized process. Mentoring is all about learning from another person. When we have an open mindset, we can learn in many instances from people with different perspectives, more advanced skills or wisdom from being in the trenches. We can do this by purposely seeking out people who know or exhibit the learning we want to find. In my experience, the best leaders are those who are life-long learners. They have respect for the experience of others and intentionally seek to discover new understanding of situations by observing and asking questions.

That said, I also believe that there is a need to formalize the mentoring process with certain people. This is because the power of mentoring lies in the accountability and encouragement that a structured mentoring relationship gives. Meeting regularly gives mentees the accountability of knowing that there is another person who is watching and encouraging them to keep up the hard work of growing in their personal and professional lives. Putting structure to mentoring includes writing goals and finding learning activities that encourage mentees to move forward.

Are there times when it is especially important to find a mentor? Yes, whenever you have specific growth objectives. Starting a new job, desiring a promotion, learning a new skill, working on character growth, are all times to find mentors. While it does take effort to find a mentor, it is well worth the energy spent.

How do I find a mentor? The process is not as daunting as you may think. It does require you to be observant and know yourself well enough to know what you need to learn.

1. Decide on your growth goal. What competency or character issue do you want to work on?
2. Observe the people around you. Try to keep an open mind as to who might have skill in the area you want to work on. Consider people in all aspects of your life…family, co-workers, neighbors, friends, acquaintances.
3. Identify exactly what you want to learn from your prospective mentors. Take the time to observe them in action. Identify specific examples of what you want to learn so you can share them with the prospective mentor.
4. Approach the person you want to be your mentor. Tell him or her specifically what you hope to learn. Give examples of what you have observed so they know exactly what you are asking form them. This also let’s them know you are serious and won’t waste their time since you were dedicated enough to the process to take time to observe.
5. Set a timeframe. Too often mentors may think they cannot make the commitment to mentor you because the commitment is unclear. Tell them how long you think it will take you to learn what you hope to learn so they know what they are signing up for.

I want to encourage you to not put this off. Mentoring is one of the very best ways to develop personally and professionally. Find your mentor today!

Written by Dr. Liz Selzer

 

& How Companies Can Keep Employees Happier and Longer

Many companies in today’s marketplace struggle with Millennial employees quitting before the one-year mark. This is arguably not only a considerable waste of time, but extremely expensive for companies to hire and retrain new employees year after year. Losing good workers has always been expensive, but in many industries it is becoming increasingly so, due to tight labor markets. So, what is impelling employees to leave and what can companies do to avoid it?

Generally, people say they left their jobs for reasons such as not liking their boss or feeling stuck in a position with no mobility or opportunity. Many companies focus on easily measurable and identifiable reasons like these, however, most employees can’t exactly pinpoint why they left their job. More likely than not, they just didn’t feel comfortable and it wasn’t a good fit.

Writers and business experts have been studying why people leave their jobs for years in attempts to solve this pressing problem. Forbes, for example, published a list of the top 15 reasons people seem to leave their companies. While many of these are relevant, they only scratch the surface of the issue. There are countless reasons that employees choose to leave their companies, and simply listing them will not provide any real solutions.

We, at SoCap, have recognized that the wide range of frustrations people have with their employers lie within three primary categories: recognition, communication, and social capital. If a company is not properly executing in all three areas, its employees will always find a reason to leave, or just say it’s “not the right fit” without truly analyzing the underlying reasons. Instead of trying to improve all the individual reasons people say they quit, which vary greatly from employee to employee, companies need to focus on perfecting these three aspects that are the true root of the problem.

Below, is not just an endless list of the many reasons employees are leaving their jobs, but the main causes and actionable tips for what you can do about it.

 

1) Recognition

“I never get noticed for a job well done.”

“My company doesn’t care about its employees.”

“None of my company’s rewards and benefits are relevant to me.”

These are common statements when people decide to leave their jobs, and they are ALL caused by a lack of recognition. If a company isn’t properly recognizing and rewarding its employees, they will leave for one of the above reasons. End of story.

 

How do you fix it? Start by taking 20 seconds out of your day to genuinely compliment an employee for the specific skills or attitude they bring to the table. Ensure that every member on your team always feels appreciated. This will inspire them to go above and beyond for you. While this is important, you must also keep in mind that not every employee will feel valued by the same methods. For example, one employee might be satisfied with a pat on the back and a “good job” after a presentation, while the next might be offended that you didn’t have more to say after they spent hours preparing.

On the same note, company benefits and reward systems should be desirable for all employees. Many companies offer incentives that are only attractive to married individuals with families, such as a company trip to a couples resort or family-oriented cruise. This makes employees who are single feel excluded and undervalued. Companies could instead offer to pay off a percentage of employees’ student loans, or offer a trip where the destination can be enjoyed by everyone, no matter their lifestyle. In order to ensure everyone feels valued, CEOs and managers must consider each employee’s individual needs. They must recognize that a single woman should be rewarded differently than a married man or a recent college graduate.

 

2) Communication

“My department has poor teamwork, and doesn’t collaborate effectively.”

“My manager doesn’t clearly relay his/her expectations.”

“There is no room for upward mobility.”

Poor communication is a big motivator behind people leaving their jobs. Employees should always feel that they can bring any idea or issue to their superior. Executive managers that can’t lead their team effectively, or worse, isolate employees to the point where they feel stuck will cause people to find a job under a boss with better communication skills. Company leaders can avoid this by breaking down any communication barriers. For example, when presenting company issues during meetings, the leader can talk much less and open up the table for each person on the team to share their ideas or opinions. Making meetings less top-heavy – in other words, the manager’s opinion isn’t the only one that matters – will allow room for better collaboration and equality across the team, as every employee gets to contribute and voice their concerns.

 

While this is a much larger subject that could take on a whole article of its own, we’ll leave it cut and dry as communication gaps take a variety of shapes depending on companies cultures and leadership styles. Merely recognize that this is an issue for many employees and far and wide most companies don’t stare at this as a problem. Do you?

 

3) Social Capital

“I don’t enjoy the work I’m doing.”

“My company’s values don’t align with my own.”

“There is no flexibility or opportunity in my position for me to do what I’m great at.”

A lack of social capital will result in constant employee turnover. Even if the company pays well and offers great benefits, people will still leave before the year is up, because it’s the wrong fit. This is because the company has failed to establish clarity around a specific culture and set of values. You could be doing everything else right, but end up hiring the wrong people, because they don’t resonate with your undefined culture and value system. Companies that declare a specific mission will attract employees that are passionate about that same mission.

Many organizations are attempting to create culture with beer taps, scooters, and company parties and events. While these are fun solutions, they can merely be a Band-Aid to a larger systemic problem. Taco Tuesday at work is great, but is it really adding to a meaningful, unique culture? To establish culture and a core value system, company leaders need to research the pulse throughout their company and evaluate what is actually important to the organization. This will take far more time and energy than throwing in a beer tap, but the results will save money in the long-term and lead to consistency in the employees you attract and retain.

The bottom line is companies that lack these three procedures and values will keep losing employees. CEOs and managers that work to create a flexible, inclusive culture will see an increase in performance, morale, and employee retention. In fact, people are willing to deal with lower pay or longer commutes if they have a great work environment. Meanwhile, employees working with companies that have poor recognition and communication are likely to complain and quit, even if their salary is high.

 

And how does employment branding help companies attract exceptional talent?

In today’s market where unemployment is at all time low, it can be not only extremely challenging to attract quality employees, but also to keep them engaged and retained. Further, with all of the cutting-edge tech companies and the growth of innovative and progressive startups, you can imagine how daunting this employment landscape can be for many businesses.

It is more important now than ever for companies to establish an outward-bound image that makes their organization attractive to prospective employees. Hence, the birth of Employment Branding.

So what exactly is Employment Branding?

An employment brand is the market’s perception of what the experience, culture, and personality of an organization is to an employee. If you were to ask current or previous employees what their thoughts are about working at our company, what would they have to say? And is their response how all new, prospective employees view your company? More importantly, is that how you want your company to be portrayed out in the world?

Companies have historically utilized consumer-focused branding, marketing, advertising and sales to become profitable. Certainly, these tools have long been the key to market adoption, brand equity, and reputation. However, companies are mistaken if they believe that having a strong consumer brand is the golden ticket to a booming bottom line.

Companies vastly underestimate the importance of creating, branding and marketing an attractive employment culture. The question these companies need to be asking themselves is, “How much more do we have to sell to offset the cost of losing an employee?”

The answer is more than you probably realize. Our research and experience have shown that employee engagement and perceptions of your organization among current, past, and prospective workers, have a significant financial impact on the bottom line.

Leading talent recruitment agencies recognize that for a mid-level employee it can cost upwards of two-and-a-half times that employee’s salary if that individual leaves and needs to be replaced. For a manager that was earning $60,000, it could cost the organization $150,000 if that individual leaves for a different opportunity. The cost be even greater if the person is disgruntled about his or her experience at your company.

Going beyond excuses and diving into the real costs behind the clearly-tracked numbers like recruiting, onboarding, training and benefits, there are many hidden costs to uncover. These can include, but are certainly not limited to, loss of intellectual property, knowledge of systems, morale, strategic partners or prospects, brand equity and trust from vendors, and market reputation from negative reviews or il-talk from an upset employee. It is nearly impossible to quantify these costs, but the damage is very real.

The unrealized and immeasurable damage comes from the former, disgruntled employee talking negatively about your firm to others, whether it be at friends barbecue, at the local bar, on social media, or at networking events, where there could easily be potential clients, a talented employment prospect, or a vendor. Yes, it’s impossible to assign a hard number, but it is easy to imagine the ripple effect of lost opportunities when it comes to potential sales, quality job candidates, and good deals from trusted vendors adding up to tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So, what is the solution? How do companies build a brand that is attractive to prospective employees, current employees, and those employees who do, in fact leave? Because, some employees will leave, even if you have the best employment brand on the planet. But, how do you make sure the employee who leaves is a brand ambassador and not a brand basher?

 

It is critical to first understand where your employment brand currently stands. You could conduct surveys among current employees, but, even if anonymity is promised, most employees will be hesitant to be too forthcoming on these questionnaires. A less-costly alternative is to have managers keep their ears to the ground and check reviews on sites like Glassdoor, Payscale, Indeed and LinkedIn. Most importantly, don’t make the mistake most companies do and simply brush off negative comments or reviews as the grumblings of a few low-quality employees. Take each one to heart, and use the opportunity to self-evaluate.

Many companies are very conscious about their culture and may only have some slight adjustments to make and new tactics to implement. Others have a lot more work to do.

And, no, that doesn’t mean simply paying your employees more. Creating a ‘sticky culture’ and a positive employment brand has nothing to do with compensation. The fact is that there is minimal financial investment when it comes to curating a culture where people want to belong, so the ROI is that much greater.

A desire to put your employees first is one of the biggest and most important elements for any company to start this journey. Each company will do this differently based off its mission, vision, and values. Once this is solidified, it becomes the axis that many of the company’s decisions and actions revolve around.

The goal here is to create a mission-driven business. Consumers and employees are aligning with those organizations that have goal larger than themselves and demonstrate that in their day-to-day actions. It is one of our most basic needs: the ability to belong and serve a higher purpose. And, the fact that we now constantly bombarded with information and messages — both good and bad — we crave it now more than ever.

Once this foundation is laid, you need to make sure it is implemented and a structure is established to reflect those throughout the organization. All the time and thought to flush this out is great in theory, but if it is not implemented within the organization than it is all for not. Integrating human resources to instill this culture within the job descriptions, recruitment, employee handbooks, training, company events and beyond is crucial.

The capturing of this new culture and the sharing of that narrative to prospective employees is where employment branding really begins to take shape. How are you showing the daily and weekly culture they will be apart of? What does upward mobility and leadership development at the workplace look like? How is the company living out its values in the community and aligned philanthropies at large? Reflecting these to attract and secure excellent talent within your workplace is done in a similar manner as attracting clients. How often does a client have a six-to-seven figure impact on your bottom line in two to three years?

The irony is that by understanding all of this, you will have a waiting pool of talented people wanting to work for your company. You’ll be able to keep your people for longer and at greater performance levels. Since your employees now know that they are replaceable, and other talented people would love to have their jobs, they will work harder to increase the social capital of the company on your behalf.

Distilling this all down, we are bridging a language gap. Meet people where they are and incentivize, reward, and communicate to them in a manner where they feel that they have meaning and are desired. Certainly, for different generations, the values and life priorities may differ. Yet, we have seen that many people divorcing in their 40’s and 50’s are reverting back to the ideology of the 32-year-old millennial who wants the freedom and flexibility in their lifestyle to travel the world. While simple in theory, setting up a work environment that is able to bridge these values and then establish systems and procedures to implement and protect them is an undertaking.

Our challenge to you is to look at the time value of action, not money. What does it cost every time someone leaves your company? (We know it is higher than 2.5 times that person’s salary.) How much productivity, innovation, and fun could be had if employees were more committed to their jobs? What would happen to your bottom line if everyone — from the intern on up — was a loyal advocate and brand ambassador for your company?

What is that true cost?

 

Takeaways from Kimbal Musk & Justin Cucci about Creating Culture from Denver Startup Week

I recently attended Denver Startup Week, which ended up being the largest entrepreneurial event for businesses in the nation. As a whole, Denver Startup Week helps to raise the entrepreneurial landscape and social capital of the Denver business community. Local business owners attended a series of events, panels, thought-provoking roundtables and networking events to develop, foster, and grow their businesses. With nine out of ten startups failing within their first year, everyone attempts to crack the code on what strategies develop a successful business with longevity.

While participating in one of the roundtables, I asked Kimball Musk, a progressive individual leading the marketplace across finance, hospitality, and aerospace, what it is that keeps business owners passionate and resilient without complete market adoption. He simply responded that having a strong passion for the business can drive a company to stay its course regardless of what objections and problems arise. Steadfast determination and resiliently sticking to your company’s mission will change the industry and keep business owners leading the front line.

Recognizing this, it is imperative that business’ make superior products and service their mission. “Mission-based businesses are the way of the future, and are the only businesses that will last,” stated Kimball.

Today’s employees and consumers are choosing to engage with companies that align with their own values, standards, and motivations. Employees want to feel valued and know that they are contributing to a cause larger than themselves. Feeling as though we matter is essential to the human spirit, and we are seeing this trend across consumer industries, as well. For instance, consumers are now analyzing everything from a company’s values and initiatives to the philanthropy organizations they’re involved with before purchasing that company’s products for their home.

Collaborating with like-minded individuals is human nature. That is why we create communities and subcultures around shared interests, such as sports, churches, and music. Relating to others and feeling desired are amongst the most fundamental human needs.

It is no wonder that consumers and employees are choosing to align with companies that exhibit similar values to their own. With so many choices available to us, everyone wants to express themselves by ensuring the organizations and brands they engage with daily properly represent their specific belief and value system.

In order for businesses to thrive, companies must project their mission not only to their consumers but also within their own company walls. Those that fail to do this will not survive.

For example, a business with a worthy vision far greater than itself will have employees that want to rally and contribute beyond their normal capacity to further that vision. Providing an environment where employees feel safe to provide feedback and contribute to the company’s growth and overall health is essential to creating a progressive culture. While most companies take a top-down approach where the management dictates the law, Justin Cucci, who runs several thriving, experiential restaurants in the Denver market, rebels against this corporate norm and allows all of his employees to have an equal voice. From the busboy to the bar manager, anyone can provide positive criticism and come to the table with a solution, not a problem.

While restaurants are clearly in the business of curating an experience for their patrons, the same holds true for their employees. Justin suggests that other industries can learn from the hospitality market by empowering their employees. “It is not a management gap,” Justin explains, “It is a leadership gap.” No one wants to be managed. People want to matter, to contribute, and to know they are furthering a cause in which they believe. We call this social capital development.

Enabling a structure that allows employees to have bilateral communication where they can provide feedback, suggestions, and possibly avenues to increase the efficiencies and procedures of the company is healthy. Let’s pretend that an employee could double the efficiency of a particular procedure over a region or the nation. How many hours, and how much money could that save the entire organization as a whole if properly shared? Sharing is not the only component here, though. Recognizing your peers for their contributions will encourage further employee performance.

Developing a culture inside and out of a company’s walls that rallies around a specific mission will ensure increased loyalty, engagement, and brand equity. By implementing these practices within their organizations, Kimbal Musk and Justin Cucci prove that mission-based businesses will lead the future.

 

People come. People go now. It is more than just a catchy song, it is a detriment to many larger businesses to lose their talent. Social Capital Integration has solved this problem within the work environment by helping organizations create a hyper-attractive culture. We help companies refine and craft a culture where people will want to contribute above and beyond, where they recognize they are replaceable by other A-Level talent, and are committed to the ongoing success of the culture and company’s success. Take a peak how.

 

 

Want to create a hyper-attractive company culture?
Inquire for more information and let’s connect here.

 

A Focus on Consumer Brands may be Losing Candidates, Employees and Money

By Devon Kerns

Remember the good old days when companies just had to worry about the brand they presented to consumers? Today, it is more important than ever that these same companies develop, manage, and market their brands as an employer if they hope to attract and retain the best talent.

Employer branding, which was barely on any organization’s radar a decade ago, is now one of the top issues in the C-Suite, as companies struggle to find and keep high-level workers in a tightening labor market. Employer branding is particularly important when it comes to attracting, retaining, and motivating Millennials, who already represent the largest portion of the workforce.

Employers want to staff their organization with A-level players to maximize the productivity, effectiveness, and potential of operations and sales. The cost of having a team made up of predominantly B and C-level workers can be high in terms of lost revenue, low productivity, and high turnover. What more and more companies are discovering is that employer branding is playing an increasingly vital role in attracting and keeping those A-players.

Research from LinkedIn shows that companies with positive employment branding get twice as many quality applicants compared to those without. This is undoubtedly why nearly 50% of organizations recently polled by Deloitte plan to increase spending on employer branding.

Engagement with an employer’s brand begins with the job search. One study found that 62% of job seekers research companies on social media before applying. Not surprisingly, companies with bad brands have a more difficult time getting those candidates in the door.

One survey found that 50% of job seekers will not even consider working for a company with a bad reputation, even if the job came with a salary bump. In a survey by Glassdoor, 69% of respondents said they would turn down an offer from a company with a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed.

Companies lose more than just candidates when they have a weak brand; they lose money. They have to spend 10% more on recruiting to overcome their bad reputation, according to research by the Harvard Business Review.

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