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Employer Branding

Exploring the Power of Employer Branding

In recent years, employer branding has emerged as the cool kid on the HR block. While some may have dismissed it as a fad or just another trend that HR and TA professionals are chasing, savvy employers understand that the world of work is evolving. Intentional employers recognize the power of branding on both the corporate and consumer sides and have strategically invested in shaping their organizational identity. Employer branding has become a strategic imperative for organizations.

 What is Employer Branding?

Employer branding is your organizational identity related to the employee experience. It’s what you become known for as a place of employment – its word on the street! While you cannot control brand outright, it can be influenced and shaped. This also enables a greater focus on honouring the brand experience throughout the entire employee lifecycle.

In a nutshell, HR used to be a combination of programs and efforts that created and supported the employee experience. Employers with foresight know this is not enough to promote memorability, identity, and ultimately, pride. Instead, they bring together these people programs, experiences, and messages, packaging them into a cohesive identity that deepens the key associations talent make with them as an employer – not leaving word on the street to chance.

Ultimately, when thinking about their brand, they are considering how to do right by their team and deliver on their people promise. It’s a win/win/win situation. Candidates gain a clearer sense of how a career with that employer can enrich their lives. Employees feel part of something. Employers spend less time educating others about who they are and how their culture is experienced.

The Importance of Employer Branding

Infographic containing information on the power of employer branding

Builds Organizational Identity

Great employer branding unifies messaging and creates a powerful organizational identity that attracts and retains talent.

Activates the Full Recruitment Funnel

Move beyond “post and pray”. #DidYouKnow that according to LinkedIn, 72% of recruiting leaders worldwide agree that employer brand significantly impacts hiring?

Supports Employee Pride

Modern employer branding turns the spotlight on the team, celebrating their efforts and providing a “window into the employee experience” that can ignite employee pride.

Communicates Differentiation & Supports a Pull Strategy

Think of employer branding like a recruiter working 24/7 to share your organizational story. Even when you and your team are sleeping, your employer brand assets can meet talent where they are and share your “why.”

Makes Hiring & Retention Easier

According to LinkedIn, organizations with a strong employer brand not only save time and money when recruiting but also experience reduced turnover.

Assists in Broadening Market Awareness

Strong employer branding efforts can help broaden talent market awareness, critical for activating the full recruitment funnel.

In conclusion, employer branding is not just a buzzword; it’s the evolution of HR and one’s people strategy. By investing in this important work, employers set the tone for how their culture is experienced and commit to honoring their people promise throughout the full employee lifecycle.

To learn more about our full-service employer branding projects and training, click here.

Images of employer branding project, the brand foundations program

 

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What is Employer Branding, and Why is it Important?

The world of work is changing, and the days of individuals selecting a company and spending their entire careers there are long gone. Candidates have become savvy consumers, viewing their careers not just as jobs but as lifestyle decisions. Job seekers, whether consciously or subconsciously, are asking themselves, “How will this job enrich my life?”

Welcome to the captivating realm of employer branding! Here, we not only aim to answer this question for candidates but also strive to deepen a broader sense of organizational identity for everyone, including existing employees.

In the dynamic landscape of the contemporary workforce, employer branding has emerged as a crucial element supporting differentiation, a strong sense of self, and magnetization for organizations aiming to attract, engage, and retain top talent. Let’s delve deeper into the fascinating world of employer branding, unraveling its significance and shedding light on why it has become a strategic imperative for businesses.

What is Employer Branding?

Employer branding is the organizational identity of an employer—it’s word on the street! Instead of leaving this to chance, world-class employers, big and small, are becoming more strategic and intentional about how they present themselves to the world and the key associations they wish to be made with them as a place of work. While we cannot control the brand outright, we can influence and support it with a solid vision, aligned people programs, and an experience that honors our brand promise.

We like to call this the “inner work” for organizations. Just as individuals benefit from self-reflection, goal setting, and intentionality around how to move through life, so too can employers. And the benefits can be far-reaching, fostering what we call a “cultural metamorphosis.”

The Importance of Employer Branding

Vision and Identity

The foundation of an employer brand is one’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Often, employer branding projects begin with the development of an EVP for an organization. This is critical as it is a springboard for all future people program development and messaging, bringing clarity to an organization’s people promise and crystallizing its unique “why.”

Look at it this way: The EVP is the band leader in a jam session. Imagine an employer without an EVP as a rock band where every musician is jamming independently, playing different riffs, and creating musical chaos. It’s like a band with no shared musical direction. Introduce an EVP, and it’s like a charismatic band leader, guiding the broader vision for the tune—culture, benefits, and messaging—bringing them together in a tight groove.

Without the EVP, it’s disorganized noise, where each element competes for attention, instead of a clear rhythm, a shared melody, and an understanding among all players. It can transform the workplace identity into a cohesive and collaborative jam, both internally and externally. The result is not just noise; it’s a harmonious and tightly woven anthem that resonates with the team and echoes out into the world, creating a memorable and impactful performance.

Let the Creative Inspiration Begin!

Once the EVP is established, meaningful creative development of messaging can begin. This helps align all communication channels, deepening key associations talent make with an employer. Instead of random thoughts and actions, employers stand confidently knowing their “why” and sharing their story in a clear and consistent fashion while also doubling down on people programs that honor this “why.”

Not only does this bring clarity to talent both internally and externally, but it can also bring precision to one’s budgetary philosophy. Rather than chasing shiny objects, there is a vision for the employee experience and a roadmap on how to get there.

Signals to Attract Top Talent

An employer brand is a magnet. It signals to talent who you are as an employer. Great brands both attract and repel by design. They are strategically crafted to help optimize the recruitment funnel, intensifying interest in those who would thrive at the organization and repelling those who would be better suited elsewhere. This is what a great candidate experience is all about. Don’t sell an illusion or try to be all things to everybody. Use your employer brand as a communication vehicle to draw in the right talent for your organization.

Employee Identity, Retention, and Pride

We all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and employer branding can be that conduit. When employees are part of this work and co-create this shared identity that factors in the mission of the organization, its values, and behavioral norms—essentially how you uniquely roll—you come out the other side motivated and more closely aligned to realize the broader organizational vision.

This is not an overnight transformation. This work is strategic and requires a genuine belief that how we show up in the world matters. When employees resonate with the company’s “why,” factoring in its values, they feel part of a collective mission, thus part of something bigger than themselves. Employer branding helps wrap up programs, people, experiences, opportunities, etc., into a unique identity, helping employers move from just another generic paycheck to a distinct career experience.

Awareness and Reputational Wins

A positive employer brand doesn’t just benefit internal stakeholders; it also contributes to an enhanced overall organizational reputation. In fact, we often say that embarking on an employer branding project is an exercise in organizational self-discovery. When we find ourselves, we help others find us.

This work can also be the catalyst for positive change. If you are dissatisfied with where your organization is at presently, embarking on such a project can bring clarity to the current state as well as your aspirational culture. This is the starting point for a better tomorrow. It’s impossible to get to a better place without this critical self-reflection. A strong employer brand can positively influence customers, investors, and other external partners, creating a ripple effect of positive perceptions.

Cost Savings

A well-established employer brand can lead to cost savings, as it helps cultivate a pull strategy. Rather than only chasing talent, draw them in. Additionally, rather than always following the competition, find you, own it, and invest in what truly matters to your team. This too can create laser focus on what your organization invests in.

Strategies for Building a Strong Employer Brand

Define Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Clearly articulate what sets your organization apart as an employer. Highlight the unique benefits and opportunities that employees can expect. Conceptualize this work in a creative way.

Need a hand with the development of your employee value proposition (EVP)? Check out our Brand Foundations Program. This full-service end-to-end employer branding project not only lays the foundation for one’s employer brand but also skills up the team simultaneously. Click here to learn more.

Images of employer branding project, the brand foundations program

A Co-Created Philosophy

At Powerhouse, we believe in a co-created people philosophy, including when shaping one’s employer brand. To find the genuine attraction and retention drivers that exist for your organization, bring the team into this work. From focus groups to real employee images, from testimonials to testing messaging, embarking on this work shoulder-to-shoulder with your team can produce an outcome with far greater authenticity and an increased likelihood of adoption and advocacy downstream.

You can read more about this co-created approach to one’s people strategy in our book Peace, Love, & Meaningful Careers.

Workplace culture book

Share Your Story

At Powerhouse we often say that great employer branding is not stock images and corporate speak, but rather providing a window into the employee experience. This can be done by leveraging the team and numerous free communication channels including social media to help share your story and broaden awareness. Not only does this help perspective talent enter the recruitment funnel but often the act of storytelling serves as a point of connection and unity for the existing team especially in situations where there is a distributed workforce.

Employer branding is not just the hot buzzword, it’s a must do and a strategic necessity in today’s competitive talent landscape. By investing time, energy, and resources into one’s employer brand, organizations can better distinguish themselves, share their story in a more consistent fashion, and ignite employee pride helping to turn disparate music notes into that rock anthem that folks can’t help but to sing along with!

Don’t be shy or settle for vanilla, find your voice together with your team, design an experience and identity that you can be proud of, honour it throughout the employee lifecycle, and play that anthem loud! Make some noise!

 

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HR’s Impact on the Future Workplace  

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Your Sneak Peek into 2024: HR’s Impact on the Future Workplace                

It’s that time of year again. You know the time of year where we pause in deep reflection and plan for the upcoming year while predicting changes in the business and people landscape. Twenty-twenty-three was a year of many moving pieces. We saw economic shifts, talent shortages in certain sectors while other industries hit the brakes on growth or even made workforce reductions.

As we step into 2024, Human Resources or People & Culture will continue its transformative journey focusing on a rapidly evolving technological landscape, a heightened interest and demand for increased well-being, finding new ways to work together that ignite connection, creativity, and alignment while considering both business need and work style preferences.

Ready to explore some critical dimensions of the employee experience in 2024 and beyond? Let’s do this!

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Was it even a question that AI would show up on this list? Of course not. The big question on the minds of employers is how this new technology gets embedded into our workplaces. Businesses are grappling with concerns around how to utilize these incredible tools while maintaining confidentiality. There is an opportunity to help team members use their gifts and talents more fully by leveraging AI as their assistant to streamline or automate certain tasks. AI may also present feelings of insecurity amongst our teams who may worry about job stability or not knowing how to use those innovative tools.

What can HR do: Update confidentiality policies to reflect the use of AI. Train team members on how to use new tools to allow them to better utilize their time for more human-centric work.

Work style

In 2024, we will continue to see employers trying to navigate the changing workplace. For some, remote-first became a mainstay yielding rich savings from real estate costs, broadening talent pools, and supporting employee flexibility. For others, a return to the office, be that full-time or hybrid continues to be a work in progress. Many employers will continue to search for the sweet spot of how to attract and retain valued talent while also providing meaningful time together to deepen relationships, share knowledge, and harness the power of their organizational culture.

What can HR do: Speak with your team to better understand what matters to them while also considering business need. Investigate other aspects of work style beyond real estate costs including inclusion in order to remove barriers for strong representation.

Employer brand

More and more, employers are recognizing that employer brand work like consumer brand, requires ongoing attention. While some may associate employer branding with recruitment, strategic employers understand but it represents vital key associations made with them as an employer in a very crowded marketplace. In 2024, employers will continue to reflect on their employer brand, and amplify employee stories thereby helping to unite existing teams while magnetizing perspective talent.

What can HR do: HR leaders can embark on an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) development project to crystallize their “why” as well as assist them in building an employee lifecycle with intentionality. For those employers who have already develop their EVP, now is the time to reflect and update as necessary, as well as continue the ongoing work to help amplify employer brand key messages.

Not sure how to get started?

Check out Powerhouse Talent’s Brand Foundations Program that guides organizations through this critical strategic work. Powerhouse Talent also has a digital program called Land Your Brand. Learn more below.

 

employer branding agency course discount code

Well-being

Gone are the days of the glorified hustle culture. Savvy employers understand that employee well-being pays dividends. Did you know that burnout costs “15% to 20% of total payroll in voluntary turnover costs, on average” according to Gallup. Employee well-being comes in many forms. This may be feeling tremendous support from their manager, access to strong people programs, having realistic work expectations, taking time needed to enjoy loved ones and hobbies, etc.

What can HR do: Invest in additional training for people leaders to better support employee needs. Promote organizational people programs (EAP, medical benefits, etc.) to grow awareness. Workforce plan in a manner that creates reasonable expectations for team members. Investigate other support modalities to promote well-being such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness, workshops, etc.

Belonging

The important work of nurturing belonging in the workplace continues. Diversity comes in many forms…cultural, age, gender, abilities, etc. Representation at all levels including on leadership teams and boards requires ongoing commitment to removing barriers and deepening inclusion within our workplaces.

What can HR do: Dig into the barriers that exist today and build a plan to help remove them. Educate people leaders on inclusive leadership. Partner with Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and community organizations to develop programing focused on lived experiences that share, enlighten, and connect team members. Amplify voices, share stories, and continue to reflect on and commit to positive progress.

Upskilling and Reskilling

The skills of today may not be the skills for tomorrow. Helping our teams evolve alongside our organizations reduces churn and preserves institutional knowledge. Hiring for learning agility will also continue to become increasingly important.

What can HR do: Help managers better understand attributes for long-term success when hiring (such as learning agility). Create knowledge transfer plans that help employees stay and evolve with the organization. Create a learning culture by promoting access to micro-learning on desired skills.

Human-Centric Leadership

In 2024 we will (hopefully) continue to see the shift away from legacy thinking of command-and-control leadership to a people-first style where accessible leadership is celebrated. This human-centric approach helps remove historical hierarchal barriers to powerful collaboration. Its philosophy is rooted in a notion that though playing different roles, we are united in our shared mission. It’s a move towards greater empathy, accessibility, inclusion, recognition, commitment to employee well-being, etc.

What can HR do: Assist in the hiring of senior leaders that embody modern leadership values. Measure against designed values on employee surveys. Hold leaders accountable for leading in a manner that is in alignment with the organization’s people philosophy. Invest in mentors and coaches for leaders to deprogram former management styles and step into the modern world of human-centric leadership. Encourage senior leaders to model behaviours that support employee well-being (taking time of for loved ones and hobbies, reasonable working hours, etc.).

 

There’s no doubt 2024 will throw us some curveballs but these fundamental dimensions of a positive employee experience will continue to be areas of development for all employers globally as we move into the coming year. Here’s to a 2024 filled with strong employee wellness, gifts and talents being fully utilized, a workforce rich and belonging, and leaders that inspire both the achievement of business objectives and a personal and professional life well lived.

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Navigating Your Employer Branding Project: Tips for Success

Image of desk for an article on Employer branding project tips

Are you considering diving into an employer branding project? If you’re stepping into this exciting realm of people and culture, there are some crucial considerations to keep in mind before taking the plunge. In this blog post, we’ll delve into some key points to consider before embarking on this journey, from setting goals to assembling the right team and more.

  1. Define Clear Project Goals

First things first—what’s the purpose of your employer branding project? Is it merely an item on the to-do list, or does it hold tangible significance for your organization? Understanding the objectives behind the project is essential. This work can unify your organization, deepen the sense of belonging, and underscore your organization’s identity. It’s about more than just attraction—it’s about defining who you are as an employer and what it means to be a part of your team.

  1. Assemble Your Dream Team

When it comes to project teams, less can often mean more. Avoid a bloated team that hampers progress and dilutes creativity. While expertise is vital, limit the core team to a handful of individuals representing areas like communications, marketing, talent attraction, and HR. This focused approach ensures quality output and streamlined progress.

  1. Seek Out a Blueprint

Don’t reinvent the wheel—seek guidance from established methodologies. We developed Land Your Brand, our employer brand training and blueprint for this exact reason. We are on a mission to help organizations lead with intentionality and share their epic story more broadly. To learn more about this comprehensive EB project blueprint, click here. Don’t forget to use promo code POWERUP for 25% off our courses.

employer branding agency course discount code

If budget constraints exist, look within your organization for processes used in consumer branding. Adapt and apply these principles to your employer branding efforts.

  1. Allocate Resources and Set Timelines

Employer branding projects require time and effort. Allocate sufficient time and resources for focus groups, assessments, and strategy development. A recommended timeframe is around six months for the foundation of this work.

  1. Educate Your Frontline Leaders

Your frontline leaders are the bridge between your brand and its execution. Equip them with the knowledge and tools to authentically deliver the brand experience to both candidates and employees. This education is pivotal to ensuring your brand’s integrity.

  1. Commit to Ongoing Advancement

Your employer branding journey doesn’t conclude with the launch. Commit to continuous evolution. Monitor, measure, and adjust your strategy as your organization evolves. Keep your brand alive, breathing, and in alignment with your organizational journey.

  1. Measure, Refine, and Evolve

Regularly measure the impact of your employer branding efforts. Evaluate the effectiveness of your key messages, visual identity, and overall brand strategy. Adjust and refine as needed to ensure your brand remains current and aligned with your organizational goals.

Before we wrap, remember that employer branding is not a fleeting trend—it’s a fundamental investment in understanding and showcasing your organization’s identity. By following these tips, you’ll be better equipped to embark on your employer branding project with purpose and clarity. Your efforts will yield lasting benefits for both your organization and the talented individuals you seek to attract and retain.

Wishing you peace, love, and meaningful careers on this exciting journey!

To learn more about Powerhouse’s full-service Brand Foundations Program, click here.

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How to Build an Employee Ambassador Program

Graphic for an article on employee ambassador programs

Ever wonder how some organizations have the coolest employer branding content? There is spirit, fun, and personality…so what makes it so interesting? It’s the authenticity shared through images and video that depict the organizational energy. This can’t be manufactured. So how do they do it? Enter the employee ambassador program…

Employee ambassador programs have become increasingly popular in recent years as companies recognize the value of having their team capture the real deal. By empowering your employees to be social scouts and brand ambassadors, one is better able to provide what we like to call “a window into the employee experience”. This can ignite employee pride, connect distributed teams, and magnetize prospective talent to the organization.

Here are 8 steps to help you get started in launching your very own employee ambassador program:

1) Determine your goals

You are a busy HR/TA pro. No one has time for “busy work” that doesn’t move the needle. Before you start designing your program, define your objectives. Determine what you want to achieve by launching an employee ambassador program. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive engagement, grow candidate leads or increase team connection? Once you have a clear understanding of your goals, you can tailor your program to meet your specific needs.

2) Design the program

Next up is designing how the program will work. Is it an annual program where ambassadors sign up for a year term or will it be more free-flowing? How many ambassadors will your organization need? Will ambassadors submit content for curation and publication or will they also be mobilizing their networks to share the company’s story? There is not a one-size-fits-all answer here. Either approach can work. Should you wish the team to share on their social channels, will they be using their personal social handles or creating branded company ones, for example: @SeemaForXYZCompany?

Will ambassadors be trained and if so, how and by whom? How will ambassadors be selected? Will is be a sign-up process or will individuals be invited to participate (still kept voluntary)? What volume of content do you require and in what geographic locations? Will the program be enterprise-wide or business unit specific? How will you manage consent for content? These are just some of the parameters that you’ll want to think through as you design your program.

3) Select your tool/s of choice

Now it’s time to talk tools! There are several ways to collect the content. You can designate an EB lead and have content emailed in, set up a shared file and provide access to ambassadors to upload, or use a content management tool to capture content, curate, caption, and schedule all in one place! At Powerhouse, we love the simplicity of the latter.

After using Later for years, we are thrilled to be an Official Later Partner. Later is a social content scheduling tool with several other superpowers. When using Later for ambassador work, we add each ambassador as a contributor for them to have the ability to upload content into Later’s backend interface. You can also set up a custom content submission e-mail where one does not need a Later account. This works great for employee-generated content contests independent of an ambassador program. These are just a few of the reasons we love Later and are so happy to be partnering with them. Later has a ton of social platforms that it publishes to including LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and more.

To learn more about Later, click here.

* We are a proud Later partner which means not only do we use Later but we may receive a commission from them at NO additional cost to you. Later does this as a thank you to us for helping to share their awesomeness with the world.

4) Promote the program

Now that we have our program designed and tools ready to go it’s time to spread the word. Here’s where you can unleash your creativity to design compelling posters, splash pages, and other graphics that invite your team to become an ambassador. You could even connect with your marketing department and pick their brain on suggested approaches to broaden reach and inspire employees to become an ambassador.

5) Select your ambassadors

The success of your employee ambassador program hinges on having the right people on the team and their commitment to sharing the “window into the employee experience”.  Look for employees who understand the vision of this work, want to broaden their skills, and who are committed to sharing your organization’s story.

6) Provide training and get the team pumped

To be effective ambassadors, your employees need to understand your consumer and employer brand’s key messages, values, and objectives. Providing training and resources will help your ambassadors to be confident and effective advocates for your brand. Consider creating a brand ambassador playbook or cheat sheet that outlines your program’s objectives and provides tips.

7) Shout out, recognize, and gamify

One of the best ways to incentivize your employee ambassadors is to establish a leaderboard or rewards and recognition program. By recognizing your ambassadors’ efforts, you can encourage them to continue promoting your brand. Rewards can include things like exclusive access to company events, gift cards, or other incentives.

8) Measure progress 

Like any initiative, it’s essential to measure your employee ambassador program’s success. Define what success looks like from the outset. Does it mean increased employee engagement, team recognition (as perceived by employees), content consumption in the form of impressions, candidate research (as noted by candidates, thus serving as a conversion tool), etc. Like with any program, it’s an evolution and you will need to tweak as you go.

Launching an employee ambassador program is not only a great way to kick off your employer branding efforts, but it is also a fantastic way to bring your team into this work — supporting a co-created people philosophy. This can lead to much more interesting content, employees who feel part of the journey, and a team that celebrates all sites, roles, and levels…not simply the executive ranks.  It’s time to power up your content and empower your team to share the ride internally and externally. Now go on out there and make some noise!!!


Starting an employer brand project?

Land Your Brand is more than a course, it’s an EB project toolkit!

Employer Branding course

 

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How to Build a United Culture Following a Merger and Acquisition

Image of fluid art representing the merging of organizational culture

 

If you were around in the 1970s, or love iconic retro TV, then you know from watching The Brady Bunch that coming together brings both challenge and opportunity.

When organizations blend through merger and acquisition, they face a similar setup in aligning disparate cultures, organizational traits, brand personalities, and team traditions. Unification is crucial to the health and wellbeing of an organization and it’s an opportunity to internalize and operationalize company culture—not water it down.

Here are seven ways to unify your organization’s culture post-M&A and get buy-in from employees.

  1. Start with the end in mind

Start with the end in mind and build a solid change management philosophy to support the teams coming together. Whether your organization uses ADKAR, a proprietary approach, or any other change management methodology, planning for change is critical to its success.

This work includes understanding the rationale for change and conducting an impact assessment to uncover the magnitude of the change on a multitude of levels, including individual, team, organization, industry, and beyond. People change management is a discipline that drills down into how the change may be experienced by each individual and then plans accordingly. From messaging to support, and from programs to systems, thinking through this transformative experience well in advance helps design change management programs that better prepare the organization and its people for a more thoughtful metamorphosis, while identifying change agents within the team.

  1. Employ the communication hat trick

You’ve circulated your M&A announcement to the team, now what? Be proactive in communicating the path forward to employees. Think of your strategy as what we call “the communication hat trick,” with the three goals of delivering frequent, transparent, and humanized communications. Communicating in a manner that is open and feels human resonates with our basic need for a sense of security…because we all crave connection and context, especially during times of transition. This supports retention and builds trust and connection with team members. By showing up consistently and keeping it real, you empower your team to feel part of what’s next.

  1. Uncover your organization’s DNA

Every organization has its own culture DNA—the unique factors that make it tick. In an M&A, it is vital to uncover the DNA of both organizations. This helps in understanding and supporting their different strengths and identities, while deciding how to bring them together in ways that deepen ties, build community, and foster a harmonized culture. You can help discover what makes each organization’s culture its own special unicorn by speaking with employees via focus groups. You can also use culture assessment tools to better understand the unique qualities and behaviours of each organization. As a CultureTalk Certified Partner, we see value in uncovering the distinct archetype composition of each organization and how this is experienced by the team through strengths and shadows. To learn more about the CultureTalk system and how it can support transformational change, grow organizational self-awareness, and enable greater team collaboration, visit www.powerhousetalent.ca

CultureTalk Certified Partner Canada Culture specialists

  1. Co-create the path forward

Don’t go it alone! Combining two organizations is the perfect opportunity to co-create the way forward. This is not just about sitting down with leaders in boardrooms, it’s also about connecting with employees, using a diversity of perspectives to mobilize a shared identity. Getting employees involved in what the future looks like means asking them how they work best. You can do this by establishing employee committees to share the employee perspective and weigh in on program design and policy development. Employee committees are also a great way of growing fresh traditions from shared interests.

It all boils down to this: Co-creation is getting employees involved to solve pain points and create the new future state together. This makes it a golden opportunity to elevate the merged culture above and beyond the sum of its parts.

  1. Get the best of both worlds

As you fuse teams and working models, don’t fall victim to larger company conformity. This can lead to a broad, loosely defined culture that is hard to rally around. Instead, take inspiration from both organizations, remembering that unity doesn’t mean uniformity. Tap into the best practices, branded assets, operational procedures, and funtivities from each entity to design a shared future state (and some epic staff parties). This helps get employee buy-in because one culture isn’t unseating the other, so all sides feel valued and heard.

  1. Keep evolving

Unifying your organization’s culture is not a one-and-done, it’s an evolution. This means building upon lessons learned, harmonizing, and tweaking. The philosophy of co-creation is valuable on an ongoing basis and not solely during times of change. Empower your team to help create the path forward and/or enhance the existing experience. When team members are involved, not only do we naturally solve pain points more effectively, we also create natural change agents, hence supporting adoption and advocacy. The work of self-improvement is ongoing and includes our organizations.

  1. Align with your employer brand

Finally, review your employer brand messaging to ensure it represents the future of your united organization. Consider the employer brand identity of each entity and ask employees if it aligns with their experience. Now is your chance to update and fine-tune your EVP messaging, refreshing your brand not only around the merger but also in a way that reinforces authenticity. Fill your channels with the new you! Populate them with consistent messaging to deliver a brand experience reflective of your shared mission.

Blending organizations after an M&A is no small feat, but it is also an incredible opportunity to create a culture even more united than the OG. It’s a lot to execute, but you got this! And we’re here to help! If you need additional support or want to learn more about culture building after a merger, hit us up at www.powerhousetalent.ca. We are proudly a CultureTalk Certified Partner, offering culture diagnostics, leadership alignment, culture transformation, and more!


Starting an employer brand project?

Land Your Brand is more than a course, it’s an EB project toolkit!

Employer Branding course

How to Build a United Culture Following a Merger and Acquisition Read More »

HR storytelling content saying

HR Storytelling & Employer Branding – Connect Through Content

HR storytelling content saying

Content is Queen! In the world of people and culture, one might be wondering how content is relevant to our discipline. Unlike any other time in the history of our profession, storytelling is helping to set organizations apart, providing a window into the employee experience, igniting employee pride, and magnetizing others to join the journey.

As exciting as this time is, a large gap remains in our discipline. So what is the gap? It is the knowledge gap. There are many HR pros hungry for growth, change, and advancement within our discipline and to all of those who subscribe to this philosophy, we applaud you! There is so much that we can learn from other disciplines and domains even outside the business world that we can take inspiration from to fuel our advancement. 

So understanding the time is now to double down on our efforts for progress, what can we learn about content to help better our organizations?

  1. It all begins with self-discovery

When we uncover who we are as individuals, the world opens up to us. When we discover who we are as an organization and own it, the same is true. It all begins with an employee value proposition (EVP). An EVP brings intentionality and cohesion to the full employee lifecycle helping to honour our people promise and increase the likelihood of brand recall in market. If we don’t take the time to understand who we are, how can we expect others to be invested in the mission and join the journey?

  1. Aligning content to goals

Before designing a content strategy or building any content/creative, it’s important to get clear on one’s goals both organizational business objectives as well as people and culture. The two should go hand-in-hand, as only through our people and a strong and vibrant culture can we achieve our full potential and realize our business objectives.

  1. Designing a channel strategy

Next up is developing one’s channel strategy. There are so many places to distribute content to but that doesn’t mean we need to be everywhere. By understanding our business objectives, audience, and where we would like to expand awareness to support broader workforce inclusivity, one can select the appropriate content channels. This can range from Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Reddit, blogs, YouTube, podcasts, LinkedIn, Medium, other discipline-specific niche sites, events, and more. We don’t need to try and boil the ocean. It’s about being selective but committing fully.

  1. Keeping it real!

Let’s lose the corporate-speak and stock images. Nobody wants to consume self-serving and artificial content. Let’s instead focus on highlighting the people within the organization, celebrating their unique stories, and who they are as people beyond their job title. Let’s show up with personality and build community at work!

  1. Showing up consistently

Time to commit to the process. It takes time to see the impact of ongoing effort but don’t be fooled, we are planting seeds and below the earth, they are getting ready to sprout. The harvest will come in time through consistent effort and showing up for our audience.

The benefits of content

  1. Market awareness

Content helps tell our story beyond a single job posting on our career site or internal chatter that’s happening within the organization. It can help activate the full recruitment funnel and optimize the efforts of our recruitment team. It can help us reach under-represented populations and build a more diverse and inclusive workforce. 

  1. Employee engagement and pride

Content can ignite employee engagement and pride across geographies and remote teams. It can also serve as a form of recognition celebrating the day-to-day achievements of our talented workforce. It can build a community that deepens ties internally and helps us share our story more broadly thereby inviting others to join the mission.

  1. Recruitment and candidate research

Content is by far one of the most powerful candidate research tools. It allows for multidimensional storytelling and helps bring to life our key messages. It also rounds out the information available on our organization, giving candidates more to consume than simply employer review channels and our career site.

 

So go on out there HR pros, let’s empower our organizational storytellers, and build more than a content strategy, let’s build employee pride and share our story more broadly!

To learn more about Employer Branding, EVP development, or content strategy, hit us up at www.powerhousetalent.ca. We build award-winning employer brand strategies. Will your organization be next?

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5 Ways to Make Your New Hire the Star of their Employee Onboarding Story

Vintage typewriter for article on employee onboarding

Many of us remember our childhood story time and being read to by our parents and teachers. Storytelling has been part of how we learn, acclimatize, and relate to the world since we were young.  

As children, stories helped us learn to read and write. As adults, they allow us to share knowledge, our journeys and life experiences. And who doesn’t love a great story? So why not learn from the hero’s journey and weave this concept into the onboarding process as we welcome a new hire onto the team.  

As we can see from novels and screenplays, there are many elements to a great story. For our onboarding journey, we will focus on the hero, supporting characters, point of view, setting, and the goal.  

1) Hero 

Starting a new job can feel daunting, but it can also feel like an exciting adventure with the right support in place. Place your new hire in the starring role. View them as the hero of the story and help them learn, grow, and become as they embark of this next chapter of their career …pun intended. 

2) Supporting characters 

Next, have your new hire meet with other key players within the company or their area of business, from the leadership level to individual team members. Foster an environment rich in support with the voluntary sharing of personal stories of working at the organization or their career journey. These interactions deepen trust, accelerate rapport building, and help your new hire build relationships founded on a personal connection vs. simply a surface level meet and greet. Some employees will generously share their journey while others may prefer to start slowly but creating conditions ripe with psychological safety from the outset helps both parties connect in more meaningful ways helping to make the onboarding experience a more human one. 

3) Point of view 

With our hero (new hire) top of mind, design the onboarding experience from the perspective of what they need to know and how they would want to feel to have a successful ramp-up into the organization. Gone are the days where the company is at the center of the design process. Build an onboarding roadmap optimized for user experience not solely knowledge transfer.  

Like everything we do at Powerhouse, we recommend a co-created approach to design a process with meaning. Connect with team members to better understand their experience. From there, layer empathy into each milestone to ensure the new hire’s needs are at the forefront. 

Let’s Put the Action in Talent Attraction Strategy!

The Talent Attraction Strategy Framework Course is here!

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4) Setting 

Next up is context. Bring your new hire into the story by sharing and demonstrating the values, mission, and vision of the organization. It is important for the new team member to understand why the organization does what they do and what their value system is. Take them on a visual storytelling journey of how the organization was built and how it grew to be where it is today. Use casual images and videos but keep them unfiltered and real for authenticity and credibility. Add employee stories and experiences to demonstrate how people have grown with the organization and the value of a shared sense of purpose. This helps our new hire see how they fit into the story and empowers them to make a difference as they become part of the organization’s future success. 

5) Goal  

Like any great tale, there is a story arc. In onboarding, we are setting the stage for what’s possible. Our new hire may be the creator of the organization’s next product innovation, they may tap into new markets, or further reengineer a process, freeing up valuable capacity for even more meaningful work to be completed. Incorporating buddy systems or shadowing within the onboarding process encourages team members to work through and/or share challenges they are facing further optimizing the process for the next hire. 

While the complete hero’s journey is yet to be written, the goal of onboarding is to set this individual up for success. This means more than simply sharing processes and granting platform access. It’s about inviting the new hire into the story…celebrating its history, sharing its vision, and encouraging our hero to help write its next chapter of success. 

Great onboarding is not a nice to have, it is a business imperative. #DidYouKnow that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for 3 years if they experienced great onboarding? While many organizations are investing in their EVP and employer brand strategy, it’s important not to lose sight of how we honour our people promise and deliver our brand experience. Exceptional onboarding is one critical component of doing exactly that. 

Need help standing out in a sea of sameness? We got you. Hit us up over at powerhousetalent.ca or [email protected] to learn more about our award-winning employer brand strategies. It’s time to POWER UP! 


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For full-service support – Building an employer brand strategy or EVP? We can help. Hit us up here

We build award-winning employer brand strategies with heart.

As a result… our clients transform their cultures and magnetize incredible talent to their organizations.

It’s time to POWER UP!

 

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What Is An Employer Brand And How Is It Different From A Consumer Brand?

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Employer branding is an emerging discipline within the world of Human Resources. While many are familiar with the term branding from the world of consumer marketing, employer branding is its own unique domain and requires a shift in perspective to truly get it right. 

So let’s start with what an employer brand is by definition. An employer brand is the organizational identity related to the employee experience. It’s not a logo or a tagline…those are simply branding tools. Rather, it’s what an employer becomes known for in the marketplace. It’s the associations that current, past, and prospective talent form about working at that organization.  

Your organization has an employer brand today whether you realize it or even more importantly, like it or not. You may just not be in a position of influence over your employer brand. Notice the word influence and not control. You can help influence your organizational identity but you cannot control it outright.  

The authentic stories employers share help build influence. When those stories are employee-generated, this influence increases even more as credibility grows. 

Savvy employers are becoming more strategic and intentional around how they show up in the world and the quality of the employee experience they wish to offer. Thank goodness! 

Many confuse the art and science of employer branding as an exercise in career site beautification. It can and should be so much more.  

The employer branding projects we have the delight to lead have allowed organizations to truly crystallize the essence of their existing employee experience and set out goals for what they wish to become. Rather than sharing an image of perfection, they share the journey and in doing so, build trust with their existing team and those ready to join the journey in the future. 

So how is employer branding different from consumer branding? 

While many branding principles are transferable, we are dealing with a completely different relationship where the stakes are much higher and the level of intimacy in the interaction must be thoughtful. It’s not simply a different audience. 

For example, when buying a pair of shoes, if you select the wrong brand and make a poor choice, you write off the purchase as a lemon, possibly return the item or leave a one-star review and move on with your life. In the world of employer branding, you cannot return the job. You may have uprooted your entire professional life and/or family thus creating far-reaching negative impacts. The stakes are much higher. Candidates need credible information and an employer with a clear sense of self to be able to make a strong and positive career decision.  

Enter employer branding… 

As mentioned above, employer branding is not a career site makeover or selling an illusion. It’s about reflection, strategy, intention, and commitment to who you are as an employer and who you wish to be.  

Employees provide their unwavering commitment. They deserve the same dedication to building an exceptional employee experience and one that can be proudly shared with the world. 

 

Ready to learn more about employer branding? Join my free HRDQU webinar on May 26th, 2021 to dig into Employer Branding in the New Normal. Hope to see you there! 

To learn more about Powerhouse Talent and our employer branding projects, click here. Don’t forget to check out our Employer Branding training and certification program, LAND YOUR BRAND.

Employer Branding course

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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Eight Ways to Show Your Team Some Love on Employee Appreciation Day and Always

employee appreciation day

Did you know that March 5th is Employee Appreciation Day? While this day of recognition is a wonderful idea to show some love to your team, employee appreciation should be a year-round affair. 

Think of this day as you would Valentine’s Day. If you only show your partner you care once a year, you will likely find yourself in a hollow relationship unable to withstand the inevitable storms that we face in life. The same is true for the employment relationship. One day of cupcakes or a gift card will not make up for 364 days of under-appreciation and/or disregard for the people helping to power your organization.

For all of the people-first leaders out there, here are some ways to send some extra warm and fuzzies to the team on Employee Appreciation Day:

1) Fun work awards: Many organizations have formal award programs but does your company have an award program that is actually fun and interesting for employees? If you’re a fan of the TV show The Office, then you’ll know how meaningful the Dundies were to the team at Dunder Mifflin.  These funny and wacky award categories were both an office tradition and an opportunity for bonding on a deeper level. While the Dundies may serve as the inspiration for this tip, it is still a TV show so keep your award categories respectful. Together with your employees (remember we believe in a co-created employee experience), come up with a handful of fun informal awards. Next, create bizarre-looking trophies (physical or virtual) to honour these not-so-polished moments and see your team light up in new ways. Come up with categories that celebrate the individual uniqueness of your team and share the categories before the big day.  Have your team vote on finalists to further make this a shared experience. Embed this annual tradition within your employee experience and have your team come together to celebrate, laugh, and go down in history with their very own fun award. 

2) Pay it forward – team style: With this tip, every employee is provided a fixed dollar amount electronic gift card that they can direct to a colleague who helped them the most, supported them the most, or just made the last year more manageable. This encourages a spirit of gratitude amongst your employee population and empowers your team to be thoughtful and aware of the positive impact others have had on them.

3) Pay it forward – social good: Set a fixed dollar amount and add it to your next pay cycle. Next, encouraged the team to make a donation to a registered charity or not-for-profit organization of their choice. Better yet, check out sites like Canada Helps for charity gift cards that make doing good that much easier. Research has shown that we feel better after spending on others versus ourselves. To learn more about this and other ingredients for a thriving workplace culture, check out our book Peace, Love & Meaningful Careers.

4) Theme of the year – SWAG: Create an annual tradition of setting a theme for the year and continue this idea into Employee Appreciation Day with customized SWAG that commemorates the theme. Think back to summer camp and the song of the summer, the sweatshirts, and t-shirts that marked that moment in history forever. Rituals and traditions are an important part of building a strong workplace culture and deepening the ties that your team has with your organization.  Pair this idea of an annual theme with an awesome playlist curated by your organization. This further helps to unite your team and can also be a fun tool on the recruitment marketing front.

5) Virtual party with door prizes: While this year has been unlike any other, it has helped bring much-needed progress to the workplace.  We are now comfortable and perhaps too familiar with every video conferencing tool out there. Pick your fave and throw a virtual party! Depending on the size of your organization, this could be by department or as a broader organization. Have awesome door prizes to help celebrate the day.

6) Our team rocks (low budget fun idea) – Invite your team to sport their favourite rock or musical artist t-shirt. This is an amazing way to see the person beyond the job title. Get the team together for virtual drinks, add some door prizes, and rock Employee Appreciation Day with fun games like Name That Tune and music trivia. You will catch me proudly sporting a Grateful Dead t-shirt and keeping it real!

7) Time off – Let’s face it, your team, like the rest of the world has had a rough 12 months. Tell your team how much you love them by giving them some time for self-care. This can be done in numerous ways depending on your operational needs. Perhaps it’s a morning or afternoon off where you rotate between half your workforce being off in the morning while the other half is off in the afternoon. Let the team know that your intention for the day is for them to use this time in a way that rejuvenates them, thus recognizing all of their hard work especially over the course of the last year.

8) Gift cards with personality (thanks a latte) – When in doubt there’s the much-loved gift card. While this idea runs the risk of feeling impersonal, you can combat that by adding some personality and linking your gift card to a fun theme. 

If nothing else, be sure to take the time to extend a heartfelt thank you to each member of your team. As small as the gesture may seem, it feels great to know we are appreciated.

The logistics:

  1. Set a budget.
  2. Start the work early.
  3. Create a “care crew” made up of employee representatives to ensure you hit the mark. This is an important point for any activity you are working on within the employee lifecycle. My firm belief is that the future of the employee experience (and the here and now for progressive employers) is a co-created one. Having our team by our side as we shape the employee experience, ensures that it is meaningful, collaborative, and united in its approach. 
  4. Spread the love: Shower your team with the recognition they deserve. Now more than ever, our team needs us. Send some extra special love to your “care crew” for their support in shaping an awesome employee experience.
  5. Rinse and repeat: Every day may not be Employee Appreciation day but every day we should be showing gratitude and recognition to our team for living our values and helping to power our mission

The key to a thriving culture and an exceptional employee experience is intention. Setting a regular practice of gratitude and recognition tells your team they are valued…not one day of the year, but always. 

To learn more about a thriving workplace and sparking a cultural metamorphosis, check out our website at www.powerhousetalent.ca (Employer Brand & Employee Experience Strategy Firm).

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