A record-breaking 4.3 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs in August, across seemingly all industries, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s the highest number reported since the agency started tracking the data in 2000. According to an updated report by the BLS, 7.7 million people remained unemployed in September 2021 and aren’t in any hurry to fill the roughly 10.4 million job openings—resulting in too many “help wanted” signs in windows and too few workers looking for employment.
Trying to determine why seems moot at this point. Yes, we should look at the influences and decisions that led to this massive shortage of workers, but the bigger question for companies finding themselves with limited labor is how they can hire and retain employees during “The Great Resignation” without compromising core business fundamentals. This may not be as easy as it seems, as the employer/employee relationship is evolving even as we try to work through the issue. Perspective on this issue was highlighted in a recent interview by Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, who believes current conditions offer an opportunity for workers to exert pressure on their employers, stating, “For at least two generations, workers have been on their back heels. We are now seeing a labor market that is tight and prospects are becoming increasingly clear that it’s going to remain tight. It’s now going to be a workers’ market, and they’re empowered. I think they are starting to flex their collective muscle.”
So, knowing workers have growing leverage is one thing, knowing what those workers want in an employer is a different challenge. How can we meet both employee and employer needs? And how should that exchange of information take place? Not surprising to those who know us, we think it starts with your brand, and following are a few steps you can take to ensure your employer brand supports and is supported by your corporate brand and essential brand ambassadors.
Start with the right focus
Like most brand challenges, what the customer wants is critically important, but we should start with what the brand honestly has to offer. Why? Because a lot of businesses market their ideal brand when it comes to employee recruitment, which can be vastly different from the everyday employee brand experience. And the disconnect is more pervasive than you might think.
A 2019 study by Weber Shandwick, in partnership with KRC Research, found that only 19% of nearly 2,000 global employees surveyed felt strongly that the work experiences their employer promotes publicly is matched by reality. In other words, what employees saw on a careers site or on their company’s social channels, or what they heard from recruiters, was often inconsistent with what they experienced when they joined the company.
More recently an article in July’s Fast Company flagged BrewDog as an example of where the public-facing brand simply wasn’t supported on the inside. The article states, “In recent years the company has highlighted its commitment to bettering the world through sustainable practices and punk ideology. The craft beer company faced criticism in June for a pervasive culture of bullying. An open letter by former and current employees spells out that rebelliousness and edginess don’t equate to progressive values and suggests that the company’s recent pivot toward “sustainability” may have more to do with outward image than genuine purpose.”
Brand vision and aspiring purpose are important in defining an organization’s future state, but if the aspirational elements of the brand are used too heavily in recruitment, and the internal brand experience falls short, that disconnect will be felt and called out by employees who were promised one thing and experienced another. Brand hypocrisy often isn’t intentional, but when it appears to take place, it is incredibly damaging.
If necessary, simplify your brand demands
It’s difficult to strongly deliver on a customer-focused brand experience with fewer customer-focused employees. And there are plenty of recruiters and business owners who are struggling to find, not just the right candidate, but any candidate. The answer isn’t putting more pressure on current and new employees to carry that weight; that demand just adds more gravity to an already difficult situation. My recent experience at one of my go-to restaurants serves up a real-life example. The order-taking was rushed, but the food arrived slowly. The clean environment had been replaced with a floor spotted with crumbs and paper scraps and many of the tables hadn’t been bussed. The employees were clearly stretched as we saw our server covering the bar more than once. Like most of the people around us, we certainly didn’t blame the server or even the owner for the less than perfect brand experience; we accepted it as a part of the current situation. And most customers will excuse this imperfect brand experience for the time being. Letting new hires or current employees know that effort and intentions count, and that you are trying your best to get them help is critical to retaining these important workers. Strive to uphold brand ideals in light of today’s challenges and express your appreciation to your coworkers and customers for their understanding and ongoing support.
Remember, education is a requisite of advocacy and inspiration
With increasing turnover and the need to shorten onboarding and get new employees up to speed and contributing as quickly as possible, brand education has been marginalized by many organizations. When this happens, the brand may not deteriorate overnight, but the gap between internal brand experience and external brand positioning gradually widens. As we share less about brand expectations and more about functional job responsibilities, we expect new hires to somehow intuitively determine how to actively “live” the brand. And, with high turnover, many of the longer-term brand ambassadors of an organization have moved on, leaving a gap in brand mentorship. Staying focused on new employee brand education and empathetically communicating expectations needs to increase during these difficult times, not decrease.
Focus more on actions and less on words
Most brand values and ideals are captured in formal documents. Mission statements, brand promises, and purposes are typically designed and recorded with great care. However, once explained, we often worry more about knowing the words than delivering the intended experience. Reminders of our brand ideals are important but knowing them and striving to deliver on them are very different accomplishments. Making sure your new employees witness how others are delivering the brand is always useful, but in time when accelerated employee education is called for, having others teach through actions can greatly assist in filling the knowledge gap.
Recognize brand stewardship and advocacy
According to David Friedman, author of Culture by Design: How to Build a High-Performing Culture Even in the New Remote Work Environment, “It may seem intuitive that employees who are thanked and recognized for their work are happier and, as a result, perform better. But unfortunately, managers may be busy with other tasks or have an attitude of ‘If you don’t hear anything, assume you’re doing a good job.’ That approach loses good people who were very valuable.” Applied to the current brand stewardship and advocacy challenges, it isn’t difficult to imagine how positive feedback on advancing or “living” the brand would be welcomed and appreciated.
Numerous research studies on employee engagement show that recognition leads to happy employees, better retention, and better business results. And that hasn’t changed. When employees or team members know they are appreciated and seen as contributing to the brand and business, it really can make a notable difference in your day-to-day internal culture, which often, will translate to a more aligned and authentic public-facing brand.
The amount of client work related to employer branding and recruiting is increasing. If you have questions on the subject or challenges you are currently facing; we’d love to help. Drop us a comment or give us a call.