branding local government as an employer of choice

Branding Local Government as an Employer of Choice

A survey of communication strategies employed by

metropolitan Melbourne councils to attract and retain talent

by Milena Roque Torres

Submitted for the fulfilment of the requirements of the course MULT90019 to:

Dr Elizabeth Driscoll, Lecturer in Publishing and Communications The University of Melbourne School of Culture and Communication

June 2014

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A copy of this report has been sent to the researcher’s internship host, the Local Government Managers Australia.

The analyses and recommendations in this report are the results of the author’s individual scrutiny of the subject.

These are not officially endorsed by the University of Melbourne, nor by the LGMA.

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Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 5

1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 7

1.1 Understanding Branding ................................................................................................................. 7

1.2 Employer branding and being an Employer of Choice ..................................................................... 7

1.3 Public Service as an Employer of Choice .......................................................................................... 7

1.4 Project aims and objectives ............................................................................................................. 8

1.5 Context ........................................................................................................................................... 9

1.6 Scope ............................................................................................................................................ 11

2 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................... 12

2.1 Strengths ...................................................................................................................................... 12

2.2 Limitations .................................................................................................................................... 12

3 FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................................. 14

3.1 Message: councils’ employer value proposition ............................................................................ 14

3.2 Message: organisational culture and slogans ................................................................................ 15

3.2.1 Brimbank................................................................................................................................ 16

3.2.2 Casey...................................................................................................................................... 16

3.2.3 Knox ....................................................................................................................................... 17

3.2.4 Moonee Valley ....................................................................................................................... 18

3.2.5 Moreland ............................................................................................................................... 18

3.2.6 Mornington Peninsula ............................................................................................................ 19

3.2.7 Stonnington ........................................................................................................................... 19

3.2.8 Whitehorse ............................................................................................................................ 20

3.2.9 Yarra ...................................................................................................................................... 20

3.2.10 General observations ........................................................................................................... 21

3.3 Channels and audience ................................................................................................................. 22

3.3.1 Generalist job boards ............................................................................................................. 22

3.3.2 Industry-specific websites ...................................................................................................... 23

3.3.3 Traditional print media ........................................................................................................... 24

3.3.4 Careers fairs ........................................................................................................................... 25

3.3.5 Social media ........................................................................................................................... 25

3.3.6 Other channels ....................................................................................................................... 26

3.4 Value of EOC branding: the LG perspective ................................................................................... 26

3.5.1 Link between sustainable cities and branding of councils as EOCs .......................................... 27

3.5 Perspectives on a sector-wide branding ........................................................................................ 27

4 CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 30

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5 RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................................... 32

APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................... 34

Appendix 1: Councils’ Employer Value Proposition ............................................................................. 34

Appendix 2: Budget for promoting council as EOC .............................................................................. 35

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................ 36

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Local Governments (LG) are the primary providers of government services to local communities and are

thus significant employers that offer a diverse range of occupations and a long list of competitive

benefits. However, recruitment of staff in LG is already a challenge that will likely increase in the future.

With the impending retirement of one-third of the workforce within the next ten years, LG must

prepare to replace departing talent and be positioned as an Employer of Choice to the next generation

of employees.

By using various communication strategies to promote LG as an attractive employer, the sector will

be able to develop a brand as an Employer of Choice. With a strong employer brand, councils will be

able to attract and retain talented staff, whose knowledge and quality of work will contribute greatly in

achieving a sustainable future for local communities.

This report surveys the communication strategies currently employed by metropolitan Melbourne

councils to attract and retain talent, and offers a possible solution to achieve a strong employer brand:

coordinate a sector-wide communications campaign to promote Local Government as an Employer of

Choice. Suggestions for implementing this solution are as follows:

Establish a single public agency that has the authority, skills and focus to manage a sector-wide

branding program for LG as an Employer of Choice. The Local Government Managers Australia, as

the peak body representing local government managers in Australia, may be interested in

establishing this agency.

Combine advertising resources of individual councils instead of spending money on piecemeal and

separate promotion efforts.

Develop a banner slogan that will define LG as an Employer of Choice.

Run a sophisticated advertising campaign that will highlight the diverse career options in the LG

sector and the pride of being a public servant. Use various channels to promote the ad campaign,

including traditional media, social and digital media, community activities, universities, careers

fairs, posters and so on.

Develop a marketing toolkit that:

o identifies the specific messages and campaigns for promoting different occupations in Local

Government

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o identifies the unique characteristics of individual councils, and fits in the message to the

broader branding campaign

o highlights the generous employer value proposition of the sector

Maximise online social networks in order to appeal to younger demographic as well as to

experienced workers who may not be actively job-hunting.

Develop a centralised website for graduate and undergraduate programs in LG.

Develop a centralised website where all LG jobs are advertised, and where job ads link to the

website of the council that advertised the position.

The aim of a coordinated and centralised communication campaign is to show LG as one sector with the

strength and stature of an Employer of Choice.

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Understanding Branding

Brand and branding are well-established concepts in marketing and public relations. The American

Marketing Association (n.d.) defines branding as ‘a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that

identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers’. For others, the logo, symbol

and design are just extensions of an organisation’s defined identity. Branding, for many, is the sub-total

of all the experiences your customers have with your business (Eisenberg, n.d.); it is the set of

expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s

decision to choose one product or service over another (Godin, 2009).

1.2 Employer branding and being an Employer of Choice

Branding is no longer exclusive to selling products or services. In the last decade, employers have

increasingly used branding to compete effectively in the labour market and to promote the organisation

as an Employer of Choice (EOC) to potential and existing employees. An EOC is ‘any employer that

attracts, optimises, and holds top talent for long tenure … because the employees choose to be there’

(Leadership Management Australia, 2011).

Paul Walker, head of Employer Branding for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

(n.d.), an international federation of HR professionals, defines employer branding as the ‘set of

attributes and qualities – often intangible – that makes an organisation distinctive, promises a

particular kind of employment experience, and appeals to those people who will thrive and perform to

their best in its culture.’ Companies with strong employer brand worldwide—some of which are Google,

Ernst & Young, McKinsey & Company, Apple and Microsoft— have no problems attracting top graduates

and experienced talent (Universum, n.d.a).

1.3 Public Service as an Employer of Choice

Regardless of industry or offering, brands can play an important role in attracting top talent; that is

because brands convey stature, values and purpose – the very things that matter to the best job

candidates (Stump, n.d.). In Australia, some of the most attractive employers belong in the public

service sector. In the most recent Randstad Award (2014) survey of 7000 Australian active job hunters

from the country’s 150 largest companies, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation tops the list of

attractive employers. Along with the most attractive private sector companies—Virgin Australia, Coca-

http://www.marketingpower.com/_layouts/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter=B

http://www.marketingpower.com/_layouts/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter=B

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Cola Amatil, Qantas, Nestle and Wesfarmers—are government organisations such as the Department of

Immigration and Citizenship, Department of Health and Ageing, and the Department of Defence.

As these organisations already proved that the public service sector can be an EOC, this paper will

explore the employer branding strategies used by the public service sector that is closest to the people:

the Local Government (LG).

As a direct provider of services with significant responsibility for administrative and governance

functions that enable delivery, Local Governments are significant stakeholders within communities and

the broader service delivery environment (Australian Centre for Excellence in Local Government

[ACELG], 2013). It is crucial the LG attracts and retains an effective workforce because without it, local

economies and communities will struggle to operate and the quality of service delivery will suffer.

In 2013, ACELG and the Local Government Managers Australia released the document Future-

Proofing Local Government: National Workforce Strategy 2013-2020. The document is designed to move

LG towards a more sustainable workforce through attraction, retention and development of employees

in the local public service sector. One of its core strategies—‘Promoting Local Government as a Place-

Based Employer of Choice’—inspired the concept of this paper, titled Branding Local Government as an

Employer of Choice; a survey of communication strategies employed by metropolitan Melbourne councils

to attract and retain talent.

1.4 Project aims and objectives

This paper will explore employer branding in the context of Local Government, and will assess the

communication strategies employed by LGs in metropolitan Melbourne to promote themselves as EOC.

This study aims to:

Gain insights on branding as a marketing tool in the context of public service.

Gain a general understanding of LG employer branding situation by looking at the message and

channels currently used.

Understand how local councils view the connection between sustainability and promoting LG as an

Employer of Choice.

Explore the perspectives of councils’ HR managers on establishing a sector-wide branding strategy.

Recommend communication strategies to promote LGs as Employer of Choice, for the consideration

of the LGMA and the council managers that it represents.

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1.5 Context

Skilled employees are critical for business innovation and success. However, in today’s highly

competitive market, there is a shortage of skilled employees (Deloitte, 2013). A Manpower Group

survey (as cited in Mining for Skills, 2012) found that:

Fifty per cent of employers in Australia are finding it difficult to fill key positions within their organisations… [Although] Australian results are still well above the global average of 34 per cent, and above the Asia Pacific average of 45 per cent, Australia is ranked fourth out of 41 countries for talent shortages.

Business leaders are hence in a war for talent. CEOs understand that if they do not win the war for

talent they put their futures at risk. Hence, investing in their employer brand is one way to attract the

right people.

In 2001, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had warned its

member countries, including Australia, of the challenge the public sector will face in replacing a

remarkable number of employees reaching retirement age. In the Australian LG sector, recruitment of

staff is already a challenge that is likely to increase in the future (LGMA South Australia, 2006), as one-

third of the Local Government workforce is over 50 years old and will soon retire (ACELG, 2013). LG

must prepare to replace this departing talent and be positioned as an EOC to the next generation of

employees.

LG offers an inherent advantage of being unique in that it is not state nor federal government, but

rather a third tier of government that interacts directly with the public , with less restriction and yet is

not as unstructured to the extent that the private sector is (LGMA SA, 2006). Also, local talents benefit

from working locally as less travel readily allows flexibility and work-life balance. However, several

issues make it difficult for councils to make it into the consideration list of most candidates. Some of

these issues, as already explored by LGMA South Australia in a report on promoting councils as EOCs,

are as follows (LGMA SA, 2006):

Stereotyped perceptions

o Many people still perceive that councils only deal with ‘roads, rates and rubbish’.1

o There is a lack of knowledge or understanding about councils as employers, or job and

career providers.

People see individual councils – not an entire industry sector

1 The general perception that councils only deal with road works, collecting rates from residents, and waste management.

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o [In Victoria alone, there are 79 councils offering] a complex, and opportunity-laden industry

sector comprising hundreds of unique organisations.

o This breadth and diversity of opportunity would be appealing to target candidate market,

but is not effectively marketed to the target audience.

University students are not aware of how they can practice professional disciplines within the LGs.

If LGs are both to compete successfully for talented applicants and retain high-performing employees,

they need to brand LG as an Employer of Choice that provides challenging work, progressive human

resource policies and opportunities for promotion and career development (Reichenberg, n.d.) in

diverse professions.

A survey of more than 50,000 employees at 59 global organisations found that three key elements of

organisational culture were crucial to workforce engagement: connection, contribution and credibility

(The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, 2010). The National Workforce Strategy

stated (ACELG, 2013) that Local Government, as a place-based employer, can find significant

competitive advantage in these areas as follows:

connection – working in the local community

contribution – producing high quality infrastructure, services, and social, economic and

environmental outcomes

credibility – working in an organisation focused on public value and community wellbeing.

In this war for talent, LGs need to emphasise and actively market the benefits they can offer as

compared to private companies. This will require the implementation of an employer branding strategy.

There has been some consensus among LG professionals a few years ago on the advantages of

coordinating LG-wide communications program to promote councils as EOC. The LGMA South Australia

made a case for such sector-wide branding in a 2006 report. In the same year, the Municipal Association

of Victoria (MAV)—which represents Victoria’s 79 councils –held a workforce planning forum where

member councils agreed on rolling out a similar strategy. However, ‘due to budget restraints across

local councils this has not taken off to the level that was hoped for’, as revealed by the representative

from the Knox City Council in the survey for this study.

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1.6 Scope

This study will look into the communication strategies used by the councils in metropolitan Melbourne

to promote itself as an Employer of Choice. A survey questionnaire was sent to all the 32 councils in

metropolitan Melbourne, of which nine councils responded: Brimbank, Moreland, Mornington

Peninsula, Stonnington, Yarra, Whitehorse, Moonee Valley, Knox and Casey.

This paper will also explore the perspectives of the participating councils on establishing a sector-

wide branding strategy to promote the LG sector as an EOC.

The information provided by the participating councils are relevant as of May 2014.

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2 METHODOLOGY

This project utilised both quantitative and qualitative data gathering via the following methods:

Exploring literature relevant to the concept of employer branding and its impact on the labour

market.

Gathering additional information from the careers section of LG websites.

Conducting a survey on metropolitan Melbourne councils, to gain information regarding channels,

budget and perspectives on branding.

Comparing survey results and gathered data with pertinent literature on branding, where

appropriate.

The author sent survey questionnaires to the councils’ human resources manager via email; this

channel was preferred so that council managers can respond to the survey questions at a time that is

most convenient to them. This is done so because council managers generally handle demanding jobs

and cannot be expected to answer study-related questions over the phone at the first instance.

Nevertheless, they have been given the option of responding to the questions via a phone interview if

they think that this method is more suitable to their circumstances. In total, nine out of the 32

metropolitan Melbourne councils were able to participate in this study.

2.1 Strengths

The nine participating councils have responded to the survey questions via email. This method allowed

them to provide more structured and well-thought out answers. As some of the questions are open-

ended, the author encouraged the council HR managers to respond to the level of depth that they can

manage. As a result, most respondents provided detailed responses on topics that are of their interest,

opening up opportunities for informed discussion.

As regards data gathering from websites, the careers section of most council websites provides

sufficient information on the employee benefits that councils advertise. Their employer brand message

and slogans can also be accessed via their websites.

2.2 Limitations

Respondents were expected to invest at least 20 minutes of their time to answer the survey. This is a

considerable amount of time for time-poor council managers, who often have to address competing

priorities. Hence, only nine out of 32 councils have responded. A few council managers have expressed

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interest to participate in the study but were not able to deliver, too, because of the ever-changing

priorities in council work.

Another limitation of this study is the absence of another survey that can measure the effectiveness

of LGs’ communication strategies and branding messages to promote itself as EOC to the larger public.

Sampling for such a survey should have been done with active job seekers in metropolitan Melbourne.

As some of the questions are open-ended, the depth of responses from participating councils varied.

While most of the questions successfully obtained quality responses from respondents, the author

overlooked the effectiveness of the question on ‘internal communications’, which would have made an

informed discussion on councils’ employee engagement. This weakness resulted in a very limited

response on the said topic, forcing the author to not include it in this paper. In this light, the author

recommends future research in this area.

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3 FINDINGS

3.1 Message: councils’ employer value proposition

In HR parlance, employee benefits are called ‘employer value proposition’ (EVP), or the ‘unique set of

offerings, associations and values to positively influence target candidates and employees’ (Universum,

n.d. b). Attractive and rewarding human resources policy—including the recruitment manner, the

remuneration system, the characteristics of the career development system, the lifelong learning and

training opportunities, the quality of the informal environment, the system of rewards—represent very

important features for the employee and they are part of the employer’s brand (Alexandra, 2007).

Therefore, the EVP should be actively communicated in all recruitment efforts, as it ‘gives current and

future employees a reason to work for an employer and reflects the organisation’s competitive

advantage’ (Universum, n.d. b) in the labour market.

For the purpose of this study, the EVP shall be defined in tangible terms through the benefits

advertised by employers when recruiting staff.

The Randstad Award research (2014), which provides insights on attractiveness of employers,

found that the most important criterion job seekers consider when choosing an employer (in order of

importance) are:

1. Competitive salary and employee benefits

2. Long-term job security

3. Pleasant working atmosphere

4. Good work-life balance

5. Interesting job content.

The author examined the websites of the 32 metropolitan Melbourne councils to see which of the 13

employer offerings2—which have also been asked in the survey questionnaire (See detailed results in

Appendix 1)—are advertised by the LGs in their careers section. The most advertised benefits are (in

order of frequency):

1. Flexible schedule

2. Learning and development opportunities

2 competitive base pay, vacations/time off, healthcare benefits, career advancement, superannuation benefits, convenient location, flexible schedule, challenging work, learning/ development opportunities, reasonable workload, organisational culture, diversity, others.

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3. Organisational culture

4. Diversity/ career advancement

5. Health care benefits.

Flexible work schedule, for LGs, include opportunities for telecommuting, or home-based work

arrangements, and part time work. Learning and development opportunities include study assistance

packages, comprehensive training courses (both in-house and external) and mentoring programs.

3.2 Message: organisational culture and slogans

In the past few decades researchers have suggested that organisations have cultures; an

organisation’s culture is its ‘personality’, its feel, what distinguishes it from other organisations, a

coding of ‘the way things get done around here’ (Eunson, 2012). To be compelling most brands,

including employer brands, need to emphasise what makes them different from and better than the

rest. This is a tricky business for LGs since the private sector also offers similar EVPs, creating noise in

the process of transmitting councils’ employer brand. In Shannon and Weaver’s (1949) model of

communication, noise is any interference with the message travelling along the channel which may lead

to the [message] received being different from that sent. The vast number of web marketing content as

well as the number of attractive ads from private sector EOCs act as the noise in councils’

communication process. Councils have to differentiate themselves in order to cut through the noise.

This is where the brand image and personality plays a critical role in both anchoring the [employer]

brand, and differentiating the brand in the people’s minds (Mosley, 2009).

LG needs to position itself as an attractive career option by actively communicating its competitive

advantages as an employer. This is where LG needs to develop a ‘theme’ that clearly communicates to

potential candidates what working at the council is all about.

One of the best ways to communicate what you are all about is through the use of brand slogans and

brand names. In order to be effective, slogans must be short but also compelling and impactful (Sullivan,

2001). Slogans are an effective way to capture the organisational culture that sets one firm apart from

the rest. Top EOCs link their employer slogans to their general brand ethos, implying the role of their

employees in delivering the ‘great’ and ‘exceptional’ things their product brings:

Coca-Cola Amatil Where great people do great things together.

Virgin Australia Together we make the difference.

Nestle There’s more to life at Nestle.

Hewlett Packard This is the start of something exceptional…

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The following section summarises the positive organisational culture3 that participating councils

currently publish through most of their recruitment activities, as well as their employer brand slogans

that attempt to translate the organisational culture and EVP into one message.

3.2.1 Brimbank

Organisational culture

recognition and reward

staff training and development

strong set of values and behaviours

family-friendly workplace

work-life balance.

Employer slogan

(none; uses the Blue

Horizon logo instead)

The logo enumerates the core concepts that drive Brimbank City’s organisational culture, which is about

the expectations on internal staff.

3.2.2 Casey


The council’s trademark behaviours:

o Show Respect

o Take Responsibility

o Be Positive

o Listen and Respond

o Think Things Through.

3 This section includes the summarised version of the key messages provided by participating councils via their survey questionnaires.

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learning and development

internal succession planning

flexible working conditions

Managers are trained to recognise the importance of clear

expectations and employee autonomy coupled with ensuring

opportunities for their staff to grow their skills and

experience.

high level of employee engagement (74%).

Employer slogan Victoria’s Largest and Most Vibrant Municipality

Casey’s slogan characterises the municipality in a positive light – largest and most vibrant. When the

phrase is used in the recruitment of new staff, the ‘vibrant’ culture potentially communicates the high

level of employee engagement in the organisation.

3.2.3 Knox


Mission – to improve the quality of life of the Knox community

through a number of ways such as leadership, alliances,

partnerships and networks; planning for the future growth

and sustainability of the city; high quality services; fostering

community cohesion, and so on.

Values – every employee of Knox is expected to demonstrate

the following values in their daily activities:

o teamwork;

o innovation;

o integrity;

o enjoying work;

o service excellence.

Employer slogan

What are You Looking for in Your Career

Bring Yourself to the Team

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The Knox City Council’s slogan captures the organisational culture of challenging and rewarding work

in the LG (What are you looking for in your career), as well as the value it places on teamwork (Bring

yourself to the team).

3.2.4 Moonee Valley


Strategic thinking – looking ahead, planning for change and

understanding community aspirations in the context of

Council’s role.

Communication – sharing information and listening to each

other so that we can better serve our citizens

Accountability – taking responsibility for our actions,

reporting accurately on our activities

Leadership – showing the way by living the workplace values

Innovation – seeking new ways to achieve better outcomes

Teamwork – helping each other is everyone’s job to achieve

the best outcome for citizens

Employer slogan (commitment to as above)

The Moonee Valley City Council does not use a specific employer slogan, but referred to the

organisational culture—essentially the Council Values—summarised above. While this approach on the

slogan accurately mirrors the Council Values, it is too long and defeats the purpose of a slogan as an eye-

catcher.

3.2.5 Moreland


Excellent working conditions,

Making a difference to the local community

Development opportunities

Positive work culture.

Employer slogan

Moreland – One Community

Proudly Diverse

Customers and Community First

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The Moreland City Council’s slogan accurately depicts the organisational culture that it wants to

communicate to the wider public: One Community and Customers and Community First mirror the value

of making a difference to the community; Proudly Diverse mirrors the development opportunities and

the positive work culture.

3.2.6 Mornington Peninsula


Internal message: the ‘Peninsula Way’, which is about the

generous terms and conditions of employment.

External message:

o Councils’ EVP

o a chance to engage with the community, to

respond to their needs and provide them with

real solutions to make a difference

o employment opportunities in diverse

professions.

Employer slogan Sea for yourself!

The Mornington Peninsula Shire’s approach is creative: their slogan is an eye catcher to attract

applicants to visit the website and view current vacancies. With a playful mix of a rather mediocre

phrase (‘see for yourself’) and changing the word ‘see’ with ‘sea’, the message captures the topographic

characteristic of the city (a peninsula), and makes for a memorable phrase with at least two possible

meanings: see for yourself, actively inviting job seekers to visit the careers website; sea for yourself,

implying that the sea (symbolising the council or working at the council) will be advantageous to the

prospective applicant.

3.2.7 Stonnington


has an internal cultural development program titled Blue

Horizon, which aims to create a constructive culture that

engages, empowers, motivates and drives staff to succeed in

all that they do.

programs under the Blue Horizon umbrella: learning and

development, staff wellbeing program, reward and recognition

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programs, staff engagement surveys and Council’s Employee

Assistance Program (EAP)4.

Employer slogan (no particular slogan; uses the Blue Horizon logo)

Instead of a specific slogan, the city conveys its employer brand through its Blue Horizon logo. This is a

conscious branding strategy that aims to associate employee engagement programs to the council’s

positive work culture. If promoted more actively to the wider public, the Blue Horizon program has a

potential to boost the council’s reputation as an EOC.

3.2.8 Whitehorse


high degree of employee satisfaction in its recent employee

surveys (87% in 2012 and 86.6% in 2013).

a culture of achievement and pride that is conveyed to internal

and external candidates.

generous employee benefits.

Employer slogan (none at this time)

The City of Whitehorse did not provide details as to why it does not have a slogan. However, as outlined

above, the council’s organisational culture reflects a generous EVP and a highly engaged workforce.

Also, as will be discussed in the next section (See ‘Channels and audience’), the council already attracts a

large number of applicants for any of its job vacancies – an indication of its attractiveness as an

employer.

3.2.9 Yarra


A constructive culture in which:

Staff are clear on the organisation's goals and their own

contribution.

Staff strive to learn and improve to reach their potential.

4 Employee Assistance Program -- a work-based intervention program designed to enhance the emotional, mental and general psychological wellbeing of all employees and includes services for immediate family members (Employee Assistance Professional Association of Australia, n.d.).

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The environment is supportive and encouraging.

Staff sustain productive relationships at work.

Employer slogan Inner city, urban and diverse careers.

The City of Yarra capitalised on its convenient location—the inner city—to promote itself as an EOC.

This messaging introduces Yarra City as a prospective employer to professionals in knowledge-

intensive industries, who choose high-value jobs around city centres. According to the Grattan Institute

(Kelly & Mares, 2012), ‘industries winning a bigger share of the Australian economy choose to locate

close to one another in the heart of the city.’ Yarra leverages on this by simply announcing its presence

in the inner city.

3.2.10 General observations

The organisational culture described by the participating councils reflects the three important elements

that are crucial to workforce engagement: connection, contribution and credibility. It also reflects at

least two factors that jobseekers look for in an employer (See 3.1): pleasant working atmosphere (highly

engaged workforce) and interesting job content (innovation, diverse professions, making a difference).

The recurring themes in the slogans are teamwork and career development. A few councils did not have

slogans. In general, the attractive organisational culture based on cohesion, contribution and credibility

is diluted in the message (slogan), or even left unsaid in the absence of one.

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3.3 Channels and audience

Aside from the councils’ career page on their websites, HR managers of LGs advertise their job

vacancies in different channels. The following table represents the channels used by participating

councils to advertise job vacancies and to promote themselves as employers of choice:

Participating Council

Generalist job boards (Seek, MyCareer, CareerOne, LG Jobs, GovJobs)

Industry-specific job boards

Traditional print media (The Age, Herald Sun, local papers, etc)

Careers fairs/expos, graduate career information days

Facebook and/or Twitter

LinkedIn

Others

Brimbank ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Universities

Moreland ✔ ✔ ✔

Mornington Peninsula ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Stonnington ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Fairfax Digital targeting, iPad ads, universities

Yarra ✔ ✔ ✔

Whitehorse ✔ ✔

Council’s e-recruitment system

Knox ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

local high school annual career day

Casey ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Moonee Valley ✔ ✔ ✔ Universities

3.3.1 Generalist job boards

The participating councils all use generalist job boards like Seek and CareerOne to advertise their job

vacancies. Of these, Seek.com is the most popular channel and has a large pool of jobseekers, with 24.4

million visits per month as of April 2014 (Seek, 2014). It has a diverse pool of audiences or jobseekers

for various industries, ranging from entry-level to mid-tier and senior roles.

Stonnington also uses Fairfax Digital, an online job board that gives users access to 30 interactive

sites for jobs, products and services. This job board receives eight million visitors per month, and is set

apart from its rivals for its ‘audience-centric solutions’, a technology that allows Fairfax network to

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advertise vacant positions to the target demographic, which is determined by the system through

customer usage data on the network.

LGJobs is specially designed for LG job listings, with opportunities for both entry level work and

supervisory roles, targeting both recent university graduates and experienced workers. The site

advertises LG roles in various professions, be it in health, recreation, tourism, transport, finance,

housing and corporate.

3.3.2 Industry-specific websites

From the top down councils offer a range of career pathways in trade, technical and professional

positions, all of which contribute to the common goal of keeping a town, city or region functioning as

smoothly as possible (Woulfe, 2014). Some of the professional roles are planning, engineering, law,

social work, psychology, environmental protection, teaching and economic development.

To better target specialist professionals, some councils use industry-specific job websites to

advertise job vacancies. These job boards are said to be ‘the outback of Australian recruitment

advertising’ (Hansen, 2013) because, despite the small audience size of these job boards compared to

those of the generalist websites, they provide at least two valuable advantages for employers:

You know that 100% of the people browsing your ad are already working within your industry, or at

the very least have an interest in your field of work, rather than the large amount of unqualified

applicants that visit generalist job boards. (Hansen, 2013)

Your advertisement has far less competition for the attention of browsers, so not only are you sure

that relevant candidates will see it, but with lower number of new ads uploaded each month, it will

stay visible for longer. (Hansen, 2013)

Also, industry-specific job boards are effective channels to advertise to passive jobseekers, or people

‘who currently have a job but would be open to taking a better one’ (Fankhauser, 2013). Some of the

industry-specific job sites used by the participating councils are the following:

Job board Audience

Infoxchange.net.au

Information and Communication Technology

professionals.

Childcarejobs.com.au Early childcare education and care professionals.

Ethical Jobs

‘People who want to work for a better world’ through jobs

in communities, nonprofits, environment, and so on.

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Planning Institute Australia Urban planners or town planners.

Arts Hub

Visual artists, publishing professionals, architects,

designers, screen professionals, performing artists.

SportsPeople Sports, fitness, fishing, aquatics and coaching practitioners.

Australian Institute of

Environmental Health Environmental health professionals.

Parks and Leisure Australia

Urban planners, conservationists, horticulturists,

biologists, arborists, ecologists, health and tourism

professionals, parks and garden helpers, and so on.

Jobs in Safety

Professionals in Occupational Health and Safety, Injury

Management and Return to Work,

Workplace/Occupational Hygiene.

Library Jobs

Librarians, bookshop assistants, research librarians, digital

curation specialists.

Public Libraries Victoria

Network Library professionals in Victoria.

3.3.3 Traditional print media

Traditional print media are also used for advertising job vacancies by all the participating councils. The

most frequently mentioned paper is The Age, which has 3.2 million readers each month (The Age Media

Kit, 2014). Fifty three per cent of its readership is tertiary-educated. According to the representative

from the City of Stonnington, the council advertises senior positions at the Early General News section

of The Age.

LGs also advertise at community papers, usually local Leader newspapers, to reach active and

passive jobseekers in the local community. Only Stonnington mentioned advertising at mX, the free

afternoon daily paper commonly distributed at train stations in Melbourne CBD. mX’s audience

demographic and reach make it a potential channel for promoting employer brand. As of December

2013, mX’s total audience is 657,000 (mX Media Kit, 2014), most of which are aged 25 to 54, or people

in their working age.

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3.3.4 Careers fairs

Only three of the nine participating councils say they participate in local careers fairs, graduate

information days and universities in attracting talent and promoting themselves as EOCs, but the

councils that use these channels understand the need to target new graduates across a range of

disciplines. Knox City is one of the few that uses these channels; the council even goes further by

attending local high schools’ annual career days, where council representatives actively participate in

mock interview panels. This is one way ‘to encourage students to think about LG as a career pathway’

(Knox). The representative from Stonnington also mentioned the city’s plan to have a ‘greater presence

at careers fairs and university/secondary school careers nights… to better actively promote [our] brand

without it simply being tied to the need to recruit for a position.’

3.3.5 Social media

Social media is yet another underutilised channel for advertising LGs as employers of choice. Only three

out of nine participating councils use social media for this purpose, and only at minimal levels. The

Mornington Peninsula Shire advertises from time to time on LinkedIn and Facebook, depending on the

vacant position. As regards the City of Stonnington, mid-tier roles are often advertised via social media.

The use of social media for staff recruitment is still a work in progress for most councils. However,

as marketing and communications are redefined by the advent and rise of social media, employer

branding strategies also have to adapt to the world of online social networks. Ellis Jones Consulting

(2014), a Melbourne-based management consulting and PR agency, outlined why employers have to use

social media to promote their brand:

… the majority of current and future employees of any sizeable business are using social media – definitely Facebook and, depending on the industry, potentially Twitter. Secondly, let’s remember that – at any given time – only 10% of the population is actively looking for alternative employment. The other 90% has to be reached indirectly, using the channels and themes of communication they (not you) use and respond to. Finally, let’s agree that attracting talent – real talent – is not going to get any easier. Good people are always in demand.

Knox City is considering to use LinkedIn ‘as a way to attract talent – particularly talent that may not be

actively job searching.’ LinkedIn is increasingly becoming the popular online social network for

businesses and professionals. In March 2013, LinkedIn has registered ‘four million users in Australia,

accounting for four out of five professionals in the country’ (Fitzsimmons, 2013). Members post their

resume on LinkedIn, making the platform the ‘modern-day equivalent of a business card’ (Jones, 2013).

The platform allows companies to set up their company pages where members can view information

about the firm, its description, services, number of employees, company logo and feed from the

company blog – essentially, this social media platform is suitable for employer branding.

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3.3.6 Other channels

Interestingly, the City of Whitehorse places its job vacancies mostly only through its e-recruitment

system, available at http://whitehorse.mercury.com.au, which sends emails of relevant job vacancies to

registered users. The HR representative said that owing to the council’s reputation in the sector, they do

not do any targeted marketing of the employer brand. Currently there are over 8000 prospective

candidates registered to the council’s e-recruitment emails.

3.4 Value of EOC branding: the LG perspective

A brand management strategy involves spending an allocated budget for the campaign. The Knox City

Council revealed that the council spends 2% of its HR resources on promoting its employer brand. The

eight other participating councils said they either allot a very minimal, even zero, amount on such

branding, or take advantage of community events, recruitment and various advertising channels to

promote council as EOC without having to spend public funds (See Appendix 2 for detailed responses).

Despite having very limited resources exclusively for employer branding, most participating

councils place high value to being an EOC. Using a rating of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest), four out of

nine councils thought being an EOC is of middling to high value (6 to 7), while four believes it is of high

to very high value (8 to 9), and one said it is of absolute highest value (10). Here are the councils’

responses:

Council Value of being an EOC

Brimbank 7

Casey 7

Knox 9

Mooney Valley 7 to 8

Moreland 8

Mornington Peninsula 10

Stonnington 8

Whitehorse 8 to 9

Yarra 6

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3.5.1 Link between sustainable cities and branding of councils as EOCs

As stewards of communities, LG has become increasingly responsible in enabling the productive use of

local resources for the long-term benefit of fostering sustainable cities. A widely accepted definition of

sustainability is to ‘…meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs’ (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).

The participating councils believe there is a strong link between sustainable cities and branding LG

as an Employer of Choice.

Brimbank, Mornington Peninsula, Stonnington, Whitehorse and Yarra mentioned that being an EOC

will help councils attract and retain the right people for the right positions. As a result, there will be

savings in recruitment costs, which can be channelled to other council projects. Also, the employment of

high quality candidates into councils adds to a strong knowledge base, improves productivity, and

allows councils to deliver outstanding services to their communities. Brimbank also mentioned that

staff retention means vital local knowledge is as well retained, which helps in developing effective

programs for the community.

Knox, Moreland and Yarra mentioned that a strong employer brand encourages local residents to

work in their LG. The Knox representative said ‘less travel contributes to a sustainable city’.

Also, Yarra mentioned that EOC branding results in having engaged employees, which then reduces

absenteeism and improves quality of work, thus helping the council achieve its objectives.

Yarra also touched on the benefits of EOC branding in remote areas, as local indigenous populations

will be more encouraged to participate in their LGs.

In general, branding LG as EOC helps in attracting highly talented people to contribute to the

community’s larger future. Casey sums it up: the employees themselves are residents of communities,

and hence want a sustainable city. An employer brand that strongly links to achieving sustainable cities

‘gives employees a real purpose to their role and that is incredibly powerful in creating an engaged

workforce.’

3.5 Perspectives on a sector-wide branding

LG currently represents itself to the general public as individual councils and not as a ‘single employer

with multiple branches’ (LGMA SA, 2006). The participating councils are asked whether they see any

merit in a coordinated sector-wide communications program to promote LG as an employer, and—if

they did—what strategies can be included in such a program.

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Except Moreland and Whitehorse, all of the participating councils believe that a sector-wide

branding approach will be beneficial. The reasons that many of them have mentioned are the following:

It will change the public image of LG—from an organisation that deals only with ‘roads, rates and

rubbish’ and parking tickets—into an employer that provides a broad spectrum of services to the

community.

It will help eliminate the stigma on LG as an uninteresting, non-productive and dull workplace,

when in fact LG provides a demanding and challenging work environment.

It will position LG as a top career option.

The participating councils also suggested some methods that may help in a sector-wide branding

strategy:

Brimbank: Advertise graduate opportunities across LG through broad channels.

Casey: Gain a 1:1 funding match from State Government (on the premise that LG delivers many of

the services expected of State Government) and then secure funding from all councils on a pro-rata

basis and run a sophisticated advertising program similar to the Nursing ad campaign5 a few years

ago.

Mornington Peninsula: Run an ad campaign similar to that of the Australian Defence Forces6, which

was advertised on TV and had successfully painted the Defence Forces as a place of good and steady

employment and one that values its employees.

Stonnington: [As no two councils are exactly alike], there may be a need for differentiation between

promoting smaller Councils and larger Councils as the workplace culture and diversity of roles can

differ greatly; Commence an advertising campaign utilising various mediums to promote the

industry.

Yarra: Identify the differences and challenges between regional and metropolitan councils, and

develop actions/programs to best address these; Develop a targeted marketing approach for

specific role types and regions.

5 The ad campaign ‘What kind of nurse will you be?’ reinforces the message that nursing is more varied than ever before

(Department of Health, n.d.). 6 The Australian Defence Forces has various ad campaigns, one of which is the ‘Proud to Belong in the ADF’ campaign, which

aims to involve ‘Australians from all cultural backgrounds’ in order to ‘reflect the diverse society that is Australia today’ (DefenceJobs, n.d.).

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On the other hand, Moreland ‘considered a broader branding campaign [through MAV years ago] but

there was not enough interest across Councils.’ Moreland suggests that councils should instead consider

using digital and social media more effectively.

Whitehorse believes that ‘sector-wide strategies are difficult to promote as the calibre of some of the

smaller and more remote municipalities make it difficult to have one consistent theme for all councils. ’

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4 CONCLUSIONS

Employer branding in the LG context means there is little money to spend on sophisticated advertising

programs to promote councils as Employer of Choice. However, the participating councils in

metropolitan Melbourne understand the role of communication in the attainment of the organisation’s

objectives, thus placing high value on promoting themselves as EOC. They believe branding LG as EOC

will provide the following benefits:

It will change the image of LG—from an organisation that deals only with ‘roads, rates and rubbish’

and parking tickets—into an employer that provides a broad spectrum of services to the

community.

It will help eliminate the stigma on LG as an uninteresting, non-productive and dull workplace,

when in fact LG provides a demanding and challenging work environment.

It will help educate the public of the LG’s generous employer value proposition.

It will help councils attract suitable talent more easily, and save recruitment costs.

It will position LG as a top career option for the next generation of employees.

There is also a consensus among participating councils that the quality of the workforce adds to the

councils’ knowledge base and productivity, which ensures the delivery of outstanding community

services. In the long-term, a strong employer brand will help attract and retain the best talents, whose

quality of work will help LG foster a sustainable future for its communities.

However, despite the strong link of being an EOC to the development of sustainable cities, the

current communication efforts of councils lack the strategies needed in creating a compelling employer

brand, as gathered from the following indicators:

Councils’ employer brand is not actively promoted. The advertising of councils’ EVP is mostly tied to

recruitment activities, which generally take place only when there is a need to fill vacancies.

Digital and social media channels are underutilised. If used appropriately, these channels can

effectively reach out to potential candidates, such as the emerging workforce (young people) as well

as passive jobseekers.

Universities, high schools and careers fairs are also underutilised channels for promoting LG as

Employer of Choice. As a result, the young people who are expected to replace the ageing workforce

are not aware of how they can practice professional disciplines within the LG.

Councils’ generous EVP and engaging organisational culture are not effectively reflected in their

employer slogans. Some councils do not even have a slogan to capture their employer brand.

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A few councils lamented the stereotyped perceptions on LG—such as the limited view that councils deal

only with ‘roads, rates and rubbish’, and parking tickets—that leaves the wider public unaware of the

breadth and diversity of careers in the LG sector. As a result, LG as a sector does not make it to the

consideration list of most candidates. This is essentially a result of the lack of communication strategies

to educate the public of what it is about to work in councils.

If LGs are to compete successfully for talented applicants and retain high-performing employees,

they have to more actively promote themselves as an Employer of Choice. In reality, LG can be a very

attractive career option as it already offers benefits that job seekers look for in an employer:

The top employer offerings that metropolitan Melbourne councils advertise in the careers section of

their websites match at least two of the top five employer offerings that jobseekers look for in an

employer: work-life balance and pleasant work atmosphere.

In the same manner, the factors that participating councils used to describe their organisational

culture match what job seekers look for in an employer: pleasant working atmosphere (as can be

gathered from the highly engaged workforce of some of the councils) and interesting job content

(due to the emphasis on innovation, diverse professions and making a difference to the community).

LG offers an inherent advantage as a place-based employer with an organisational culture based on:

o connection (working in the local community),

o contribution (produces a diverse set of high quality services to the community)

o credibility (an organisation focused on public value and community wellbeing).

This differentiation as a place-based employer could be a strong point in brand management, but more

work is yet to be done on this aspect. For instance, none of the surveyed slogans highlight the pride of

being a public servant that interacts with the community on a daily basis. If developed, this message can

potentially be a powerful element of employer branding.

A bold branding approach is necessary in order to maximise LGs’ limited resources. This study found

that the participating councils favour a sector-wide branding program to promote LG as EOC. The

strength of Local Government as an employer is diluted as each council advertises its own opportunities

as they become available instead of showing strength and stature through combining advertising

sources (LGMA SA, 2006). Recommendations on a sector-wide communications campaign to promote

LG as an Employer of Choice are outlined in the next section.

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5 RECOMMENDATIONS Coordinate a sector-wide communications campaign to promote Local Government as an Employer of Choice.

There needs to be a coordinated LG-wide communications program to educate the public of the diverse

employment options and generous benefits offered by the sector. Joint communication initiatives ‘will

ensure a presence and create a sense of size, power and strength that is currently absent’ (LGMA South

Australia, 2006). Consider the following suggestions:

Establish a single public agency that has the authority, skills and focus to manage a sector-wide

branding program for LG as an Employer of Choice.

LG federations such as the LGMA and ACELG may be interested in rolling out this program. MAV,

which started some groundwork on a similar program years ago, may still revive the campaign and

learn from the lessons of the earlier program.

Combine advertising resources of individual councils instead of spending money on piecemeal and

separate promotion efforts.

Develop a banner slogan that will define LG as an Employer of Choice.

Make sure that the message highlights the competitive advantages (LGMA SA, 2006) of the LG sector

as follows:

o connection – working in the local community

o contribution – producing high quality services to the community

o credibility – working in an organisation focused on public value and community wellbeing.

Run a sophisticated advertising campaign that will highlight the diverse career options in the LG

sector and the pride of being a public servant. Use various channels to promote the ad campaign,

including traditional media, social and digital media, community activities, universities, careers

fairs, posters and so on.

A similar successful ad campaign was that of the Defence Forces, which effectively reflected the

diversity of career options and the challenging work in the department.

Develop a marketing toolkit that:

o identifies the specific messages and campaigns for promoting different occupations in Local

Government

o identifies the unique characteristics of individual councils, and fits in the message within the

umbrella of the broader branding campaign

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o highlights the generous employer value proposition of the sector

o tailors the key messages to different audiences.

Maximise online social networks in order to appeal to younger demographic, passive jobseekers and

exiting staff.

o In LinkedIn, integrate campaign slogan to the job profiles of existing LG employees.

o CEOs urged to join LinkedIn’s Global Influencers program, which ‘allows influential and

knowledgeable business leaders to publish posts sharing business advice and opinion’

(Robin, 2013), and attracts internal staff and external audience to engage in the discussions.

o Facebook and Twitter can complement campaign to implicitly show to young people the

various careers that they can pursue in LG.

o To be effective, develop a comprehensive social media plan to tailor messages for specific

platforms, purpose and audiences.

Develop a centralised website for graduate and undergraduate programs in LG. This will require

coordination among HR managers of different councils and, possibly, the development of a

coordinated graduate program.

Develop a new website where all LG jobs are advertised, and where job ads link to the website of the

council that advertised the position.

Note that the aim of these centralised campaigns is to show strength and stature, but the independence

of individual councils should be maintained. The coordinated communications efforts will be a venue

for councils to share knowledge with one another. However, recruitment of staff will still be determined

by the individual councils’ HR department.

As in any communications campaign, a regular evaluation of the campaign is recommended in order

to capitalise on the identified strengths and improve on the discovered weaknesses.

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Councils’ Employer Value Proposition

As follows are the employee benefits advertised by metropolitan Melbourne LGs when recruiting talent:

Council

Banyule ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Bayside ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Boroondara ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Brimbank ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Cardinia ✔ ✔ ✔

Casey ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Darebin* NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Frankston ✔ ✔

Glen Eira ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Greater Dandenong ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Hobsons Bay ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Hume ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Kingston ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Knox ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Manningham ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Maribyrnong ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Maroondah ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Melbourne ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Melton ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Monash* NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Moonee Valley ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Moreland ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Mornington Peninsula ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Nillumbik* NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Port Phillip ✔ ✔

Stonnington ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Whitehorse ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Whittlesea ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Wyndham ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Yarra ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Yarra Ranges ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

TOTAL 11 13 14 16 5 14 22 11 23 0 18 16

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* These councils’ EVPs are not advertised in the careers section of their respective websites.

Appendix 2: Budget for promoting council as EOC

The participating councils’ response to the question, What percentage of your resources is spent on

promoting council as an EOC:

Council Response

Brimbank At present we fill all vacancies with suitable candidates and attract a large number of applications.

Casey Almost zero

Knox 2%

Mooney Valley No data recorded to measure this.

Moreland Minimal

Mornington

Peninsula

Difficult to answer as we don’t work on a % but what is best for the organisation without spending a great

deal of money -- it is about negotiations with various advertising channels to get good exposure. Being

mindful that it is public purse.

Stonnington Currently Stonnington is promoted via a large range of Council events which are run for the community

and also when we undertake recruitment each week.

Whitehorse Zero

Yarra Currently Yarra City Council does not have an allocated budget for branding Yarra as an employer of

choice.

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branding local government as an employer of choice

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