edition #02 driving employer branding up the agenda · hr ownership another total turnaround is...

EDITION #02

Making the intangible asset tangible – two years on

Driving employer branding up the agenda

Contents

01 Emperor insight: Employer brand management

02 Key findings: Employer brand management

08 Emperor insight: Human capital

09 Key findings: Human capital

12 Full research findings

20 About us

EMPEROR INSIGHT: EMPLOYER BRAND MANAGEMENT

Employer brand management: what a difference two years can make

When we commissioned our research on employer brand management with Communicate magazine in 2015, employer brand was an emerging ‘hot topic’. Our survey aimed to explore the role and management of employer brand within businesses across a range of sectors.

Two years on and it shows no signs of abating as companies increasingly understand the importance of branding from the inside out. Curious to find out in detail how the landscape has changed, we decided to re-run the survey with Communicate’s help. The results are as interesting as we had hoped...

Simon Harper Head of Digital and Strategic Consultancy

Zoë TisdallClient Director

01

Today, the role of employer brand is perhaps more topical than ever with millennials moving into management positions and Generation Z about to enter the workforce. But how is it being managed in 2017?

Talent attractionSince our last survey, there’s been a complete turnaround in objectives, with the importance of the role that employer brand plays to generate the talent pipeline jumping to the top of the to-do list. Two years ago, this sat firmly at the bottom with the support of change management initiatives ranking first. What’s more, quality of hire, internal engagement surveys and low churn rates were cited as the top three metrics of a successful employer brand. So, happy employees really do mean productive, loyal employees who will invest themselves in your business for the long term, acting as brand ambassadors.

HR ownershipAnother total turnaround is illustrated in this year’s results with HR taking primary responsibility for employer brand management. As we have seen with our own clients, this is often in partnership with marketing and corporate communications teams, whereas it used to rest predominantly with the CEO and leadership team. We’ve found that a true partnership between HR and marketing makes the world of difference because we can get much more under the skin of different stakeholders’ needs and can be truly pragmatic when it comes to bringing the employer brand story to life.

A digital workplaceIn just two years we can really see how much more the digital workplace is helping businesses to engage and connect with employees through the use of social media and intranets. Similarly, attraction programmes leverage video content from dedicated careers sites and replace traditional graduate and on-boarding schemes.

Here to stay 60% of our respondents said they are committed to employer brand management for the long term but there is still plenty of work to do. Of this, 50% believe budgets will increase – up 23% from 2015. For us, this commitment is also reflected in the creation of specific employer brand management roles within our own clients’ businesses and budget planning for employee engagement campaigns once the employer brand has been defined.

The time is now!What’s clear to us is that more than ever, organisations accept that building brands from the inside out with the vital ingredients of culture and engagement really does help to drive your business forward.

02 03

Objectives

2017 2015

1 Attracting quality talent 7

2 Retaining quality talent 6

3 Communicating your company values 5

4 Managing your external reputation 4

5 Helping you stand out from competitors 3

6 Contributing to commercial success 2

7 Supporting change management initiatives 1

Which of the following objectives is the employer brand most responsible for?

Employer brand is now playing a key strategic role in managing the ‘people pipeline’, and not just used as a tactical change management tool – a complete reversal in objectives from 2015.

OUR TAKE-OUT

Strategy & commitment

KEY FINDINGS: EMPLOYER BRAND MANAGEMENT

CURRENT RESPONSIBILITY

FORMER RESPONSIBILITY

Where does the responsibility for the development and management of your employer brand primarily sit? If this has changed, where did it formerly sit?

As the importance of the employer brand is increasingly recognised and progress scrutinised, responsibility has been designated to a specific function to deliver on this – in the majority of organisations, HR.

HR

CEO/leadership

CEO/leadership

HR

Other/collaborative

Other/collaborativeOUR TAKE-OUT

0504


Efficacy & communications Metrics & measurementWhat are the biggest challenges to the efficacy of your employer brand?

Which of the following metrics do you use to measure the efficacy of your employer brand?

Quality of hire 48%

Internal surveys

45%

Cost per hire

26%

Churn 43%

External perception of company

41%

Awards 29%

Volume of inbound CV submissions

29%

Productivity contribution to the bottom line

19%

Media/advertising on recruitment

16%

Other

10%

The case for the employer brand is understood and senior management is championing the cause. Now the practical obstacles of resources and budget need addressing.

Hiring the right people, keeping them and listening to them are the top three metrics. This combination gives rise to the fourth most popular metric – external perception of company – demonstrating the link between the internal employer brand and external consumer brand.

OUR TAKE-OUT OUR TAKE-OUT

Resources

Internal skillset Lack of senior

buy-in

Budget

Agency support

3.983.60

2.90 2.73

1.78

Averages are based on rankings from 1–5, with 5 being the biggest challenge.

06 07

3%I don’t know

Future investmentDo you expect your organisation to invest further in employer brand management over the next year?

3%The budget will decrease

16%We will struggle to justify expenditure

21%

2%

27%

There is an appetite for investment in the employer brand, demonstrating the impact that is being seen and the value that is being demonstrated.

OUR TAKE-OUT


ImpactWhat do you think is the biggest value a strong employer brand can have on a business?

Talent pipeline

Impact on bottom line

Ethics, morals, values

IMPACT ETHICS TALENT

Increased productivity and innovation.

A sense of empowerment and family.

Build a talented community.

51%

23%

26%

22%The budget will increase

50%

0908

Does your company report on its human capital within its annual report?

2017 2015

Here’s what we found when asking companies about their views on human capital:

Employers recognise the importance of developing and monitoring human capital.While the annual report is often considered a review of a company’s financial performance, the great majority of organisations include information on the value of their employees. In our research, over 80% of companies producing an annual report reported on human capital and the number who formally accounted for human capital has risen significantly over the past two years as companies look to quantify the value of human capital. Furthermore, three times as many respondents felt that investors understand the value of human capital than those who didn’t.

Employers seek happy, well-trained and diverse people.It appears that employers agree with the old saying that happy workers are good workers. Companies are increasingly focused on attracting and retaining high quality employees and measuring their performance on human capital indicators is an important part of this process. Almost two-thirds viewed employee satisfaction as the most important measure of human capital management. In addition, over half believed that training and development of their people was important. Maintaining a diverse workforce, staff turnover and employee well-being rounded off the most valuable indicators of human capital. Companies plan to focus more on human capital in the future.Of those surveyed, twice as many felt reporting on human capital would increase in the future than those who did not. When asked what could be done to help improve investor understanding, almost half of those asked suggested publishing a leadership statement that defined the company’s human capital strategy. Almost a third cited greater disclosure of human capital in the annual report.

Read on to learn more about our survey and its results.

Rachel Crossley Senior Reporting Consultant

Leighton Barnish Head of Sustainability Consulting

EMPEROR INSIGHT: HUMAN CAPITAL

Human capital: How is employer brand represented in corporate reporting?

The level of information on human capital is growing year on year, as organisations recognise the importance of developing and monitoring human capital.

OUR TAKE-OUT

33%

23%

Yes, we formally account for human capital within the accounts section of our annual report.

No, we don’t include aspects of human capital within our annual report.

Yes, within the narrative.

21%

36%

44%43%

KEY FINDINGS: HUMAN CAPITAL

Human capital

1110

I don’t know

Yes Yes

No

No

Will your annual report feature more emphasis on human capital this year?

Do investors understand the value of human capital?

If no, what would help improve their understanding?

If yes, on which measures do you place the most value? (Select your top three measures)

Encouragingly, measures such as employee satisfaction and training and development are prioritised over churn and absenteeism, demonstrating a longer-term, strategic perspective.

The role that leadership plays in communicating the importance of human capital to a business is clear – both to investors and other corporate stakeholders.

OUR TAKE-OUT OUR TAKE-OUT

Employee satisfaction

64%

Employee training and

development 54%

Diversity 50%

Employee turnover

46%

Salary benchmarking

14%

Employee well-being

36%Employee promotion rate

11%

Other (please specify)

7% Absenteeism

0%

KEY FINDINGS: HUMAN CAPITAL

21%

50%

29%

59%

9%

32%

Human capital Human capital

I don’t know

Leadership statement on human capital

Communications from IR team Discussion

at AGM

More about human capital in the annual report

Other

47%

32%

16%11%

16%

12

* 2015 data has not been included, as the question was either asked slightly differently in 2015 or asked for the first time in 2017.

13

The results

FULL RESEARCH FINDINGS This survey was carried out by Communicate magazine in March 2017 with analysis carried out on 100 UK respondents.

2017 2015

61%60%

6%8.5%

6%8.5%

Q1 How would you rate your organisation’s overall commitment to the strategicdevelopment and continual management of an employer brand?

Committed but we still have work to do

27%23%Very committed and have

strategy in place

Indi�erent but considering it

Not committed/it’s not a priority

Q2 Where does the responsibility for the development and management of your employer brand primarily sit?*

35%HR

18%CEO/leadership

15%Other/collaborative

(please specify)

13%Corporate comms

11%Marketing

6%Internal comms

2%Investor relations

Q3 If this has changed, where did it formerly sit?*

26%HR

10%Corporate comms

4%Internal comms

34%CEO/leadership

8%Marketing

0%Investor relations

18%Other/collaborative

(please specify)


1514

3.314.82

3.794.21

3.893.72

4.093.68

4.683.65

2.675.12

Q4 Which of the following objectives is the employer brand most responsible for? (Rate from most important to least, where 5 is most important)

Attracting quality talent

Retaining quality talent

5.052.81Supporting change

management initiatives

Communicating your company values

Managing your external reputation

Helping you stand out from competitors

Contributing to commercial success

2017 2015

64%47%

8%15%

24%31%

4%7%

Q5 How e�ectively does your employer brand deliver against the above objectives?

Very e�ectively

E�ectively

Not e�ectively

I don’t know

2017 2015

39%34%

14%19%

35%31%

10%13%

Q6 What level of awareness exists internally with regard to your brand values?

Very high

High

Average

Low

2%3%Very low

2017 2015

3.60

3.98

2.90

Q7 What are the biggest challenges to the ecacy of your employer brand? (Please rank from 1 to 5, with 5 being the biggest challenge)*

2.73Lack of senior buy-in

Budget

Resources

Internal skillset

1.78Agency support

41%33%

42%47%

12%17%

5%3%

Q8 Is employer brand management viewed as a strategic consideration by your CEO and/or leadership team?

Yes, they are committedIt’s becoming

a priorityNo, it’s still viewed as a

tactical way to recruit talent

I don’t know

2017 2015

73%

58%

Q9 How do you communicate your employer brand to prospective employees?(Please select EXACTLY three of your preferred channels)*

65%Social media

Careers website

Recruitment advertising/ employer marketing

20%Recruitment branding

28%Induction programmes

15%

8%

22%Employee referral schemes

8%Current employee research

Physical environment

Intranet

2%Other (please specify)

1716

Q10 How do you communicate your employer brand to existing employees?(Please select EXACTLY three of your preferred channels)*

35%Social media

20%Careers website

15%Recruitment advertising/ employer marketing

13%Recruitment branding

50%Induction programmes

17%Employee referral schemes

17%Current employee research

45%Physical environment

53%Intranet

20%Video


2017 2015

34%43%

Q11 Which of the following metrics do you use to measure the e�cacy of your employer brand? (Select all that apply)

30%26%Cost per hire

33%48%Quality of hire

Churn

21%16%Media/advertising

on recruitment

26%29%Volume of inbound CV

submissions

21%19%Productivity contribution

to the bottom line

56%45%Internal surveys

26%29%Awards

0%41%External perception

of company (new for 2017)

10%10%Other (please specify)

38%

24%

31%

7%

Q12 Do you believe that your business understands and measures the correlationbetween the employer and consumer brand?*

Yes

Yes, they understand but there is no measurement

No

I don’t know

43%27%

28%50%

5%2%

24%21%

Q13 Do you expect your organisation to invest further in employer brandmanagement over the next year?

The budget will increase

We will struggle to justify expenditure

The budget will decrease

I don’t know

2017 2015

2017 2015

23%36%

44%43%

33%21%

Q14 Does your company report on its human capital within its annual report?

Yes, within the narrative

Yes, we formally account for human capital within the accounts section of

our annual report

No, we don’t include aspects of human capital within our annual report



1918

64%

50%

Q15 If yes, on which measures do you place the most value? (Select your top three measures)*

Employee satisfaction

46%Employee turnover

Diversity

0%Absenteeism

54%Employee training and development

11%Employee promotion rate

14%Salary benchmarking

36%Employee well-being


21%

29%

50%

Q16 Will your annual report feature more emphasis on human capital this year?*

Yes

No

I don’t know

9%

32%

59%

Q17 Do investors understand the value of human capital?*

Yes

No

I don’t know

16%

Q18 If no, what would help improve their understanding?*

32%More about human capital

in the annual report

47%Leadership statement

on human capital

11%Discussion at AGM

Communications from IR team


26%

51%

23%

Q19 What do you think is the biggest value a strong employer brand can have on a business?*

Talent pipeline

Ethics, morals, values

Impact on bottom line



About usAbout us

2120

We love what we do. Emperor is founded on a culture that has at its core the idea of creating great work and delivering a great experience for everyone involved in that work: that’s our clients, our people and our partners. It’s that simple.

But simple can be harder than complex so there’s a huge amount of passion, energy and commitment involved in making it happen. Our focus is on channelling our thinking, our creativity and our innovation into making sure the work we do helps the businesses we work with achieve their ambitions. We never underestimate how tough that can be and we earn the trust and confidence of our clients by our relentless approach to understanding what really matters to them.

We’ve learnt a lot, we never stop learning and we really do love what we do.

ReportingWe’re experts in producing corporate reports that people want to pick up, read and act on. When a direct, skilfully executed approach is needed, we’re trusted to deliver. But it’s the way we listen to and work with our clients that makes our approach different.

EngagementContinued engagement is the key to a brand’s success, externally and internally. Communication is a constant, so it’s vital to keep conversations dynamic, alive and relevant. We design campaigns to perform in today’s connected, multi-channel world. We plan, measure and optimise effectiveness, harnessing creativity for a practical purpose to get measurable results.

DigitalNo one else in our field works with such a variety of clients across such a breadth of digital services. But whatever the brief, we’re always focused on what matters most to you. That’s reaching and inspiring the audience you want to reach, while offering you a superior service experience throughout.

BrandThe strongest brands have a positive influence on everything about a business, from a customer’s first impressions to the way an employee performs. We build them collaboratively to create something which captures your company’s unique culture.

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Let’s talkIf you have any questions or would like to learn more about how we can help you differentiate your brand and communications, we’d love to talk with you.

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Want more insight?Get in touch if you’d like any of the following brochures:

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