Employer Branding and the Great Resignation

Chris Major, Global Talent Acquisition Director, Siegwerk

It goes by many names, and has firmly established itself as a key talking point in HR circles everywhere.

Whatever you call it, the “Great Resignation” has caused the biggest shift in a decade in candidate attitudes and expectations. It has shaken office workers by the shoulders until their eyes are wide open, looking firmly at the future.

Employees are now rethinking their life choices. Whether we like it or not, the great majority of us (9 out of 10 in the US) have been working from home for the past two years, and this has forced a rethink in the way we look at our jobs; in particular the way we interact with our co-workers, managers and -perhaps most importantly- our families.

Microsoft’s most recent annual career index tells us that 76 percent of workers want flexible working opportunities to stay once the pandemic eases – a trend we can see reflected in the dramatic (five-fold) increase in “remote” jobs posted on LinkedIn compared to pre-pandemic times.

We have, it seems, become accustomed to managing our own time, and have mastered the art of ‘business up top, party down below’ when it comes to zoom uniforms.

More than this though, we are seeing employees re-evaluate what’s really important to them. They are asking themselves the big questions around staying in the same industry until they retire, or whatever happened to that florist they wanted to open. A great many of these questions are answered by not just changing employers, but changing career paths entirely – something I personally feel should be celebrated and encouraged if done for the right reasons.

“Gone are the days of rolling out vague employee benefits like ‘development’ and ‘competitive salaries.’ Top talent is looking for less fluff and more specifics, and more than ever are asking… “what’s in it for me?”

And we can see this played out by the huge spike in global resignations over the past 12 months. Employees had been understandably reluctant to leave what they saw as a stable job while the pandemic was swirling around them, but now that things have at least stabilized, there is a pent-up energy and appetite to make their next career play. This in turn has given rise to two sub trends: those that want to stay in their industry, but find a different employer; and those that want to change their career path entirely. It is this latter group that’s causing havoc. If you leave your job as a software developer to open a meditation centre, then that’s one less software developer swimming in an already shallow talent pool.

All of this means that we now have less candidates to pick from in general, and those that are available are (quite rightly) more discerning about their next move than ever before. They have after all weathered a pandemic that has put their career plans on hold. If they’ve waited this long, then you can bet they won’t rush now, and will save themselves for the perfect fit. Not only does the salary and benefits package have to be just right, but candidates have to really identify with an organisation. They have to believe in what you are doing, and make sure it aligns closely with their own value system.

So what does this mean for employers now looking to fill these new holes in the workforce? By necessity, they have had to rethink the way they attract and engage with the talent they need. Gone are the days of rolling out vague employee benefits like “development” and “competitive salaries”. Top talent is looking for less fluff and more specifics, and more than ever are asking… “what’s in it for me?”

Enter Employer Branding and the Employer Value Proposition (EVP); that sometimes forgotten notion of matching what candidates really want, with the heart & soul of your company. Using your company’s core values as selling points to attract the best and brightest people. Employer Branding, and specifically the EVP, has once again taken its rightful place at the center of any good recruiting strategy.

As recently as 2021, there were a number of industry commentators declaring Employer Branding to be dead, or at the very least outdated. This view was based on the continued and rapid rise of the “Gig Economy” (a market dominated by knowledge workers engaging in short terms contracts, projects or assignments to fit their lifestyles). Why, they wrote, would any company need an Employer Brand if employees were really just looking for short-term employment? Wouldn’t it be a waste to spend money and resources on building an employment proposition if all candidates were concerned about was money and convenience? Well, no. It is as important now as it has ever been to identify and properly articulate the reasons your company is a perfect match for a candidate. Especially now, the employees you need are carefully assessing whether you are a right fit for them, short term or otherwise.

Building an Employer Brand takes effort though, and no shortage of skill. Your EVP for example is more than just a list of benefits. Yes, these are important, and they will be considered carefully by candidates, but benefits alone won’t motivate your next employee to join you over your competitor. Donald Calne, the Canadian Neurologist once said “The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions”. And he was right – free lunches and a foosball table might lead some to conclude you are a fun employer, but it won’t lead them to actually change companies. For that you will need to turn a mirror back on your organisation– speak to employees to understand why they chose you in the first place, and of course why they stay with you now. Get a real and honest sense of what it’s like to work there. Then talk to your senior leadership – understand from the group that can genuinely impact the way your company operates, how they want to be perceived in the candidate market. Very rarely do these two impressions match up, but by identifying the gap between the two you can begin to build a bridge, and then stretch your EVP messaging to suit. Employees love the culture and their workmates, but want more flexibility and control over their career development? See if that aligns with senior leadership’s expectation and ability to deliver, and then start to build your EVP to suit. Stretch the messaging to make it believable, but aspirational. That’s the sweet-spot-purple-unicorn-getting-secret-sauce that will have candidates knocking your door down.

Find what makes your company special. Uncover your reason for being in business. Match those to specific candidate needs & wants, and you’ll slowly start turning the Great Resignation into the Great Re-Employment.

Microsoft