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    8 Ways to Hire Faster & Build a Better Employer Brand

    What You’ll Learn

    How to fill positions more efficiently through tools, templates, and moreThe partnership making hires an average of 11 days fasterThe strategy that took an offer acceptance rate from 60% to 88%

    About this eBook, 8 Ways to Hire Faster & Build a Better Employer Brand

    In a panel discussion led by Hired CTO Dave Walters, talent leaders from Gem, Tanium, NBCUniversal, and One Medical shared their thoughts on trends and best practices for optimizing the candidate experience.

    They reviewed how to improve the hiring process by strengthening the experience and by extension, the employer brand. Now, we are covering eight of their strategies to consistently help their teams fill tech and sales jobs efficiently. Use them to take action with your recruiting goals! More

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    Building Employer Brand Awareness with Global Tech Talent

    Everyone’s looking for tech talent, and the competition within this highly in-demand market is steep. This is the challenge Liz Gelb-O’Connor faces as ADP’s VP/Global Head of Employer Brand and Marketing. Here’s how Gelb-O’Connor and her team are tailoring their employer brand strategy to attract tech talent specifically.
    Building Global Awareness
    As a payroll services provider, ADP pays one out of every six workers in the US and is almost a household name. However, outside of the US, it doesn’t have the same level of recognition as major US consumer brands.
    The employer brand team spent 10 months researching the international talent markets that yielded the most candidates and nurturing relationships with partner organizations in other countries. The result was an EVP localized for each country—a monumental effort that turned out to be well worth it, Gelb-O’Connor says.
    Nurture Future Talent
    ADP’s employer brand team also devotes energy to the very top of the tech talent funnel, those that aren’t looking for work right now but may be strong candidates in the future. ADP’s tech blog, a first of its kind for the company, keeps future talent abreast of industry conversations and news while showcasing the brand’s innovation and the thought leadership of its tech employees.
    The results of this tech-tailored approach to employer brand have been powerful. In the five years since Gelb-O’Connor began leading employer brand, ADP has won industry accolades, and earned a strong NPS score for its candidate experience. Cost of hire has dropped, and the candidate conversion rate for the tech career site is twice the rate of its main career site (despite launching during the hiring slowdown of May 2020).
    This rapid change and growth around tech is one of the things that makes Gelb-O’Connor so excited to lead employer brand at ADP. “It never gets old,” she says. “That’s been the most rewarding thing: seeing how far we’ve come.”

    To follow Liz Gelb-O’Connor’s work in employer brand, connect with her on LinkedIn. For help identifying the values and culture you want to create in your company, get in touch.
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    Navigating Market Uncertainty: The State of Tech Hiring (VIDEO)

    Watch this webinar-on-demand to hear in-depth analyses of the hiring market today, based on the 2022 State of Tech Salaries data report. Listen to meaningful conversations regarding hiring strategies, including the structure of compensation packages, flexible working models, and other talent initiatives.

    Hear from:

    Hired CEO Josh BrennerVP & GM, Employer Solutions for General Assembly Catie BrandHead of People, Virtru, Conley (Henderson) McIntyre and Director, Talent Acquisition, Markforged, Bryan Robinson.

    Download this collaborative panel discussion to discover: 

    Salary trends by role and years of experienceChanges in industry benchmarks such as average time-to-hireKey opportunities to win over top tech talent efficientlyImpact of global remote on tech talent hiring More

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    Employer Brand at a Booming E-Commerce Company

    This pet care brand is building an exceptional culture while growing rapidly, thanks in part to its successful employer brand strategy. And though stay-at-home orders certainly played a role in Chewy’s success, it isn’t just the convenience of online shopping that’s driving its transformation.
    Its employer brand is helmed by Senior Employer Brand Manager Kara Hendrick, who has played a crucial role in helping Chewy keep pace with a season of rapid growth.
    Internal Champions
    The employer brand function at Chewy grew out of the company’s goal to raise awareness of the growing number of diverse roles it needed to fill. Chewy’s HR department was one of its first champions, which kickstarted company-wide enthusiastic support for Hendrick’s work.
    Hendrick knows that finding these internal champions is key to employer brand success, and she prioritizes building relationships with stakeholders in PR, talent management, branding, and social. These relationships are especially beneficial for employer brand projects with vast scope but limited resources; they help Hendrick avoid getting too “in the weeds.”
    Culture Investment
    This attention to the personal pervades Chewy’s culture beyond its customer service strategy. Team members aren’t “employees” but “Chewtopians,” and Chewy’s operating principles include statements like “Act like an owner.”
    When lockdown restrictions forced Chewy’s corporate offices and customer service centers into home offices, the company’s talent management and employee experience teams met with its CHRO and CEO to revisit and recommit to its values.
    No One-Size-Fits-All Strategy
    Chewy recruits for corporate customer service, tech, and fulfillment center roles, all while maintaining a unified message and navigating each talent segment’s unique challenges. Hiring for a diverse array of roles, Hendrick has learned, demands diverse strategies.
    “What attracts a software engineer in Boston isn’t the same as what attracts an operations manager in Dayton, Ohio,” she observes. Designing an employer brand strategy that will be successful for all these markets demands careful listening.
    This fact hit home in Hendrick’s early days at Chewy when she met with the Head of Fulfillment Center Recruiting. After listening to Hendrick present her grand plans for targeting fulfillment center candidates, he asked, “Have you ever visited a Chewy fulfillment center?” Hendrick admitted she hadn’t yet. But after her first visit, “It all made sense.”

    To follow Kara Hendrick’s work in employer brand, connect with her on LinkedIn. For help gathering the right data and developing strategies to make real change at your company, get in touch.
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    How Smart Companies are Solving Post-Lockdown Working (4 New Trends)

    From ‘swarm teams’ to the metaverse, innovative ideas take on the challenges of the new world of work…

    In late 2021, Professor Lynda Gratton of the London Business School asked 150 executives from companies around the world for their take on the biggest challenge currently facing businesses. The answer came back loud and clear: “retaining people,” closely followed by “recruiting people.”

    It picked up on a problem destined to grow. The Great Resignation, the result of lockdown-fuelled dissatisfaction with our jobs was first. Then it was followed by the Great Reshuffle, as workers leapt from job to job in search of fulfillment. As we entered post-lockdown working, how would companies evolve?

    In May this year, the UK’s Office for National Statistics revealed that there were more job vacancies than unemployed people in the country for the first time since records began. The marketplace has since begun to settle, but a July survey of 1,100 US professionals showed that 31 percent were planning to quit within the next 12 months. In other words, employers still need to focus hard on hiring and keeping the best talent.

    Post-Lockdown Working at Home vs In-office

    According to Josh Brenner, CEO of Hired, the largest AI-driven recruitment marketplace for tech workers, what is most likely to attract and retain employees is the offer of flexible working. In a recent Hired survey, less than two percent of respondents wanted a full, five-day return to the office.

    “We’ve seen really high rates of attrition when companies have forced people back to the office for a full five-day schedule,” he says.

    With that comes the need to make the best of hybrid work, potentially across disparate geographies. In order to retain employees, companies also need to work harder to engage them. They need to help them feel aligned with the organization’s values, Brenner believes.

    “When we hear about companies losing high numbers of staff, a lot of it is because employees feel disconnected. They lack a solid understanding of where the company’s going, and how their work  bubbles up and contributes to goals.”

    Throw in the need to prepare for a fast-changing world – technologically, geo-politically – and you have a cluster of problems for companies to solve in post-lockdown working. Those that do so most effectively stand to gain a competitive advantage – so what are the most innovative trending ideas? 

    In WIRED’s report, readers learn about the:

    AI company that has done away with managers marketing company making a four-day week pay dividends professional services company using the metaverse to engage its workforcerise of a new C-suite role that’s re-shaping business… More

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    2022 Survey Results: Top 3 Benefits Ranked by Engineers (Besides Salary)

    Last year was largely characterized by the Great Resignation but this year, in 2022, both employers and employees face uncertainty in the hiring market. This challenges employers to be more efficient when attracting, hiring, and onboarding new tech employees. To help you be more competitive when sourcing top talent, Hired’s 2022 State of Tech Salaries report reveals the three benefits ranked highest by engineers.

    Analyzing data from more than 907,000 interview requests across over 47,750 active positions, the process revealed insights from top tech talent and what they want in potential employers. 

    Potential candidates strongly factor benefits into their decision so this is important to your retention efforts with current employees. 

    Incorporate The Top Three Benefits in Your Recruiting Strategy 

    Hired’s 2022 State of Tech Salaries Report revealed engineers rank three benefits as most important to their job search outside of base compensation: flexible schedule, PTO, and physical health benefits. Are you an employer, recruiter, or hiring manager? Prioritize these benefits for robust recruiting and talent retention strategies and efforts. 

    1. Flexible Work Schedule 

    The pandemic forced companies to jump into remote work head first. However, as we adapt to the future of work, Hired found employees aren’t interested in fully returning to the office. Take a look at the response to our WFH questions. We found only 2% considered an in-office workplace most ideal. While over half (54.2%) would be willing to go back to the office if it came with more job security, they also reported they would search for other jobs with flexible remote work options right away.

    Note the flexible option to work from home is now the bare minimum. You need a comprehensive flexible work schedule. Here are a few trending best practices to consider implementing and promoting: 

    Shortened Work Week 

    Many companies are testing adaptable schedules, such as shortened work weeks. This model makes sense, especially for tech roles unnecessarily tied to the traditional, Monday-Friday, 9-5 work week. Companies adapting to a 4-day model see increased productivity and better work-life balance. 

    Family-Friendly Workplace 

    The pandemic also shined a light on the specific challenges faced by caregivers. For working parents or those caring for aging adults, it was overdue. It humanized a lot of working relationships and often provided a bit of levity. How many kids and dogs have you seen on video calls?

    As a result, reports found 57% of senior leaders plan to prioritize care benefits. When promoting flexible scheduling options, emphasize families may work around their responsibilities. Remember to be inclusive. Flexible scheduling isn’t only for working parents. Think of those who are in the “sandwich generation” or taking care of partners/parents. 

    2. Clear PTO Policies 

    First, it’s best to define your PTO policy. You won’t get far with candidates with vague mentions of “generous PTO.” What does that mean? Generous to whom? It’s all relative. Instead, clearly outline policies in your job postings. 

    Remember, asking employees to categorize their paid time off requests is passé. A solid and robust PTO strategy combines days for vacation, sick time, bereavement, and personal time in a single bank for employee use — no explanations for their use needed.

    Another hot-button topic for benefits is the debate over unlimited PTO. There are pros and cons to its implementation:

    Cons of Unlimited PTO

    Ambiguity actually makes employees take less time off. Branka Vuleta, founder of LegalJobs.io, explains: “In reality, people who have an opportunity to take as many vacations as they can end up taking fewer days off than those with a limited amount of days off in a year.

    In a nutshell, the unlimited PTO policy is a marketing trick supposed to lure people into applying for the job.” Employees new to unlimited PTO may not understand it’s not accrued, and therefore, isn’t paid out if they leave.

    Pros of Unlimited PTO

    Allows employees to take time off at their discretion and puts no caps on the number of days or hours used. This respects employees as adults instead of kids with a hall pass. This empowerment can be an attractive recruiting tool in a competitive marketplace.

    Employee Communication Guidance

    No matter what you decide, the key is to disclose as much insight into your PTO policy as possible. The last two decades of the tech revolution coupled with the pandemic created a more fluid and open-minded environment. 

    Prospective and current employees still want to understand, however, how and when they can take time off, and what the policy will mean to them. Consider mentioning:

    Required PTO minimums: Explain how your company requires workers to take time off to avoid burnout. Assistance with PTO coverage: This is often an issue with the unlimited PTO policies. People can take off as much time as they want, but covering ongoing projects, deliverables, and duties is cumbersome. Have company leadership take this burden off employees’ shoulders and be sure to communicate this in your job posting. People-first strategy: Showcase your first priority is employee morale, mental wellness, and as much work-life balance as possible. 

    3. Physical Health Benefits

    Healthcare in the U.S. is more expensive than ever. Combined with the painful lessons of the pandemic, employees are more aware of the importance of physical health and wellness.

    So, health benefits play an integral role in recruiting and retaining employees. In addition, study after study proves healthier employees are happier and more productive — benefiting employers and their bottom line.

    Physical health benefits include medical, dental, mental wellness, vision, and other benefits relating to healthcare. But it doesn’t stop there. While it’s imperative to list your complete health benefits offerings, be creative when it comes to wellness coverage and perks. Use these innovative companies and ideas as inspiration:

    Platforms like Modern Health allow employees to enjoy a full spectrum of mental and physical health benefits via one app. Companies like Accenture provide confidential employee assistance programs with training and resources to help with stress, mental health, or substance abuse.A fitness reimbursement program can offer financial assistance for gym memberships, virtual exercise classes, or even personal trainers. For instance, Microsoft offers “$1,200 per year for employee-only wellness-related expenses that help you get and stay fit physically, emotionally, and financially.”  

    Refer to this exhaustive list of perks and stipends for more examples.  

    Want to Attract and Retain Tech Talent? Promote the Right Benefits 

    Competing for tech talent in this current hiring climate and job market may feel like a herculean task, but it doesn’t have to be. Just adapt your strategies to meet evolving expectations surrounding work-life balance, remote work, and other benefits. The good news is the work to make these shifts benefits your current team members and retention efforts, too.

    Remember to emphasize your attractive benefits (specifically flexible schedules, PTO, and health benefits) on your careers page, job postings, and even social media. Shout about them everywhere. Quantify and qualify them to put it into context for prospective candidates. Consider asking current team members to participate in testimonials, quotes, or case studies. 

    This is a difficult time, but you don’t have to go through it alone. Hired’s platform allows you to highlight benefits in your company profile and helps ensure they’re communicated to candidates (i.e., in email requests to interview).

    Hired also gives you access to ongoing real-time market data to tailor your outreach and optimize response rates. This ultimately saves HR teams time to focus on higher-level tasks like retention via employee experience.  

    Top Benefits Ranked by Survey Respondents

    Get even more details about what tech professionals like engineers want regarding salaries, benefits, remote work flexibility, and more.

    Related 

    Tracy Ring is a freelance writer and content marketer. She brings a real-life perspective to her writing from 10+ years of diverse experience, including HR, project management, customer and client relations, and admin roles. Connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter. More

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    Attracting Talent to a Tech Company with French Roots

    This tech company with French roots has a unique way of framing its EVP—or, as Talend says, its JNSQ, or “je ne sais quoi.”“
    Talend was on a mission to put words to what were necessarily undefinable qualities of its brand and culture. What its people marketing team, led by Global People Marketing Manager Jonathan Hehir, uncovered was the importance of culture, diversity, and company-wide EVP stewardship.
    Why Culture Is Key
    “It’s tough for candidates to truly understand what their next business looks like and the type of culture they’re interested in,” Hehir says. “I can understand why candidates when they’re looking at their job search, are behaving more like consumers. Everyone’s edging for that little bit of attention.”
    According to Hehir, the people of Talend are close collaborators and united by love for their field. To succeed, Hehir’s team has to demonstrate that supportive culture to the rest of the tech world.
    What Makes a Unique Workplace
    Like many companies, the pandemic spurred the company to revisit its commitment to diversity and its employer brand. Led by its new CEO Christal Bemont, Talend sought out new ways to own its core values (agility, integrity, passion, and team spirit) and reexamined its “je ne sais quoi” (or JNSQ, as the team says).
    Among the many positive results of this self-reflection was a recommitment to making Talend an inclusive workplace: “An environment where people feel safe and feel a sense of belonging; a place where they can be themselves, even if they may not be visiting offices or their coworkers,” in Hehir’s words. Public reception was positive as well. According to Hehir, “People enjoyed the idea that we were celebrating people’s differences from the outset.”
    Revisit Your Culture’s Roots
    This sense of shared stewardship of the EVP, or JNSQ, has had a major impact on the success of Talend’s employer brand activation efforts.
    “Remember where your culture stems from,” Hehir advises fellow employer brand leaders. Remembering the people behind the brand, he says, is what gets him excited to tell Talend’s story—and welcome new faces into it.

    To follow Jonathan Hehir’s work in employer brand, connect with him on LinkedIn. For help with your own EVP, get in touch. We help you identify the values and culture you want to create in your company.
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    Is Your Employer Brand Helping or Hindering Your Hiring Objectives?

    Most employers agree that great employees are at the heart of every business. To secure the best candidates, hiring managers typically put significant efforts into two key facets of the hiring process: producing an attractive job advert and properly screening the applicant’s CVs.
    The interviews and onboarding that follow must be conducted with the utmost care, managed by members of staff with the knowledge and time to ensure they do not miss out on the opportunity to secure the right candidates.
    However, with 72% of recruiting leaders worldwide agreeing that employer brand significantly impacts hiring, the key to enticing top talent could lie within how attractive your business seems to potential employees.
    So, if you want to meet your recruitment objectives, it might be time to think about the meaning of business branding and how you can use it to gain a competitive edge in the market…
    The ins and outs of company brands
    In short, business branding is a way of identifying your business. It encapsulates what sets it apart, what makes its offering different, and, perhaps most importantly, reflects the company’s values.
    A company develops a positive (or negative) impression of its brand through the quality and competitiveness of what it can offer its employees, including its salary and benefits, management style, culture, and commitments. As such, branding and recruitment go hand in hand — particularly in the digital world, where so much business and hiring activity happens online.
    Organizations around the world are working on nailing their branding — but why? What benefits are employees looking for, and why is it vital to get it right?
    Firstly, it generates cost savings. According to LinkedIn, companies with positive employer brands or favorable reputations within the market can get up to 50% more applications than companies with negative brands. And that is not all; successful employer branding has multiple proven benefits for hiring businesses, including:

    Conversely, companies that fail to focus on branding stand to lose out significantly — financially and reputationally. One study revealed that 82% of prospective employees consider brand and reputation before applying for a job, which could prove disastrous for business growth and bottom lines in organizations that fail to meet expectations.
    So, can you afford to fall short of the mark in the current recruitment landscape?
    Establishing a brand for your business
    A strong employer brand is crucial for securing skilled, engaged, and leadership-bound workers.
    When done well, a branding strategy can deliver multiple functions simultaneously — from defining products and services to showcasing a unique approach to company culture. Consistent, first-rate employer branding should speak for itself, helping to communicate all a candidate needs to know through every interaction with your company.
    Though defining and developing your business brand is a long-term commitment, there are a few key areas you can focus on to improve how your business appears to prospective candidates…
    Refining your employer value proposition
    Branding works alongside employer value propositions (EVPs): an employer’s marketing message and promise to its employees regarding its core values.
    Every company’s EVP is different. It is the sum of everything you offer as an employer — an employee-centric approach that tells the story of your business and why someone should consider joining your team.
    An EVP can be conveyed through consistent corporate messaging and recruitment marketing that helps communicate key messages to the employees you are trying to reach. However, whilst talking a good game is great, you must also walk the walk to ensure your branding comes across as genuine — a key facet to succeeding in your goals.
    Bringing your online reputation up to scratch
    One of the trickiest parts of navigating the job hunt for candidates is working out which companies they would enjoy working for. So, ensuring your business’ reputation reflects well across the board is crucial — from online reviews and staff testimonials to official accreditations.
    Many employers throw out attractive perks and salary offers, but a growing number of workers look for something more. According to research by CareerBuilder, 83% of candidates are willing to accept a lower salary from an employer with an excellent reputation. So, building and maintaining your brand as a business can lead to lower salary responsibilities and attract more interest from serious job seekers.
    In today’s world, social media plays a starring role in business branding, with many candidates basing their employment decisions on the quality of a company’s online presence. Monitoring and updating social media pages and websites are critical to ensuring you put your best foot forward.
    Optimizing your onboarding process
    Candidates often gain their first impression of your business brand during recruitment. As a result, every onboarding stage should be carefully considered to ensure talent is not dissuaded from pursuing an opportunity within your company.
    For employers, this means issuing timely, thorough feedback, remaining organized, and staying up to date with the latest trends — from virtual recruitment and remote working to HR management.
    Of course, this can quickly become an overwhelming task — especially in the current candidate-driven market. So, experts recommend enlisting the support of a specialist recruitment agency to support a successful business branding strategy.
    After all, if you are going to invest time and money in your business brand, you want to do it right.
    By Julie Mott, Managing Director, Howett Thorpe.
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