employer branding in transitions

HR’s ad agency.

Employer Branding in Transitions

Workforce Communications Practice │Webinar │June 14, 2016

HR’s ad agency.

Today’s Agenda

1) The three choices of employer brand

management in times of transition

2) Benchmarking and gap analysis

3) High-performing internal communications

practices

N. Robert Johnson

Practice Leader, Workforce Communications Practice

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HR’s ad agency.

HR’s ad agency.

We apply advertising and marketing practices to

help organizations attract and retain talent.

The focus of The David Group’s Workforce

Communications Practice is to strengthen

employer brands, engage people and cut the

cost of talent.

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HR’s ad agency. 4

Perfect Storm

Employer Branding in Times

of Transition

HR’s ad agency. 5

2015 was a record year for mergers and

acquisitions. (The value of such deals

surpassed the previous record set in 2007.)

And, yet …

Source: Roger L. Martin, “M&A: The One Thing You Need to Get Right”, Harvard Business Review, June 2016

HR’s ad agency. 6

of acquisitions are “abysmal failures”

according to Martin.


70 to 90%

HR’s ad agency.

What’s the Cause?

Acquiring companies tend to focus more on

obtaining value for themselves.

1) Access to a new market

2) Access to a new capability/technology

3) Access to talent

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HR’s ad agency.

What’s the Solution?

Successful acquisitions happen when the acquiring company

focuses on giving value to the acquired company.

1) Capital

2) Better management practices

3) Skill transfer opportunities

4) Resource sharing

5) Employer branding (Our add-on of employer brand promise,

attributes and internal communications effectiveness)

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HR’s ad agency. 9

A purposeful employer brand (based on

mission, culture and values) is perhaps the

greatest value that the acquiring company

can provide.

HR’s ad agency.

The Three Choices

When combining employer brands, there are

basically three choices:

1) Use the acquirer’s employer brand

2) Use the employer brand of the acquired

3) Create a merged, or hybrid, employer

brand

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HR’s ad agency.

To Do:

Establish the employer branding baseline –

the benchmark – that will deliver the most

value to the new organization.

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HR’s ad agency. 12

Benchmarking and Gap Analysis

HR’s ad agency.

The Goal

To have a roadmap to managing your

employer brand. (We also want to strengthen

your employer brand along the way.)

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HR’s ad agency.

The Tool

A gap analysis: by benchmarking and

comparing employer brand elements and

internal communications practices of each

organization, we can prioritize and focus on

areas of need.

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HR’s ad agency.

Where to Start

Define and document the employer brand

promise, attributes and employee value

proposition elements of the “new” organization.

Given the imperative of the transition, these

should be centered those things that unify

purpose and direction.

This is our baseline.

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HR’s ad agency.

Where to Start

Benchmark the current employer brand promise,

attributes and internal communications channels and

effectiveness of each organization.

1) Employer brand platforms

2) Employee engagement data

3) HR Data (on-boarding/stay/exit data)

4) Internal communications audit

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HR’s ad agency.

What to Look For

1) Dimensions of culture, mission and values (ties to

everyday experiences)

2) Dimensions and drivers of engagement, however you define

them (for us: line of sight + commitment)

3) For change management purposes, pay close attention to:

1) Transparency

2) Change readiness

3) Empowerment (individual voice)

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HR’s ad agency.

Dealing with Change

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54% of employees feel positive (confident, excited)

about workplace change while …

45% feel negative (nervous, hostile) about

workplace change. Source: Workhuman Research Institute at Globoforce, 2016

HR’s ad agency.

Dealing with Change

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Source: Workhuman Research Institute at Globoforce, 2016

3xas likely to be excited about

change.

When workers feel that their company is

open and transparent, they are more than

HR’s ad agency.

Dealing with Change

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When workers feel that their voice matters,

they are …


4xas likely to be excited about

change.

HR’s ad agency.

Dealing with Change

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When workers are excited about change …1) 38% are more likely to recommend working at

your company

2) 25% are more motivated to work harder

3) 40% are more likely to believe that your

company is a best place to work



Gap Analysis

Illustration

Using

Engagement

Data


1.7 Gap

1.7 Gap

1.9 Gap

1.9 Gap

Gap Analysis Illustration Using Engagement Data


High-Performing Communications Practices

HR’s ad agency.

Why Internal Communications?

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In this moment – managing an employer brand

through a transition – the focus is to unite

different groups of people under one shared

sense of purpose and direction.

(If accomplished, the employer brand will be

stronger.)

HR’s ad agency.

The power of internal

communications

Retain great people

Help great people

accomplish great things

Empower great people to tell your great story

Create a great

workplace environment

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Internal Communications

High-performing internal

communication programs are …

1) Planned

2) Systematic

3) Purposeful

4) Aligned to business needs (in this case, unifying under a

common purpose)


Hierarchy of Internal

Communications

Success

Senior Most Leaders Involved in Shaping

Communications

What success looks likeCommunication

Integral to

Change

Leader and Line

Managers create

Line of Sight

Managers’

Actions Support

Words

Making it workActivity Links to

Business

Strategy

Evaluation Data

Acted Upon

Feedback

Known to Senior

Management

Line Managers

Trained and

Evaluated

The basicsSkilled

Communications

Planned

Messaging and

Timing

Old and New

Channels

Listening and

Intelligence

Gathering

Line Managers

Clear about

Role

Based on work by Towers Watson, Melcrum and D’Aprix

HR’s ad agency.

IC Best Practices

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A Few Do’s and Don’ts

Do Don’t

Plan content Let content be the only thing to think about

Base the plan around underlying

business needs and have specific

outcomes defined

Have an assumption that results will speak

for themselves

Make it relevant to the audience; Connect

business need to employees’ daily

experiences as validated by research

Do it just because of business managers’

requests

Choose channels most appropriate for

each audience and measure results

Pick channels for organizational

convenience only

HR’s ad agency.

IC Best Practices

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Purpose Mapping for Internal Communications

Purpose Style Channels Types

Create awareness or

inform

Factual, use frequent

and varied media

Mass, impersonal E-mail; newsletters,

group meetings

Influence opinion or

attitudes

Persuasion Targeted and

personal

Face-to-face,

alignment to

personal drivers

Secure commitment Motivational Personal, peer or

leadership

Group or team

focused, aligned to

outcomes

Create a purpose map for your internal communications to

define purpose, style, channels and types of communication.

Sample/Illustration

HR’s ad agency.

Summing Up

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1) Align employer brand and internal communications,

focusing on unifying the new combined workforce

under a common mission and purpose

2) Speak to the engagement drivers that resonate most

strongly with your employee audiences

3) Execute tactics like responsive templates, branded

design and identifiable WIIFM messaging

4) Be mindful of the practices of change management


N. Robert Johnson

Practice Leader, Workforce Communications

216.685.4486 │[email protected]

davidgroup.com

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