If David Beckham isn’t entirely synonymous with the field of employer branding, there are few, individuals or organisations, who can hold a candle to his management of his own personal brand. And we have seen a number of examples of his deftness of brand touch over the course of the last week. Faced with slightly churlish criticism from his past manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, Beckham responded with dignity and elegance. But he managed to surpass this during his most recent book signing, which was streamed live from London on Facebook and allowed his fan base the opportunity of interacting with Becks from New York, Hyderabad and Sao Paulo. Those participating in the event were given a digital autograph during the live event. An impressively open and engaging initiative, which demonstrated not only a fascinating use of technology but also evidence of a massively successful brand continuing to reach out.
Perhaps their time spent together during the Olympics has allowed something of Beckham’s brand execution to rub off on the Prime Minister. Last week also saw, via rather more traditional channels, the announcement by David Cameron of Britain’s intent to issue sukuk or Islamic bonds, valued at $320m, as he aims to establish London as “one of the great capitals of Islamic finance anywhere in the world.” The country’s engagement with Islamic finance is already well established and growing at pace – landmarks such the Olympic Village, the Shard and the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station have similar origins. But Cameron’s commitment to Islamic finance creates the opportunity for the realisation of perhaps more down to earth potential. The intention is for student loans and start-up finance for entrepreneurs to become Sharia compliant, so opening up higher education and small business ownership to a much greater extent to a key section of British society.
It’s also been insightful to see Goldman Sachs apply their own brand of openness regarding the introduction young bankers have to a potential career at the investment bank. Along with an announcement that it would increase the number of graduate analysts it intends to hire to 332 for 2014, a 14% year-on-year hike, Goldmans also let it be known that they would no longer routinely expect new joiners to work such punishing hours or regular weekends. Although probably still the global graduate destination for prospective investment bankers, Goldmans has reached out with a more nurturing and open offer to new analysts – it will be interesting to see if the industry (still scarred by the sudden death of Moritz Erhardt, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch intern earlier this summer as a probably result of some eye-wateringly long hours) will follow suit.
And if uber brands such as Beckham and Goldman Sachs are working harder than ever to reach out and touch their various audiences via their brand platform, wouldn’t employer brands benefit from applying similar approaches? The strengthening economic climate means that organisations will be seeking to recruit with more enthusiasm than has been the case since early 2008. At the same time, research in the last week from the CIPD suggests that 24% of UK employees are looking around for a new job, up from 21% earlier this spring and 20% a year previously. As the CIPD put it, ‘talent is on the move again’. (The same research also pointed to a decline in the number of employers with a recruitment freeze – now just 24%, down from 28% just six months ago).
So if more and more individuals are beginning to explore their employment options, what sort of reception do they receive from the employer brands they come across? Do they find would-be employers open, inclusive and approachable? Or are they coming across clunky, unwieldy application systems, non-engaging on-boarding initiatives and a candidate journey that asks for more than it gives? Many employer brands have, in recessionary times, retreated within themselves, perhaps not without reason. The past four years have asked fewer questions of the employer brand journey that organisations are providing for both would-be joiners and those great people they wish to retain. Such an era is fast coming to a close. If your employer brand – in all its incarnations and iterations – is closing you off to candidates and your current employee base, organisational performance as well as your people plan will be significantly impacted.
Just how open is your organisation to talent once more ‘on the move’?
Getting to the heart of your employee mindset 