Its a Candidate Driven Market and Talent has won !

Talent Branding is a long term game .  Talent Branding is a specialised & complex role that cuts across 4 verticals - HR, Recruitment, Internal Communications, Marketing. Having delivered in this role both at IBM and WNS . I did a quick audit for Startups , while the Founders have got Funding and attention across Startup community , Product Startups needs to have visibility amongst the Right Talent Pool ( Engineering, Product, Business Development) which currently seems to be a gap area that needs to be filled in.  Talent Branding Score and Index seems to be low  , need to build it up to stand out from competition in the market . Careers Website doesnt exist. Where does the entire traffic get directed ? On Linkedin Career page visibility for People/ Culture is almost zilch. Culture needs to be highlighted through Digital ( owned media, paid media, earned media) . Need to find out if ATS ( Applicant Tracking System is in place, what kind of analytics, process, systems exist wrt HR/ HRTech to make People / Recruitment related business decisions and investments. What is the offer to acceptance ratio currently at Entry level, Lateral level and Leadership roles ? How soon Founders aspire to win award - Great Place to Work  ? Gone are the days when you post a job and expect talent to apply. Its candidate driven market and Talent needs to be wooed.    Employees are the Best Brand Ambassadors and Adovcates. That needs to be leveraged to optimum to attract future talent. 

Please write an email with your queries to  ruchibhatia23@gmail.com 

 

What is your Talent Branding Strategy ?

 Questions to CHROs / Recruitment / Talent / HR Leaders for reflection 

1. Who do you want to be as an Employer ? What is your Employment promise to Talent ?

2. Do you hire for culture fit or culture add ?

3. Do you hire for Diversity or Inclusion   ?

4. Do your Leaders practice inclusion first culture ?

5. Do you have a culture of Diversity and Inclusion ?

6. Are you LGBT Friendly employer ?

7. % Women in Top Leadership Roles ?

8. Are your current employees engaged with your organisation ?

9. Do you offer personalised Employee Experience ?

10. Do your Leaders display high Empathy at workplace ?

11. How much focus is given to Employee Wellness in your organization ?

12. Do you offer competitive Comp and Benefits to your employees ?

13. How do you evaluate hi potential ?

14. Do you offer fast track career growth for key technical talent in your company ?

15. How do you assess Talent ?

16. % Attrition . Are you able to retain talent ?

17. What is your Campus Hiring Strategy ?

18. What is the Recruitment Source Mix ?

19. What are your Recruitment Sourcing Strategies ?

20. Do you have Employee Referrals Program ?

21. Do you know what does Technical Talent want from the employer ? Do you meet their expectations ?

22. What is your Buy Build Borrow Strategy for Technical Talent ?

23. Do you emphasise on Candidate Experience during Recruitment ?

24. Do you have Social Media Guidelines for employees ?

25. Do you actively listen to segments of Talent and incorporate feedback into your HR Policies  ?

Client Brief

Attract quality candidates

• Improve offer acceptance rate

• Build greater awareness of Brand 

• To be seen in the same league as Accenture, PwC, KPMG, Bain & Co. etc.

• To change the perception form being just a service provider to a technology company that works

with the finest minds

• Improve employee and prospective employee experience

• To reinforce/reinforce employer value proposition

Gap -

No communication, engagement or Brand Messaging with key segments of Talent and Technical

Talent Pools

Key concepts to solve this problem

Owned Media / Paid Media / Earned Media 

Your Culture is your Brand

Leverage Employees as Brand Ambassadors

Leaders as Storytellers

Recruiters as Marketers

Woo the Passive Talent by targeted paid Campaigns communicating EVP to prospective Talent

Manage the internal and external reputation by dedicated communications campaign 

Activate Employee Advocacy Program to internal employees

Approach -

Define the Message ( EVP) Employer Value Proposition

Live the message ( Employee Experience)

Deliver the Message ( Branded Campaigns )  , Employee Ambassadors 

Create high quality Social Media Campaigns to engage with right Talent to communicate EVP

( Employment Promise ) to the Technical Talent.

Start nurturing the Talent pool even before you hire them . 

Education System In India

 

I attended Education conference in India few years ago. I heard a statement that if Silicon Valley of Education has to happen, it must happen in India. Fast forward to 2021, this is what is happening in India . With Many EdTech startups coming up from every nook and corner, India is ready for Digital and Online Learning.

Education is a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14 years. Byju has rolled out a fab initiative called Education for All with the intent of democratising education and provide learning opportunities to 5 million children from underserved communities  through use of Technology.

Technology makes learning fun
Technology  makes learning inclusive
Technology makes learning personalised

How can you get involved ?

As a Corporate , through CSR initiative , impact communities at large scale. Byju will offer study content free of cost to be distributed to your beneficiaries.
As an Individual , be the changemaker,  promote the initiative on your social media channels  and or volunteer to mentor a child.
As a non-profit, your outreach at the grassroots level can truly help communities and children at large. Make your outreach effective and impactful by providing BYJU’S learning content to the communities and schools you work with. Your insights coupled with our interactive study content, expert educators, and teachers can help us accomplish our goals together.
What is needed is Corporates , NGOs, Individuals to come together to support this grand mission To educate 5 million children and lift them up out of poverty .


How do you create Lifelong Learners ? By instilling a sense of curiosity . Children by nature are inquisitive and ask variety of questions to know the world around them.

India has population of 1.3 billion.
UN projects that Delhi will become the largest city in the world with 37 million people by 2028.
India is now the world’s fastest growing major economy .

India is a highly diverse country with a troubled past . Social Inequalities can be bridged through Education and Learning. If student in a far remote village can’t come to school, let schools go to them. Which is possible through mobile, internet access,  radio, low cost tablets loaded with learning content.

Enable Teachers to play the role of facilitator. If content is accessible 24 by 7, Teacher can facilitate conversations in classroom to help children read, write, speak, develop deeper understanding of the content.

Education in India has an ancient tradition that dates back to the Vedic Period (1500 to 500 BC). By the time European colonialists arrived, education mostly took place in traditional Hindu village schools called gurukuls.

Let each village become a Gurukul and you can be a change maker in Transforming Education in India and leading India towards path of economic prosperity.


Reference
1.  https://wenr.wes.org/2018/09/education-in-india
2.  https://byjus.com/educationforall/

Mental Well Being in the times of Pandemic

 Pic Courtsey - https://www.unicef.org/serbia/en/how-protect-your-mental-health-during-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic

 

 Corona has disrupted lives of many. It is often known in HR circles that Corona is the real disruptor that caused Digital Transformation in most companies. Even those companies that had no work from home policy had to prepare themselves to enable employees to work from home overnight during lockdown. Some businesses thrived , some tumbled and some closed shops forever. I was in discussion with a SME Business owner, he made revenue of 5 crores in 3 months time period. Talk about being at the right place at right time and ability to make things happen. He is the Trusted go to person for many businesses, being in IT Infrastructure, he catered to business needs and solved complex problems innovatively.

I did a random survey on twitter to find out how Corona impacted work and lives of people . 50% said that it increased their workload.25% said their partners shared the workload. For singles, it meant doing all the chores and extending work hours. People dwelling in cities learnt to become independent and not be dependent on househelp .

Mental Health became a priority for organisations Organisations expected Employees to bring best version of themselves at work.
Managers had to learn how to be more empathetic to their teams to provide good employee experience .


“If I talk about my company then the support extended by them was excellent. We went to work from home model even one week before the govt declared the lockdown. We are still working from home. No salary cuts. They send regular mails to us mentioning that they have our back. “ @Parul_RajeevM on twitter

“Mine is comparatively small company set up (US based IT company) while my husband works at a senior position in an IT giant (Indian) but his  company has cut the variable component from salary of all the employees in his band “


Professionals had to deal with job losses, salary cuts. While others were lucky to retain their jobs. According to one estimate , 2.5 crore Job loss are estimated due to Covid in India alone. That number doesn’t count labor in informal economy . The hospitality and travel sector were worst affected. Every day I receive resumes by professionals who are looking for jobs . This added on anxiety to already stressed out lives. Mental health professionals were in much demand. People did not know how to deal with loneliness brought upon by epidemic.
Mental Health conversations were brought to the fore. Some of the celebrities committed suicide due to lack of work and lack of social support.  


Coming back to Mental Health , kids had to go through a lot as they couldn’t go out to play.

See this brilliant ad by Cadbury's how parental pressure affects kid's Mental Health 

Kids and Teachers had to learn new skills to study and teach online respectively. All of a sudden, people were required to spend uncountable number of hours online for learning, shopping, entertainment, staying in touch with colleagues, friends, family, parents.  

 

People had no option for Digital Detox but to remain online for living lives . Technology connect us all but also isolates us in indirect manner.  This caused a heavy toll on mental well being of people.

“The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may be stressful for people. Fear and anxiety about a new disease and what could happen can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Public health actions, such as social distancing, can make people feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety. “ - CDC.GOV

Fear isn’t over yet. Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones, your financial situation still concerns most people. But there is Hope. Thank God there are vaccines which are available in market now. We just have to make informed decision on which vaccine one must take. Vaccine politics is going on, consuming too much negative news also adds on to anxiety. 

Regarding Mental Health conversations, always a good thing to stay connected with community which offers solidarity and understand your mental health challenges in a non judgemental manner and through safe space. 

I discovered one such space on Clubhouse hosted by Sonam Mahajan . She has warmth , grace and empathy. Her club on Clubhouse  envisions to enhance individual and collective wellbeing by improving mental health. 

 HR Leaders are attempting to normalise MentalHealth conversations at workplace after learning lessons from Pandemic. 

In total, poor #mentalhealth was estimated to cost the world #economy approximately $2·5 trillion per year in poor health and reduced productivity in 2010, a cost projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030 - Source WEF

We have had enough of 2020 . Thank God it’s over.
Darkest night has brightest dawn .
Human Resilience to bounce back from setbacks is amazing. I am hopeful, 2021 will bring upon new hopes, dreams  and people will come up with new ways to live more balanced healthier lives. 

 

https://twitter.com/VijayNallawala/status/1346349110765309952?s=2

 

 

Employer Branding is the right choice to attract quality Top Talent, Social Hiring and achieve Business Goals

Image source: iStock.com

Employer Branding has gained prominence in last 4-5 years. Companies are realising that it is not enough to continue with old recruitment and hiring practices , if they were to hire best talent from the market . 

Each hire in a critical role is an investment for the organization.  Companies want to make sure that there are fewer hiring mistakes and they hire the right candidates which fit the culture of the organization and is a super star employee.  The buzzword for 2018 is Candidate Experience. Candidate experience is as important as Employee Experience. Many a times , passive candidates don’t apply to opportunities because of the time consuming application process. Linkedin offers an easy apply button and many companies Recruitment systems i.e. ATS ( Applicant Tracking Systems ) are integrated with LinkedIn. What it means for candidates is the ease of applying to companies with the click of a mouse, they can submit their cv in companies database. Linkedin easy apply is just one example of providing a seamless experience to potential candidates at the time of hiring. 

Employer branding is the process of promoting a company, or an organization, as the employer of choice to a desired target group, one which a company needs and wants to recruit and retain . 

Recruiters need to think and act like marketers to attract the best candidates. 

With the rise of different digital platforms , it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose how to advertise or market your jobs to potential candidates . Gone are the days , when candidates would apply to jobs without researching the company. Candidates research their potential employer on Glassdoor , read reviews, see ratings of Top Management as much as companies try to find about candidates.  Candidates want to know what it feels to work for your organization. What is the culture, what are the career and advancement opportunities, what kind of  learning does your company provide, what are the rewards for performers ,  what are the benefits and perks for working with your organization. In short, candidates assess their potential employers before applying for the jobs. Thats where lies the importance of employer branding. 

Companies rely on different source mix for diversity in hiring - example Career Sites , Employee Referrals, Job Boards, Social Media, sometimes external Recruitment agencies and Vendors. All these are potential options to reinforce your Branded messaging which is consistent as well as Authentic.

Employees stories make a really good option to indulge in Corporate Storytelling and showcase culture of your organisation. Stories of the employees when narrated in first person are much more appealing to external candidates than formal Corporate Brand message. 

Employees are adopting social media platforms , hence the Corporate Brand gets humanised. 

Effective employer branding is the combination of market research, advisory services, communications and marketing to achieve both a credible and desirable brand position. 

Finally, through talent acquisition and retention, the end purpose of employer branding is to stimulate business growth and achieve strategic business goals.

The Rise of Social Business

1. Social business in numbers



2. It is the People who create Value for your Business and Clients .

3. Social business is a powerful force of change in culture and
behavior that is transforming the way enterprises work to better
capitalize on our most valuable resource: people

4. 36% better customer service reported by companies using Social Tools
ESG Research Report, Social Enterprise Adoption Trends, June 2012

5. In the next 5 years, 57% CEOs expect digital channels to be the key way to engage customers.
IBM Global CEO Study May 2012

6. 65% of Executives use Social Business tools to understand market shifts
IBM Global C-Suite Study October 2013

7. 70% of Executives believe Social Business can fundamentally change the way business works
MIT Sloan Management Review,
Social Business Study: Shifting Out of First Gear,
David Kiron and others,  July 16, 2013.

8. The rise of mobile technology: With almost 75 percent of the worlds population owning a mobile device, information is not only accessible, but available at our fingertips.

9. According to a study done by Salary.com, 72 percent of candidates are using social connection tools to scour jobs.

10. 10 skills for the Future Workforce ( Marcia Conner)
http://marciaconner.com/blog/ten-skills/


11.  Twitter search  #IBMSWchat  for links & further resources on Smarter Workforce = Future Ready Workforce for Digital Era

12. In the USA right now there are over 3 million unfilled jobs, while in countries like Spain, youth unemployment stands at a jaw dropping 47%. The extent of the gap between what employers need and what the labour market provides in terms of skills and talents seems to be continuously widening.

13. The global skill gap is here to stay for as long as technological advances, globalisation and demography continue to redefine work

14. Executives at Wipro, for example, work with tens of thousands of colleges across India to train teachers to develop IT skills, build state-of-the-art curricula, and encourage students to become what they term work-ready

15. 10 ways to Future Proof your Career by Dr Lynda Gratton
This is 2011 article, however still relevant, for individual employees / professionals to prepare themselves for Future
 ( Timeless wisdom by Dr Lynda Gratton )

http://lyndagrattonfutureofwork.typepad.com/lynda-gratton-future-of-work/2011/06/the-10-ways-to-future-proof-your-career.html

15. Andrew McAfee  Social Technology as major Disruption to Global Economy

http://youtu.be/Y04lZ8F3GjQ


16. IMHO, Future Ready Workforce will constitute Individuals who are LifeLongLearners, who have the ability to learn, unlearn, relearn and reinvent themselves. Who are agile, and make  investment in self education and acquiring new skills.

Future ready workforce also mean networked and collaborative workforce. They know how to collaborate, create trust in virtual environment, reach out to experts across borders and locate expertise quickly at the tip of fingertips to create value for clients. 

Future ready workforce means individual employees may not have all the answers to client problems however have the skills to find the answers and reach out to experts.
Who knows what and who knows whom becomes utmost important , hence the value of networks.

Future ready workforce know how to manage work in a borderless economy.


17. Digitisation is a step change even greater than  the internet. Exponential technology advances, greater consumer power and increased competition mean all industries face the threat

of commoditisation. The winners will act now, and build a strategic advantage that leaves

their counterparts wondering what happened.



18. According to Ernst & Young research, other Generation Y

expectations include:

► Collaborative, networked learning: the average user spends

55 minutes a day on Facebook

► Fast, easy and fun communication: Generation Y adults

spend 15+ hours a week on the internet

► Visible peer recommendations in decision-making: 80% of

consumers believe peer recommendations, but only 14%

trust advertisements

► Immediate feedback: 34% of bloggers post opinions about

products and brands

► Environmentally aware: 96% of Generation Y want an

environmentally aware workplace

► Flexibility: 56% of Generation Y prefer to work flexibly and

choose when to work, and 79% prefer to be mobile rather

than static workers


19. Digital Business Model Creator/inventor Year of birth

Facebook  social networking Mark Zuckerberg 1984

Napster  peer to peer file sharing Sean Parker 1979

Spotify  digital music streaming Daniel Ek 1983

Skype  VOIP telephone network Janus Friis 1976

Twitter  microblogging social network Jack Dorsey 1976


20. The Rise of the Prosumer ( E&Y research)

A Prosumer is a term used for a consumer who is unusually interested in products/

services of a brand. Prosumers will dedicate their spare time to upload reviews and

comments and respond to other reviews and comments about the product. Some

prosumers will record YouTube videos to help other users with technical service

issues of a particular product. These individuals can be very useful sources of product

development ideas, or can be incentivised as a low cost provider of technical service to

other consumers.

21. The digitisation of everything How organisations must adapt to changing consumer behaviour (E&Y Research)

 Customers

► Improve customer experience

► Increase marketing, sales and service effectiveness

► Develop multi-channel strategy

Suppliers and partners

► Improve transaction speeds, lower costs

► Optimise the end-to-end digital supply chain process

► Improve supplier relationship management

► Optimise sales and operations planning

Employees

► Manage organisational change

► Develop social policies and governance

► Develop digital skills and capabilities

► Manage recruitment, retention and talent

Leaders

► Develop a digital strategy

► Assess market and competition

► Design operating model and organisational structure

Could Womenomics save India Economy ?

I have been inflenced by Stephen Covey 7 habits of highly effective people all through my Life. I read that book when I was 20 . Like the old love which keeps returning to your life again and again, 7 Habits kept returning to my life again and again. 

When I joined in Corporate Trainer role at IBM in 2008 , I got an opportunity to attend 7 Habits workshop by one of the Best Facilitator we had around at that time . Stephen Covey was common between her & me . And I knew the habits by heart compared to managers who had already undergone the program. This perhaps impressed her. 

Few years later, I was given the opportunity to attend TTT Train the Trainer on 7 Habits to facilitate workshops for Managers in my Organisation. 

Now coming back to how we can ensure supply of more Women Leaders in the society and organizations. 

I am a Gender Equality Ambassador and believe, Women must occupy their rightful place in the world and balance the world more in economic terms. 

So what is Womenomics ? 

 "Womenomics"—the promotion of economic empowerment for women. The term was first coined by Japanese Prime Minister to make sure Women in Japan turn some of their dreams into reality. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has deployed several initiatives to get women in the workforce. Women are achieving their full potential , giving back to their communities, and taking their lives in new Direction. 

Since 2014 the rate of female participation in the job market in higher in Japan that it is in the US .  (1) 

Lets focus on India and analyse what is happening here. Female Labor Participation in India is on constant decline from last years. What ? Yes, Female Labor Participation is on decline in India desire rising levels of Education amongst Women. 

The female labour force participation in India has fallen to 26% in 2018 from 36.7% in 2005, amid lack of access to quality education and underlying social, economic barriers limiting the opportunities for women, says a Deloitte report. 

What are the reasons for decline of FLP in India ? 

What can bring upward trend in FLP ? 

Why despite much talk on Gender Diversity, female labor participation is going down ? 

India can become a $5 trillion economy if our Prime Minister comes up with Womenomics - Strategy to ensure Women Labor participation goes up both in informal labor as well as organised labor. 

P.S - I am Ruchi, Founder of HRGurukul. And I help businesses achieve profits and productivity gains by being a Trusted Business Advisor and integrating People, Process, Technology. 

I offer training workshop "People to Profits " for  managers and employees of Startups and SMEs . In case , you would like a 30 min free consultation call, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

My coordinates - 

Email ruchibhatia23@gmail.com

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruchibhatia23/