Branding Beyond Borders: A Quick Guide for Interna7onal Employer Branding
Apr 14, 2017
Branding Beyond Borders: A Quick Guide for Interna7onal Employer Branding
Recrui'ng beyond borders and the globaliza'on of many companies has created a brave new world of employer branding.
In this new world of recruitment, not all the rules are the same and research must be thoroughly ve=ed and compared against local customs, cultures and educa'onal systems.
From the execu've level, the need for a consistent global brand is clear. 71% of surveyed CEOs say they ac'vely search for talent in different geographies, industries, or demographic segments. -‐ PwC
14% of CEOs said building a global employer brand was a concern today, while that number is slated to double by 2020, a mere 4 years from now.
Conversely, building out an employer brand on a local level falls from 24% to a mere 15% in the same respec've years.
Building a successful and effec've global employer brand, DEMANDS some form of localiza'on.
The Employer Branding Core
An EVP, or Employer Value Proposi'on, is the founda'on of a strong employer brand.
61% of hiring execu'ves surveyed said they had developed an Employee Value Proposi'on to establish their employer branding ac'vi'es.
With an EVP, you will want to focus on three dis'nct groups.
Former employees can be a candid source of informa'on. Incorporate brand related ques'ons into your exit interview process where applicable.
Current Employees: Key ques'ons when crea'ng an EVP: Learning ini'a'ves, Cultural norms (unwri=en rules), Communica'on prac'ces, Free-‐thinking, Rewards, Recogni'on, Management, Recruitment process
Prospec've Employees: Gather intelligence from sources like Glassdoor, Yelp and social media sites. Informa'onal interviews can work to your advantage during career fairs and in conjunc'on with internship programs. Tip: Few are as honest as the entry-‐level job seeker!
A complete EVP will be a simple overarching statement that captures the crux of your employees’ experiences and employer brand commitment. It will be unique, compelling and truthful.
Example Statement: “ACME strives to make an impact in its employees’ lives via its core values. Our value lies in our values.”
Research The Area
From embassy and tax informa'on to Google Translate, you can go much further with a keyboard and mouse in today’s recrui'ng age than ever before.
Research: Cultural Norms Pay & Compensa'on Drivers Global Migra'on Trends
Want to hire globally but aren’t quite ready to find a local consultant?
Universum Global -‐ Universum focuses on crea'ng research specifically suited for Employer Branding purposes.
Tip-‐ Leverage resources such as this to create your EVP, do compe''ve analysis and determine the most relevant messages for prospec've employees based on their loca'ons.
Edelman Trust Barometer Edelman is a global digital agency that frequently measures messaging, and their annual Global Trust Barometer is a useful tool for understanding economies and popula'ons.
Tip-‐ Leverage resources such as this to create your EVP, do compe''ve analysis and determine the most relevant messages for prospec've employees based on their loca'ons.
Geing to Yes Across Cultures-‐ This is a series of videos and ar'cles from Harvard Business Review that gives insight into specific cultural insights that can help during key nego'a'ons (like sales and recrui'ng).
Tip -‐ You can be fluent in a language and s'll miss subtle'es in your EVP or Employer Brand. If you disagree with a candidate in Germany, the interview could turn into a friendly debate. Do the same in Mexico and it could be the end of that candidate’s interest!
Embassy Websites -‐ While embassy websites do not always conform to a clear cut template, they are useful for cost of doing business templates that can help when hiring from another country.
Use these embassy guides to plan out your strategy and build a list of helpful contact.
Iden'fy Your Key Drivers
Because you’re geing the chance to take your employer brand beyond borders, you get to break one of the key rules of employer branding.
Rule #1 “Don’t try to be all things to all people…” This is the polar opposite of what a great EVP and employer brand are supposed to do. So why do we get to break this rule?
Okay, perhaps we don’t get to break it. But, we DO get to bend it based on targeted recruitment loca'ons.
Your research + Your EVP and Employer Brand = Your localized campaigns
The only person qualified to lead those campaigns is your localized brand manager, transla'ng your global brand (both culturally and linguis'cally) into something that will resonate with the local audience.
Recruitment Channels -‐ We’re not changing the overarching employer brand, so much as changing HOW we communicate it for the local market. Successful channels and campaigns can change from loca'on to loca'on. Global Job Boards, Social Media Networks (Facebook, Viadeo, Xing), Print Media or Tradi'onal Media, Recruitment Agencies, Job Exchanges
Common Differen'ators -‐ Those who want to brand beyond borders should also focus on which of their differen'ators will set them apart from compe''on in the country from which they are trying to recruit and hire. Some common differen'ators that have different effects on job seekers around the globe: Compe''ve or outstanding compensa'on, Benefits and Stability, Work-‐Life Balance, Innova've Career Track, Happiness and Engagement, Pres'ge and Brand, Friendly Work Environment
Top 3 Reten'on Drivers for the Global Workforce Base pay/salary, Career growth opportuni'es, Trust/confidence in senior leadership
A social media campaign about your friendly work environment may work incredibly well in Mexico but fail in the Netherlands.
Distribu'on of Your Brand -‐To note: There are also cost differences to adver'sing within different locales to be acutely aware of. Na'onal media in the United States can skew quite expensive due to the size of the country, while digital media seems much less expensive. In other countries, VAT and accessibility to media are vastly different than the United States.
Keep your global recruitment marke'ng and branding budget in line with projec'ons.
Think Mobility
Once you’ve established your Employer brand, Researched your desired loca'ons using some (or all) of the tools we’ve discussed here, Created localized campaigns around your employer brand messaging, Started looking into pricing for those campaigns
It’s 'me to take distribu'on to a whole new level.
Mobile recrui'ng is “baked-‐in” to their campaigns from the get-‐go, which means it needs to be built in to your employer branding ini'a'ves to be authen'c and resonate with local popula'ons.
Did you know? Research by Employer Brand Interna'onal found social media (58%) to be the No. 1 channel for communica'ng the employer brand while only 21% are using a mobile-‐op'mized career website to communicate their employer brand.
Bo=om Line -‐ If your campaigns can’t be viewed on a smartphone and your jobs can only be applied to from a desktop, you are severely limi'ng your op'ons in a new loca'on and you could inadvertently be ruling out younger candidates from Genera'ons Y and Z.
Building an employer brand that transcends borders requires a dis'nc've process. Employer branding best prac'ces for domes'c recruitment provide the founda'on, but it’s the cultural research, establishment of EVPs and effec've messaging tailored to a specific interna'onal audience that brings home successful global employer branding campaigns.
Beyond is proud to be the exclusive U.S. partner for The Network, a global alliance of 52 job boards in over 130 countries. In this role, Beyond serves as a single point of contact for mul'-‐na'onal businesses in the U.S. market. Enlist the help of our global hiring experts to enter the interna'onal recruitment market with a localized recruitment brand and a=ract highly engaged candidates from around the world. See how we can help: www.beyond.com/interna'onal
Ready to find your global employer brand niche?