Digital technology has had a huge impact on employer brand communication, as we know, but are we aware of the pitfalls? Do rating websites collect enough information to effectively steer HR policy towards improving the employee experience? Digital technology has an effect on employer brand communication
Digital technology has obviously had an enormous impact on companies. It’s interesting to note that today’s companies make intensive use of these tools for business purposes, despite them being originally intended for the general public. It’s official, digital technology now has its place in the world of business, in particular HR. Take big data, for example, used commonly by marketing teams to target customers and by HR departments to target candidates and for career development.
On this point, HR departments are at the same level of information as financial departments.
What is truly revolutionary is the fact that management tools are being fed knowledge and information by big data and social networks.
Another huge impact of digital technology on employer communication is that we can now instantly and constantly evaluate HR processes, employees’ opinions and manager feedback. We no longer need to wait for the traditional opinion polls to know what staff think of their managers or of the corporate culture.
Employer communication is also more transparent. Our certified Top Employers include companies that post memos on remuneration within the company via their corporate social network.
This might be considered risky if the publication were open to comments, with no moderation, but in fact it has advantages, since it allows employees to be actively involved in how their company evolves.
HR assessment is growing in importance in companies. Social networks and rating sites are encouraging transparency
I believe there are two aspects to HR assessment in our digital era. On the one hand we can assess people’s perception of an employer’s image, and on the other we need to assess the employee experience actually offered by the company.
With our Top Employers France certification, we make the effort to remind companies that although polls are important, it’s essential that they explain their HR policy, its advantages and why it’s different from the competition. Perception is good, demonstration is better.
In fact the poll is like a first brick. It allows employees to express their feelings about their management, for example. And companies can use this information to make decisions. Feedback collected allows HR teams to suggest changes to management methods. But it’s most important that a company explains its outlook, that it defends its choices and demonstrates why they’re the right choices for its context. Which means stating things, giving them structure.
In our management example, the company must then ask itself what it means by management? Has it been defined? Does it entail reaching objectives, adopting a certain behavior or sharing values? It’s our job to help companies answer these questions.
Coming back to HR assessment, and faced with the increasing number of Great Place to Work, Happy at Work and Glassdoor type initiatives and the company rating function on Viadeo, what we currently lack is the ability to stand back and take stock of company-specific situations. The ratings obtained do not reflect the reality of what happens in a company, simply the perceptions of those working there. Which is all relative. Hence the need for several means of assessing HR on behalf of employees, so they have access to tools allowing them to make informed decisions.
As for evaluating management, the fact that an employee is satisfied with a manager is not sufficient. The problem with this kind of opinion is that we’ve no idea of the quality criteria used, except that of personal feelings.
This is what we try to offer companies. In my opinion, only a small number of ISO standards and the Top Employers Institute ratings can be considered reliable benchmarks for HR assessment.
Today’s companies use digital tools to their advantage
It’s hard to say. From what I can see, many currently consider employer branding a purely digital phenomenon, that it’s what trade fairs are for and all the other communications tools.
At student fairs, I hear youngsters saying that employer branding is everywhere and that companies have fully understood the importance of digital technology in reaching a target audience, but that they’re more interested in seeing what the HR department actually looks like, and in finding out more about the company’s values. They want more IRL interaction.
Ultimately, HR marketing is of little interest to employees and job seekers, who need to be more in contact with and have a better vision of what goes on in the company. They’re looking for more means to measure and assess certain criteria to guide their choices.
Yet the image a company portrays using digital tools can reflect life in the company. Perception will always be a key factor, but it’s not sufficient in swaying an employee’s decision about whether or not to stay there.
Whereas we can use the results of audits focusing on specific criteria to more accurately assess the quality of the employee experience. An example might be the budget set aside by the company for training compared to its competitors. Or its staff turnover compared with that of other companies in the same sector. Or even the tools made available to managers.
With this information, we can avoid the kind of one-way communication created by polls and ratings practices. For the time being, digital tools are above all used by companies to collect information. But what’s in it for employees?
Trends and the types of companies addressing these issues
There are newcomers, but I don’t actually feel trends have evolved much. What Glassdoor, Great Place to Work and meilleures-entreprises are doing is helpful, and they do it very well. But ultimately these are still polls, and employees have always made themselves heard one way or another.
Don’t forget that one of the first companies to specialize in company ratings was Note Ton Entreprise, almost 10 years ago. So the concept is not new.
As for employer brand communication, digital technology of course plays an important role. It’s the most promising means of communication, but should not be used alone, as companies with more experience in this area and making use of every possible channel well know. One aspect that must be kept in mind is the importance of face-to-face relations, especially for young employees. It’s surprising to see just how much weight they attach to this.
