One of the 2012 predictions NES Global Talent made was the increasing challenge of finding quality candidates in the Energy Sector. With UK and US grappling with skills shortages this challenge is getting harder for our clients.
So, we launched a survey on the perceptions of brands in the Energy sector as
I wanted to understand more about candidates view on which operators they would most like to work for and why?
Some of it of no surprise – right role, right pay and right location. It’s all about the money right?
Wrong! What I had not envisioned was the degree to which a brand impacts talent attraction and the degree to which ‘soft’ cultural elements effect retention decisions.
Reflecting on my own personal experience I identified with this. In all the places I have worked I met people in the interview process, but it was the company name and my perceptions of that company that determined my decision.
Saatchi & Saatchi in the 80’s stood for creative excellence, they were ‘the’ advertising agency. Their reputation preceded them. Their culture so distinctive it was almost tangible. They stood for ‘anything was possible’ and brilliance in the work they produced. They were a house-hold name at that time with their connections to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Party Election Campaigns.
So just as consumers navigate by brand names they are most familiar with, so too our career choices are shaped by the brand names we are most familiar with.
So maybe I should not have been surprised by the findings that
- 40% of our candidates told us the top five international oil operators are the most appealing to them to work for.
- The primary driver of recruitment appeal throughout the survey findings was the company reputation
So. What were the distinctions that made up this company reputation?
These distinctions were shaped by the perceptions of the engineering candidate community on
- How well these operators were perceived to take care of their employees.
- The operators approach to safety standards
When I did a qualitative focus study amongst the contractors earlier in 2010, this had also come through. Not initially. The ‘hard-nosed’ reward and renumeration were always the vocalised upfront reasons for selecting a place of work. But beneath this, and across all the focus groups I conducted from Houston to Kuala Lumper the human desire to feel ‘part of’ and respected emerged.
If the brand name was the attractor for choosing the next place to work – then the way they were treated was key to whether they stayed or left.
The contractors told us the key reason they would leave if they felt the management was not listening or valuing them. Disengaged.
Not a new finding.
A Towers Perrins report from 2007 revealed that from 90,000 employees worldwide, 40% felt disenchanted or disengaged. Negativity that has a direct impact on the bottom line of a business performance.
So, ensuring that the brand permeates the culture and they way people treat each other internally is as critical as building the familiarity of the name. The report shows how important ‘being listened’ to is in this area of engagement. A fact I will recite at home regularly.
Keith Ferrazi author of ‘Who’s got your back’ wrote about the importance of Relationships to success in business. We see a trend that moves from isolation and corporate silos to community and collaboration. Yet I wonder are Employer brands reflecting this? If the Tower Perrins report was re-run would we still find that over 40% of employees felt disengaged?
From a perspective of building brands, this points to many exciting areas of opportunity for our clients. Employer Branding needs to be defined in scope far beyond recruitment advertising. Communication campaigns must focus on not just specific jobs, but on the company’s overall brand reputation. Ensuring close alignment between what a brand ‘says’ and what it does is not just relevant for the customer experience. It is also as relevant for the employee experience, the culture and behaviour they encounter.
Given these challenges is now the time to ask whether talent should be at the heart of the company’s brand strategy?
To download a copy of the full survey findings visit: www.nesglobaltalent.com
