What Most Companies Get Wrong About Employer Branding ROI

What Most Companies Get Wrong About Employer Branding ROI Employer branding is top of mind for most forward thinking talent acquisition and HR teams these days.   There is a plethora of articles and resources around how to build your brand, the importance of employee generated content, etc. However, there are scant resources that share how to measure the dollars and cents impact of your employer branding activities.   And, this is one of the key areas the rest of the organization will expect you to have a grasp on when it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of your efforts.   In many ways, it’s the key to gaining more resources to pursue the initiatives you want to explore. High level employer branding ROI I want to point something out.   There are LOTS of articles about employer branding’s value.   And, I agree with most of them.   For example, LinkedIn’s research shows organizations with strong employer brands see 50% lower cost/hire and retention that is nearly a third higher. This makes a lot of sense â€" better employer brands help you attract and convert more of the right people.   However, this isn’t a stat you can quote your boss at the end of the year when they ask how the new culture video performed. You may be thinking these stats shouldn’t be too hard to translate to dollars and cents for your organization, right?   If I spend $1,000,000 on talent acquisition each year, then I can save $500k/yr by having a “great employer brand.” Not really.   We all know that most initiatives are more complicated than “let’s make the employer brand better.”   More likely, you’re going to say something like “let’s build a talent community” or “let’s update our careers site.” There are many other high level value statements that get made about employer branding and how it affects time to fill, quality of hire, etc.   These are all great, and I agree with most of them.   But, I think where most HR leaders fall down is when they can’t say “we did X and it led to Z.” Think about how great it’d feel to go into your CFO’s office next year and say “we rebuilt the career site for $15k and it led to a cost savings of $43,000.” Translating value into dollars The above statements are all about value, which is close to what goes into the PL, but not quite there.   Let’s walk through two examples to show how we can actually get to the dollars and cents ROI from employer branding activities. A talent community Let’s say we built out a talent community in order to decrease time to fill for sales jobs at our company.   Time to fill is now 50 days.   Let’s say after a year of using our talent community, time to fill has dropped to 40 days.   Pretty awesome!   Ok, so how does that translate into value for the business? Let’s say our sales person gets paid $100k/yr, with an annual quota of $500k.   We’ll make a few simplifying assumptions for the business nerds out there, like revenue = gross profit, no ramp time, etc. Ok, so the sales person brings in $500k $100k = $400k of value per year.   If they work 250 days, that’s $1,600/day.   So, if we get them in the door 10 days faster, we just brought our business $1,600 * 10 = $16k of value per sales rep hired.   Not bad! There are of course other ways to get to value of a talent community.   Namely, it can capture candidates that otherwise would have disappeared. Another example, career pages Another employer branding/recruitment marketing tactic that many organizations consider is an overhaul of their careers site.   The main metric to track here is conversion rate of visitor to applicant. Let’s say we are at 5% currently.   This is pretty average.   1,000 visitors gets us 50 applicants.   Let’s say we redo the site with a better UI/UX, more content, and microsites.   Now our conversion rate is 15%.   Ok, so now we get 150 applicants instead of 50 for every 1,000 visitors.   That’s an extra 100 applicants! Ok, so what is 100 applicants worth?   Well, we have to look at our hiring funnel.   If you interview 10% of the people who apply, that means you need 10 applicants for every interviewee.   And, if you hire 10% of people who interview, that means you need 10 interviews for every hire.   So, 100 applicants gets to 10 interviewees and 1 hire. How much is a hire worth to you?   Well, you know that from your cost/hire.   Let’s assume it’s $5k. Ok, so we just enhanced the careers site so that we now get 100 more applicants for every 1,000 visitors.   And, we know that 100 applicants is worth $5k (a new hire) to us.   If we have 3k visitors/mo, then we have 3 * $5k = $15k in incremental value per month. Yup, I’m a business geek As you can tell, I’m a business geek and love thinking through the ROI scenarios for any and all problems.   But, beyond the intellectual interest, I actually think that these sorts of calculations are so important in understanding whether or not the business decisions you’re making are making an impact or not. Feel free to leave your initiative in the comments and I’ll do my best to use my MBA skills to dive into how I’d think about the ROI calculation. About the author:  Phil Strazzulla is the founder of NextWave Hire, an employer branding software solution that uses employee stories to enhance career sites, build talent communities, and spread the word on social.   Phil has his MBA from Harvard Business School and was previously a VC at Bessemer Venture Partners.

Resume Writing Services For West Virginia - A Good Source of Professional Resumes

Resume Writing Services For West Virginia - A Good Source of Professional ResumesA resume is the most important thing you need to create if you want to get a job. However, if you are not good at writing it, you will certainly get lost in the process. Resume writing services for West Virginia can help you make sure your resume looks professional and accurate.One of the most basic and simple things to remember is that it should be based on facts and figures. You do not need to use fancy words and colorful fonts. The important part is to make sure your resume tells the truth about your achievements and skills.Your resume should also be accurate and informative of the type of work you did and the responsibilities you carried out. These factors will help you showcase your abilities and accomplishments. It will also show the company how well prepared you are for the position.The good thing about a resume is that it is a marketing tool. The company who hires you needs to know what the perfe ct candidate is before offering a job. This is where a resume writing service for West Virginia comes in.They have experts who know certain things and are experts at putting things together, so you will not lose credibility with your employer. This is why they can help you get a job and stay employed in the long run. Many companies in West Virginia hire resume writing services to make sure they have a proper resume for any job opening they have.If you know your subject, write it in a way that shows you have special skills or are an expert in your field. Don't lie on your resume. In fact, if you have a special skill like computer programming, for example, do not forget to put this on your resume.This will give a good impression to the company and this is how you get hired. You can hire one of these services to create a professional looking resume for you. Their professionals know all the answers about what is best to include and what is not so you can get the best outcome.Remember to keep your resume up to date and fresh. You can submit it several times a year to improve your chances of getting a job. Get the help of resume writing services for West Virginia and you will get a chance to prove yourself to the company you want to work for.

Watch Out for Career Marketing Firms - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Watch Out for Career Marketing Firms - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Someone in one of my job search networking groups asked me to evaluate a proposal he had received from a career marketing firm. He wanted my opinion because he knows I’m a career coach. His proposal cover letter opened with an aggressive tone heralding the fact that the firm was working with executives who were laid off prestigious organizations, members of academia, representatives of nonprofits, and an assortment of clients ranging from younger people just out of college to mature ones with occupations in every industry and covering every income range. Basicallybut without saying sothe firm said it caters to everyone who has money to pay! The next FIVE pages outlined the firm’s services in a very attractive way for someone in transition. And we all know that when someone is, for instance, desperately hungry, anything that looks like food seems scrumptious and delicious. The firm stipulated its feewhich is, typically, 5 percent of the client’s highest achieved income (calculate how much that would be for you!). Then there were supplementary servicesprovided at an additional $500 for each one. In order to activate the agreement, it needed to be signed and accompanied by a deposit. If the client were not satisfied with the program within two weeks, said the agreement, the company would rework the material. At this point, though, your money is gone forever. The firm listed offices in various cities nationwide, so I attempted to research the company a bit further. My research led me to a résumé-writing service. Next, I Googled the company nameand searched on other search engines as wellto try to learn something about the proposal/agreement signer with the title of managing director. I would have expected that a person with such a heavy responsibility (after all, the company claims to have offices in more than half a dozen cities) would have at least a presence in cyberspace as well. But no, even LinkedIn did not reveal the signer. There have been in the past, and there still exist today, of course, many similar career marketing firms. I’ve learned of them either through my circle of acquaintances or because they gained their fame via the media’s reporting that they got sued and soon thereafter closed their doors. Of course, unfortunately, those who’d paid for such services were left high and dry. As a professional career coach, I say unequivocally that everyone in transition should get help with their job search.   Why you say?   Because finding a suitable job it is a very competitive task.   Those getting professional help leave the rest behind.   This is a no-brainer.   It’s up to the job seeker to solicit that help by asking others for their opinions and recommendations. Job search networking groups such as those listed at landingexpert.com can provide information, as can an online search for individualized coaching services via LinkedIn or Google. Typically, such individualized career coaching services are your best bets because they’re more individualized and because the typical fees are significantly less.

9 Signs Your Brands Communication Is Suffocating Its Audience - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

9 Signs Your Brands Communication Is Suffocating Its Audience - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career What’s one sign you are over-communicating when it comes to your brand? The following answers are provided by members of  Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the worlds most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched  BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. 1. Your Content Is Text-Heavy   If youre using text-heavy communications, youre making a mistake. Users will only read about one-fifth of the content on a web page containing 600 words of text. Meanwhile, engagement with video, interactive pages, infographics and other visual media  is skyrocketing. Visual content delivers your message quickly in an aesthetically pleasing package that consumers will want to share.    Amy Balliett,  Killer Infographics 2. The Wrong Target Audience Asks for Your Services   Its less about over-communicating and more about communicating to the wrong target audience.  Keep your eyes on the ball which is, in this case, your first contact with your newly generated leads. If  your sales development team has discussions with prospects that expected something entirely different than what you are selling, this is a good sign that you  need to recalibrate.    Dan Adika,  WalkMe 3. You Send More Than One Follow-Up Email   Keeping your customers informed is great, and sometimes you make an honest mistake and forget to include important information in a press release or email. However, when you start to send two or more follow-up emails related to the same thing (product release, new feature, etc.), you are probably annoying your audience.    Jared Brown,  Hubstaff 4. Your Companys Analytics Show Reduced Interaction   If youre putting out multiple messages about your brand that arent being opened and read, you may have exhausted your influence. Rather than send out shotgun blasts about everything, target your content in a specific way to engage with your audience. This means creating valuable, informative content that speaks to a need or desire your audience has and answers its most pressing questions.    Nicole Munoz,  Start Ranking Now 5. You Lose Sight of Your Original Mission   Youve over-communicated when the brand has lost it’s one true value proposition. When there are a ton of different messages about what the brand offers, how they offer it, and what they are doing to offer it, the brand can lose sight of its original mission. Always make it clear what the one mission is, and you can elaborate in concise summaries from there. Make the overarching umbrella the main focus.    Bryanne Lawless,  BLND Public Relations 6. You Send Low-Quality Content   When you over communicate with your clients, the quality of your message becomes muddled. The more frequently you post or blast, the more the quality of your message will suffer. Take a step back and read your message from a users point of view. Do your customers really need to know that information? If the answer is no, then don’t post.    Patrick Barnhill,  Specialist ID, Inc. 7. The Customer Mentions It   One of our clients had automated some systems before coming to us, and while it worked initially with their ROI, in the long-term, it meant that they were constantly bombarding their most loyal customer base with messages. They did not take too kindly to it and relegated the client to spam. When they werent hearing back from a lot of them we decided to investigate â€" disaster.    Cody McLain,  SupportNinja 8. Your Social Media Efforts Go Awry   It doesnt stop at mailers. It also means you havent paid attention to social media channels. Does your brand only send out 100 robotic tweets and irrelevant status updates every day? Guilty of sending out random invites to your marketing event? If youre losing more followers with every post or receiving backlash in the comments section, theres a good chance that youre over-communicating.    Pratham Mittal,  Outgrow 9. Your Email Open Rates Diminish   If your email open rates or your social media following and interactions are diminishing, it may be a sign that youre over-communicating your brand. Keep your messages concise, and create a schedule of communicating that coincides only with fresh information or content that needs to be shared.    Andrew Schrage,  Money Crashers Personal Finance

Tips on Hiring a Resume Writing Service

Tips on Hiring a Resume Writing ServiceThere are various factors which you should consider before hiring a resume writing service. Reading through the client portfolio would help you get an idea about the kind of services they provide. The resume samples will also help you decide which resume writing service to hire. Some of the resume writing services are provided by freelance writers, while others are provided by local companies based in the cities.Before hiring the resume writing service, you must make sure that it is an established company and that your client has a proper contact number. You must be able to find out about the qualifications of the writers and you must have clear-cut expectations.The writer is supposed to work for the client in order to create a good resume. You must have a clear idea about the services that the company offers. He should not send you an uncooked resume. In the job market, you have to look for a resume that meets all the qualifications and specifi cations.You can always seek assistance from the expert and professional writers, if you think that there are some skills and special skills that you cannot adequately express on your own. Most of the writers take special care of preparing the resumes for their clients. The writers have to write in such a way that it suits the individual requirements.If you are not satisfied with the results and service of the company, you can leave it and seek for a new one. This is an essential step to avoid wasting time and money.A few companies also offer their services at a very affordable rate as compared to other companies. It is always better to avail the services of the reliable companies that are easy to access. It is important to try different types of resume writing services as per your requirements.Remember that people who join an agency must be able to learn new skills in a short span of time. This is a part of professional career development.Before hiring a resume writing service you s hould ensure that you know the credentials of the company and the quality of the work. You should also check the payment scheme and the terms and conditions.

Summary Sunday Think About How You Come Across to Others!

Summary Sunday Think About How You Come Across to Others! Sunday is when I share some of my favorite career and job search posts. They all come from colleagues and friends I interact with on Twitter. This virtual community is fast-paced and cutting edge! I love learning and being able to share what I find! Did You Hear the News? The Pros and Cons of the New LinkedIn Endorsement Feature by Barbara Safani of Career Solvers Barbara Safani reviewed the pros and cons of the new LinkedIn endorsement feature. Perhaps you are getting emails from LinkedIn stating someone has endorsed you. This new feature is the reason! Here are just some of the positives to this new feature according to Barbara: Colleagues can recommend additional skills that may be added to a user’s profile. This is a nice way for people to help each other build a more digitally distinct presence and generate additional interest from recruiters and employers. Endorsements help job seekers by offering more regular prompting to examine the skills section, an area of the LinkedIn profile that has become increasingly more important over the past few months. Having skills endorsements may help with profile optimization and SEO making it easier for people to be found. Barabara says these are the downsides to this new LinkedIn feature: Endorsements might not be viewed with the same “street cred” as recommendations. Someone willing to give you a recommendation is really taking the time to advocate for you and document specifically the value you bring to an organization. Someone offering an endorsement is basically “checking a box”. Endorsements may actually erode the networking process rather than build it. Authentic relationships are built over time. You need to feel very confident in your relationship with someone in order to request a recommendation. I don’t believe there is the same level of entry for requesting endorsements. Endorsements smack of a “you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours” mentality. Just because someone gives you a recommendation it doesn’t mean that it is appropriate to return the favor. But with endorsements those lines may be blurred.   Be prepared to see a lot of reciprocal endorsements on LinkedIn over the next few months. Be your own judge of this new feature being introduced. See what you think! Are You Employable? 5 More Critical Attitudes for Employability by David Schindler on Learning to Leap David Schindler is an employability specialist. This is a second post of his on five things that make someone employable. 1.   AWARE self-awareness, empathy, listening, understanding, asking questions 2.    OPEN â€" to ideas, people and opportunities, honesty, vulnerability 3.   COURAGEOUS â€" brave, taking a risk, entrepreneurial, thinking the unthinkable 4.  DRIVEN â€" direction, purpose, initiative, movement, energy, pace, will 5.  COLLABORATIVE finding solutions to problems, trusting, learning from others, honest feedback, confidence in and dependent on others Re-Inventing You Job Seekers: Be Like Q-tips on Mark HR Happen by Tom Bolt Toms post has four very practical and real ideas on how to re-invent or re-brand yourself. Tom concludes his post with this: How useful are you and where do you get ideas for reinventing yourself? It’s all around you. Leo Gerstenzang invented Q-tips in 1923 after seeing his wife wrapping a piece of cotton on the end of a toothpick. Researching yourself on a daily basis and keeping in touch with the environment is like looking through a transparent mirror…your image is projected on the world around you. If the image doesn’t fit neatly into the picture, make the necessary changes in yourself to create one that does. EQ Just How Much Does   Emotional Intelligence Matter by John Keyser on Glasshammer Not enough has been said about Emotional Intelligence yet (in my opinion). It still is off on the fringe of important topics to address. Any chance I get to share information on EQ, I take. In this post by John Keyser, has defined EQ skills as these: The four main skills of emotional intelligence are: Self-awareness â€" our ability to perceive our emotions and understand our tendencies to act in certain ways in given situations Social awareness â€" our ability to understand the emotions of other people, what they are thinking and feeling Self-management â€" our ability to use awareness of our emotions to stay flexible and direct our behavior positively Relationship management â€" our ability to use our awareness of our own emotions and those of others to manage interactions successfully Go check it out!

Urgent questions - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Urgent questions - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog * Has anyone had to cut off their tongue because it frozen to a flagpole? * DRIED PIDGEON MANURE IF IT MAKES CONTACT WITH YOUR EYE, WILL CAUSE YOU TO GO BLIND? * I just read a blurb that pre-packaged foods can cause people to turn gay because of too much estrogen. If I was only allowed one question for snopes, I would ask if this is true. Is it? * Ive heard that it is impossible to take a lightbulb out of your mouth once one puts it in, without either breaking the bulb or dislocating the jaw. Do you know if this is true? Im counting on you my husband is really curious, and I dont want to have to drive him to the hospital These are just a few of the sillier email questions sent to snopes.com, the primary web reference for urban legends. They exhaustively research many of the legends and myths making the rounds on the net and post a True, False or Undetermined status for each. Here are a few of my favourites. See if you can guess which are true or false before you look it up: * Japanese thieves send a thank you note to a bank after robbing it. * Consumers need to be cautious that water boiled in a microwave oven can suddenly explode. * Golfer is poisoned by chewing on his tee. * Eating carrots results in improved vision. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related