Becoming a top employer brand and managing change

Invigorated and inspired by the recent CIPD annual conference, we're still beaming from the insightful discussions held across the two-day event.

It was fantastic to see so many HR professionals all in one place, and we had a great time chatting to as many attendees as we possibly could.

Since the event, we've been revealing our top five takeaways from the conference. Read on for more...

Takeaway four: Becoming a top employer brand

The expectations employees have on their workplace have risen dramatically in recent years, and this is having a huge impact on employer brand.

Now, to be considered a top employer, the way you attract, retain and develop your people needs your full attention.

Here are a few thoughts we had during the CIPD annual conference…

• Attracting – more than a decent salary and benefits package, job seekers are keen to understand how working for you is going to add value to their lives. They want to know what you value, how your organisation is contributing to social responsibility, and that, by working for you, they’ll be contributing to something significant.
• Retaining – from encouraging flexibility, freedom and collaboration, to valuing conversations and accountability over form filling, there are many topics to consider when developing a strategy to keep your top talent. But for us, it all seems to come back to focussing on building a culture that prioritises engagement. Making your people feel valued, appreciated and involved in all you do goes a long way.
• Developing – professional qualifications, formal training, mentorship, apprenticeships, building career paths and more…the world of learning and development has grown astronomically. And with so many development possibilities, where do you start? The best employers are offering their people the choice of methods to help them develop to their full potential. Dedicated and regular conversations about development, generous budgets, and by-in from senior leaders are all necessary tools in making this happen.

Find out more

Such a huge topic, we’ll be talking more about this over the coming months. But for now, take a look at our recent interview with Darren Nuttall, Director of networx, market leading recruitment software and recruitment service providers, who spoke with us about how giving a great first impression as an employer starts way beyond a candidate’s first day.

Takeaway five: Change is here to stay

They say the only constant in life is change. And with the world changing faster than ever, we say with a high level of confidence that change is here to stay. So, change management is a skill worth taking an interest in.

That’s why we enjoyed UK Mediation’s learning session at the conference on ‘Change management – turning resistance into collaboration’. As huge fans of organisations who champion collaboration, we know that this is needed more than ever during a period of change.

For HR professionals, a key challenge is to mange the often unavoidable disruption that change brings – employee engagement and morale can be seriously damaged during periods of uncertainty.

Employers tend to encounter a range of attitudes and abilities from employees at the mere mention of change. Forward thinking team members become frustrated if they feel their organisation’s ways of working are lagging behind, whilst employees who favour more traditional ways of working can often feel sceptical of the value the change can bring, or nervous about their ability to adopt it.

Trying to engage all parties while making decisions that help the organisation to move forward can be a difficult balancing act.

We can help…

Explore this topic in our insight guide Managing change: can HR software help?