Employer Branding in the Tech Industry

The employee experience is critical because it is plain that employees deliver great work when they feel valued. It pays for a good employer to take care of how they treat people – environment, flexible working, benefits package – so as to engage and empower employees to be their best selves to work.

When we talked to Becky Cantieri of SurveyMonkey about what drives its candidate and employee experience she told us that they look for candidates who are curious because “It’s in our DNA. More than any other human trait it’s what drives creativity and innovation”. The tagline for their EVP is “where the curious come to grow”. They have articulated a statement of belief about what employee’s value about working at SurveyMonkey.

SurveyMonkey takes pride in providing their employees with a supportive work environment that empowers them to stay curious, be authentic, fulfill their passions, and balance work goals with life goals. The make a commitment providing their ‘troop’ with an environment where everyone – no matter their background – can succeed, feel a sense of belonging, and learn from one another through intentional and open conversations.

Re-recruiting is a key concept, with a view to changing the orientation of career conversations so that employees are inspired to stay and continue to be excited about what they are doing at SurveyMonkey. Becky’s top tip is that when developing your EVP you should start with a survey; make sure you really understand what your people value and why they choose you, then put the tools in their hands as they are your best recruiting tool.

Act on feedback

Ariel Jolo is Global Employer Brand Manager for Medallia, an enterprise customer feedback management software platform which attracts talent by promoting culture, authenticity, and diversity. Their Employee Experience (EX) suite enables business and human resource (HR) professionals to create, manage and scale superior employee experiences within and across the entire employee lifecycle.

Medallia’s research uncovers some interesting data: a survey of 25 Customer Experience (CX) and HR executives and 1,000 frontline employees found that 56 percent of frontline employees said they have ideas for improving company practices, and when their employers act on their feedback, they are three times more engaged. However, 33 percent said they were surveyed too infrequently, and more than 50 percent said their employers weren’t asking the right questions, thus demonstrating a disconnect between EX and CX.

They believe that a robust employer brand can create a culture of empowerment and action, which will improve employee happiness, and foster innovation and creativity. Ariel told us that people are what matter, their employees enjoy working alongside their co-workers, so culture really counts here. Ariel’s top tip is to be authentic, you can throw money at campaigns and initiatives, but if you are not true to yourself and the company values then that will trip you up in the long run.

Work is about much more than a job

It is vital that organizations take a holistic approach to brand identity and corporate reputation in order to strengthen and enhance that employer brand by adding value and activity representing the company’s values, mission, and big-picture objectives. Work is no longer about just turning up to do the job; it is about teamwork, collaboration, and community where core values are lived in a culture of trust and transparency.

No organization is perfect, but if you can initiate an open dialogue with your employees, and work toward a culture where each employee feels heard, values and truly part of the team, you will reap the rewards. LinkedIn Global Talent Trends 2017 found that 50% of job seekers consider a company’s mission to be the most important deciding factor during a job search; so be sure to showcase what potential employees will be working on and let them know that the organization cares about their professional growth.

See also: Diversity & Inclusion at 10 Top Tech Companies