Digital Disruption in Talent Strategy - Recap of DisruptHR Brisbane July 26 2017
Digital Disruption in Talent Strategy -
I know, it sounds pretty dramatic and I actually want to talk more about digital engagement and taking part in a conversation that already happens, with an audience that’s relevant for you and you for them – which Social Media and Social Recruitment is all about.
But given these days, with all the information we are constantly getting exposed to, our attention span is shorter than ever before, in fact, it is now shorter than a goldfish's. So I will stick to digital disruption and get your attention for the next couple of minutes.
Technology is changing the way we live, work, act and interact and with that, businesses transform to stay relevant to those changed behaviours and these companies then need different skill sets to stay relevant in their field.
Yes, we do see traditional jobs are disappearing, especially the ones that can be automated and don’t require any human traits like creativity or emotions. At the same time however, we also see new opportunities arise for those who embrace the change.
Most important to realise though is the fact that it’s not technology as such that’s the real disruptor. It is being non customer centric and not adopting to the changed consumer behavior that is the real threat to any business.
And this is where the rubber hits the road: Gen X and beyond have access to more information than ever before in literally a click or a swip away and given they are the most educated generation so far, they also want to know more about everything. And because they are the future and can make or break the success of your business, you want them on your side.
The only disruption we have seen in the last 20 or so years in recruitment however is that job ads are now published on online boards. But the thing is: we don’t live our lives in bullet points.
We live our lives in stories and images as looking at those beautiful images is what evokes emotions. And when emotions are triggered, dopamine is released to the brain which then gives us a good feeling about something or someone and this is what makes stories stick.
Traditional job ad are pure logic and pure logic doesn’t evoke anything, it doesn’t release dopamine which is also responsible for taking actions. So logic alone doesn’t move any mountains.
Why is it so important to realise that though?
Because we are competing with more for less.
More people will exit full time work rather than enter and we can’t even just bribe talents anymore to stay with a company as 79% say they prefer a great and flexible work environment that fits in their lifestyle over just a high salary.
Looking at Gen Z, who is more mobile and flexible, having on average 17 jobs, go through 5 different careers and live in 15 homes, coupled with the fact that we will face a global shortfall of 40 Million skilled workers is why it is time to think, act and interact differently if we want to attract, engage and retain the best Talents.
Question is – how are we doing it?
We need to start thinking like a marketer!
Because the recruitment/application process follows exactly the same phases as a purchase decision: we move through the phases, from awareness to consideration, to desire and eventually to the purchase which is the application in our case.
And then the next question is – how are we doing that?
As a marketer, we need to move a big pool of talent who are unaware and disengaged with the brand and company into a smaller group of qualified ‘leads’ who not only can do the job but also resonate with the culture and values of a company.
Makes sense right. But how are we going to do this now?
People trust people. And there is nothing more powerful than a personal recommendation from someone we trust. And we build trust by having similarities and sharing similar views and values. With the internet opening up our network to a global audience, we have more access to any information we want available and people make use of this access.
But whilst people trust people, it doesn’t happen straight away. Depending on where we are in the lifecycle of our application/recruitment process, we want to access different information, from different people and in different forms. This is why it is so important to keep engaging with your target audience, on channels that resonate with them, in forms they enjoy consuming it and from people they can resonate with. This is the way you build trust and a relationship before you need to ask them for a favor – ie. To apply and join your team.
With Instagram being the fastest growing social platform because of those beautiful images that resonate so well but also because images can be processed much faster than text, in fact 60,000 times faster, up and coming talents don’t want to be told. They want to be shown.
And how you can get started is by asking your employees, especially those high flyers that you want to attract more of. What’s their story, what’s their motivation, their asirations and how can they make their job part of their lifestyle which the younger generation is all about.
Then give them the tools, the training and empowerment to share their story, on channels where they hang out but of course where your target group hangs out and ina way that resonates with them.
Most importantly however is that it needs to come from the top. It needs to be part of a bigger picture, part of the overall business strategy and it needs to be pretty, like uber pretty with a cherry on top.
