Innovating an Employer Brand on Campus in a Tough Market

It's a question that clients ask us time and time again in the grad space. "How do I stand out if I've got nothing to stand on?" After working with companies big, small and everywhere in between, there are 2 different ways we look at standing out without anything to stand on.

Ask yourself 2 questions:

1. Is this a branding exercise? Do I need to educate people about my company? What we do? And what we're about?

2. Is this a call to action? In other words - do I want people to do something right now! Do I just want people to apply? Answering those questions first, make the rest pretty simple.

The Challenge:

1. Branding excersises are difficult to measure.

2. A "call to action" can provide a multitude of unnecessary responses.

We talk a lot about the branding journey of a student, all the different things they read, see and do. From hanging out with their friends on campus, to drinking at the pub, to reading a magazine, to searching for anything online, there are a variety of platforms that a student uses day to day to make their decisions. Whether purchasing a product or deciding what company to apply for. 

Most companies want to be on the branding journey with a student, but are afraid to dedicate the capital or the resources to get there and end up with a call to action every time. This always brings a plethora of applications - but a limited percentage of the right ones.

So, what's the answer? It's a nice healthy mix of both. 

When we work with companies on their grad strategies for getting on and off campus, we always recommend a few high value, but mostly, low cost interactive options.

The key is to be authentic - have a unique message and communicate it with clarity.

Innovative options for branding:

Free: Walk around your office with an iPhone video. Ask 5 of your current grads 3 questions : 1) why did you join? 2) what do you love about working here? 3) what are they currently working on (within reason)? Keep it granular - don't make it overly professional. Students want reality. (if you'd like a sample of more questions, just email me and I'll come up with a few for you) Put the video on a YouTube channel or on your Facebook page Share the video in an email to applicants so they get a true sense of what it's like to work there. Students are constantly being sold to, so an essential part is being authentic and genuine. Anything over manufactured gets lost in the ether. Another option is to start a company blog. Use your current graduates to write the content - from a different perspective weekly (should you need a social media policy let me know and I'll happily send through a sample).

Paid: Unigrad guides (of course) or student magazine, even careers fairs are branding exercises - execute these with innovation by having fun on your stand, creating exciting adverts and sharing real life testimonials and grad experiences (there are a lot of "happy smiling grad faces" out there). More costly but interactive is a mobile apps that give students an experience into your business and your brand.

Innovative options for call to action: 

Free: Use your facebook pages, linkedin, or blogs to notify readers of application closing deadlines - generally 3 days prior to close is best. Post your job advert on Gumtree, facebook or the free careers service websites (if you'd like a list of these - email us and I'll send them through)

Paid: Post your job on Unigrad.com.au (of course again) Gradconnection, Seek, mycareer, careerone. These sites are specific for students going to apply. They've done their homework, they've looked around, they are going in for the final "viewing" before applying direct.

There are a plethora of ways to differentiate yourself on campus, from competitions, to activities, to digital, to social media even through to print (did you know that the #1 trust source for students is still print?). To ensure you're meeting the market, divide and conquer into branding and call to action. This way you'll know what you can and cannot measure and what is and isn't important.

Good luck in the coming grad season!

Andrea Culligan CEO at The Unimail Group

Growth – The Learning Years

We started Unimail in 1999.  Our vision at the time was to be the email service used by uni students across the country.  This was just as hotmail and gmail launched – so as you can imagine, we got lost in the trenches. 

The vision changed and shifted over the next 6 years and we grew steadily but not rapidly.  We created products and services that met the market, but our market wasn’t large and our vision wasn’t all that clear. 

5 years ago, we became very clear on our vision of “To Lead the Employer Branding Industry with Excellence and Innovation”.  We redefined our values, our mission and how we wanted to get there.  We shared it with our team and our clients and well, we grew….fast.

We grew over 100% in 2008, another 56% in 2009 and another 50% in 2010.  All of this lead to receiving the NSW Telstra Small Business of the Year Award, myself receiving the NSW Telstra Young Businesswoman of the Year and being listed on the BRW Fast 100 list in 2010.

We’re a very different business than where we were 11 years ago, in fact we’ve changed even more in the last 8 months.  The last few years have been a learning cliff for change however, instead of our next growth phase being a frightening concept, we’re excited, poised and ready to go. 

A few lessons had to be learnt to get here though and a few of them are as follows:

Take care of your Clients:

Seems like such a simple concept right?  But when you feel like your business is spiraling out of control and you’re flying along with it, the simplest things can become forgotten.

We work with the top 250 companies around Australia and the main thing we learnt is to focus on our clients that have been the most loyal, and provide high levels of service and communication throughout the changes.  We had significant changes in our account management team and style.  We learnt that in order to continue our successful relationships with our clients, we needed to share our vision, be clear about our process and communicate with them every step of the way. Asking for feedback and acting on it also became essential to our next phase and we’re now even more transparent by providing insight on our goals and celebrating them with our clients when we achieve them.

Prepare for Scalability and Usability:

New system integration is always very difficult no matter the size or style.

We needed new systems and we needed them quickly.  We believed that we could mold to the system, not the other way around and in all honesty – it was just cheaper that way.  This became the most expensive thing I’ve done in the past 2 years.  Mapping the way we operate and being clear about our needs across the business should have been the first step and customising a solution to our needs should have been the second.  Unfortunately, we chose the latter and spent some hard earned money and time on the wrong things. 

We are now at a phase where processes are absolutely integral to our business.  Although we had always had them, not all were documented, transparent or even understood.  By documenting, process mapping and deriving the workflow, we defined the inefficiencies, structures, reporting lines, and accountabilities for each role of the business.  This would have been a lovely luxury to have prior to our growth phase but at 100 miles an hour we essentially restructured the business and redefined each persons role in the company. We now have full system integration across the business, which provides transparency and a clear understanding of our capability and workflow day to day and the best part is it’s completely scalable.

Don’t hire for the sake of hiring

We were in panic mode; there is no doubt about it.  We needed people, quickly and lots of them.  So we hired people who met the culture – but the culture was shifting around us. 

Now, I completely believe that if you hire the right mindset, the rest will follow.  However, when you are the only senior person in the business and the current culture is not the culture of your future, how do you know what to hire?

We decided to stick to our values but hire with experience.  We hired senior people into the business that are experts in their field and also had the core values we believe in.  We hired passion but with accountability and vision, people that saw through the mess and allowed us to define the new path to the future. Our business became complex very quickly and it’s been hugely beneficial to have people in house that understand and leverage off the complexity of the business needs.

There are many factors that have led to the successes and struggles we’ve endured through our growth period. We’ve learned a plethora of new skills and our team has had the opportunity to have influence on where we all go with the business. 

We’ve realized that the importance of experience, transparency and sticking to our values combined with calculated decisions – even if they are made quickly – are essential to eliminating knee jerk reactions and costly mistakes.

Growing pains in a business will in my opinion always test your dedication and commitment to being a business owner. There were a number of times where I truly considered working for someone else. 

The need to shift goals, alter visions, develop new strategies, deal with constant negatives and struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel can become exhausting and frustrating. Now that I feel I have unwound the tangles we are very excited about building the business the way we’ve always wanted it; Sophisticated, observant, collaborative, and transparent, all this while adhering to and maintaining the core values of the business.

Although I wouldn’t’ wish the past 2 years on anyone, the learning curve and experience it’s provided myself and our team has been instrumental for our future and we wouldn’t have it any other way. 

 Andrea Culligan

T: acculligan

What's in a name? campus branding and it's purpose

Whats in a name…

That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet? (Shakespeare)

           

Well, there’s a lot in a name really.

Let’s take an example:

Nigel:

Thoughts of a weedy little Englishman and a wet handshake arise in your mind.  He got picked on in school, struggled to find mates and perhaps picks his nose when no one is looking?

Bambi:

I’m sure you already have images of what she looks, sounds and acts like. And you already know she was the most popular girl in school for no good reason. 

However, perhaps one day you meet a Nigel or Bambi – imagine how much harder it is for them to prove their worth should they be smart, confident, outgoing, attractive and astute?

The reality is until you actually have an experience with that person or their “brand” it’s difficult to change your perceived idea of their worth..

The same goes for an employer brand.

Your name, message, look and feel are being judged every second of every day and every experience that your future candidates have with you.  So how do you cut through the noise to make sure yours is the one they choose to trust or respect?

We work with hundreds of companies around the world on their brands, their message, their difference in the marketplace and their strategies and no matter the project our process is always the same 4 points: 

1) Is what you are saying – an assumption?

The old adage of “assume makes an ass out of u and me” becomes very apparent in employer branding.  The truth in an employer brand really lies in the trenches not at the senior executive level.  Have you asked your grads why they’re joining you and if they leave – why they’re leaving? 

2) Are you Competing for Ego or Purpose?

Understanding your talent competitor landscape is essential to your strategy.  Without a clear understanding on who you’re recruiting for, you are essentially competing with ...everyone.  Each company will always have a point of difference from their closest competitor.  This could be culture, opportunities, location, style or function.  There is absolutely no need to compete with the masses, if that’s not what you’re seeking.

3) Get Clear on the Message:

By this stage, you’ve identified the reasons, the competition and the candidate, now is where you get to the message. The true story of what is really on offer.  Be clear, be specific and be authentic.  Work life balance means very different things to different people and if it’s not clear to the candidate it can dilute the true opportunity available. 

4) Tell the story the way it reads to you– not the way you think they need to hear it:

There’s been a lot of discussion around social media, multimedia, print, jobs boards, newspapers, adwords and then a million more.  There isn’t a cookie cutter approach that needs to be followed.

This is your brand, your message, you story, so it’s up to you and your data as to how you need to present it.  Whatever works…works…and you don’t necessarily need to tweet it, like it, or tag it to get there.

Your employer brand is the first step into the mind of any potential candidate – who are you, what do you stand for, what do you offer, why do I want to work for you, what can I offer you in return? 

This is generally a graduates first ever career decision and the process is intense.  Students involve their friends, their peers, their parents, their university professors, their advisors and then some in the decision. 

The journey they take to get to you really ends the same way; they want what you want – a great place to work with a great result every day.

Don’t be a Nigel and tell them something different before they even get there.

Andrea Culligan

Unimail

Twitter – acculligan