How employers are getting vulnerable to attract top talent

Employees are talking about what it’s like to work for your company. They’re discussing things like pay, benefits, and family leave, of course. They’re also telling stories about the day-in, day-out reality – and people are listening. Employees might sing your company’s praises. Or they might brutally outline your company’s faults, such as the trials and tribulations of working in an open office environment. Or like Uber faced in February 2017 when Susan Fowler deftly exposed the toxic, bro-culture in a powerful 2,900-word blog post – effectively taking down the CEO.

All of these stories make up your employment (or talent) brand, and they’re incredibly important when it comes to attracting candidates.

According to Glassdoor research, 69% of active job seekers are more likely to apply for a position if the employer actively manages its talent brand.

However, managing your talent brand and actually telling authentic stories are two very different things, especially in today’s social media saturated world. And potential candidates can spot the difference. Companies need to tell these stories at scale to reach the best talent.

Fortunately, every company has the potential to vastly multiply its own employment brand story – if they’re willing to be vulnerable.

Why authentic storytelling matters

We’ve probably all heard our friends openly share the good and bad about their jobs. You may not have spoken to your old college buddy Janelle for a few years, but if you’re connected on Facebook you’ve probably seen her posts about how much she likes (or doesn’t like) working at her new company. With each of her posts, you’re hearing the story of what it’s like to work there.

Whether someone is actively looking for a job or just surfing Facebook for funny memes, they’re going to see you represented as an employer. They might even find out about job opportunities there – especially as demographics in the job market skew younger. A study from the Aberdeen Group found that 73% of millennials used social media to find their last job.

Some brands are good at telling authentic stories about what it’s like to work there. The Walt Disney Company consistently shares photos of happy, smiling employees who reflect the magic of the brand. Microsoft does a fantastic job of storytelling and showing their diverse workforce. And at Starbucks, their social media presence of baristas wearing the green aprons and seasonal cups mirrors the in-store experience.

Of course, with social media shining a spotlight in every nook and cranny, it becomes painfully clear whether the brand story a company is telling is true.

I was once brought in to help a consulting company that had an 18% attrition rate within the first six months. The first thing I did was talk to all of the recruiters and ask, “What’s the story you tell about working here?” Next, I held focus groups with employees and asked, “What did recruiting sell you on? Now, what’s your reality?” It turns out this company which used to be small and scrappy had grown to 7,000 employees. New consultants were still being told they were going to be working on the latest, most innovative projects, but they were being brought in to basically do maintenance. No wonder people moved on!

When marketers and PR people are telling a brand’s employment story without understanding the day-to-day reality, a disconnect appears. It feels fake. And not only does it discourage the best people from applying, it can lead to dizzying churn.

It’s only natural for employers to want to control the narrative about their company culture. But in this era of social media and a demand for authenticity, vulnerability is key.

How vulnerability leads to authenticity

As employees, we understand work isn’t always perfect. Like any relationship, there will be trade-offs, the “give-and-the-get” that makes it worth staying.

When you trust your employees to share your brand’s story on social media, you have to understand that your employees won’t just share all the bright shiny objects – they’ll share what’s true and challenging, too. They’ll post the give-and-the-get, like, “This was a tough week, but my team is taking next Friday off to celebrate the product launch.”

Recently, I heard Macy Andrews, Cisco’s senior director of global university recruiting and employer branding, talk about how they’re “harnessing their tribe” to tell their talent brand story. One point that struck me is that Cisco is letting their employees publish straight to Snapchat. It doesn’t really get any more authentic than turning over your corporate channel to your employees. Nor does it get any more vulnerable.

The key here is trust.

You have to make a decision as a corporation to trust your employees enough to tell your brand’s story for you.

How? Empower people.

Give people the tools they need to be successful, including guidance on logo usage and how to best represent the brand.

Then you have to give them the freedom to share. Think about it. Your corporate channel only has so much reach. If your company empowers 50 or 5,000 of your employees, you now have a multiplier effect of people sharing your employment brand story for you. Imagine just how far that reach can go if you’re willing to be vulnerable.

While I was consulting with Nike in 2019, Chris Hare approached me to write an article about authentic storytelling. Of course, I said yes! This article was written in partnership with The Storied Future and originally published on the SAP Concur web site for their small business community. I'm reposting it here on my LinkedIn profile.