What employer branding trends should we look forward and expect in 2021?
Understanding what goes on in our operating environment is key to professional talent marketing.
Pay attention to changes in consumer behavior helps us to understand sudden changes in our talent audience behavior.
It does’t require a crystal ball to foresee how the pandemic and working remote will impact how we continue to work and what we expect from work life in the next couple of years.
According to Gartner, a global research and advisory firm, the pandemic and its accompanying economic and societal crises have fundamentally rewired the way us consumers live.
A whole year locked in to our houses with most social contacts being remote is likely to put a forever stamp on our behavior. Gartner report underlines a realignment of life which is not going away anytime soon.
Professional talent marketers must pay attention to consumer behavior related trends, because talents are consumers too.
Brands, including employer brands need to figure out new ways to meet their audiences where they are leaning on brand values that support consumer’s self-protective instincts.
Employer branding trends in 2021 to pay attention to
In addition to the four key employer branding trends I predict for 2021 and explain in this week’s episode of Building a Modern Employer Brand -podcast, I would also pay attention to these following trends:
#1 Company culture regains attention as a fundamental element in employer branding
Ever since employer branding gained momentum in growth organizations we have been focusing mostly on the surface of it. We have communicated our “brand” through images and EVP’s.
However, posting random images and sharing generic EVP’s are not employer branding.
All branding is about differentiating the object of branding from it’s competitors. We use marketing and communication tactics and techniques to evoke emotions in the brand’s audience.
The way I see it, our company culture impacts our employee experiences, and together those form the foundation for our unique employer brand.
Together our company culture and our employees’ experiences make a unique combination that no other place of work has. Founding our employer brand on our company culture automatically enables us to differentiate our brand from the competing brands.
I’m happy to predict company culture will be back on the list of key conversations and actions-to-take this year, due to the impact of the pandemic on the work life.
The Strategic Company Culture is one of the two founding elements of the Magnetic Employer Brand Method I developed.
Get your head around the concept of strategic company culture:
Comparing the Fun at Work -culture to a Strategic Company Culture >>
#2 Taking advantage of micro-moments in modern employer branding
You are watching a movie with your family or friends and notice your thoughts wondering off. You reflexively turn to your smartphone or smart device to google something that crossed your mind. This is called a micro-moment.
Micro-moment is an intent-rich moment where our preferences are shaped and our beliefs and attitudes are influenced.
Think with Google calls these the I-want-to-know, I-want-to-learn and I-want-to-buy -moments. And these really matter because they are a game changer for all of us consumers as well as brands who want to influence those micro-moments.
For my Finnish audience, my colleague blogged about this trend at the Emine blog in Finnish. It’s a superb article, strongly recommend checking it out here >>
#3 How we use LinkedIn is shifting towards conversational transparency
As home became the work place our coffee machine social contacts started to take place in social media. What is a better place to have professional conversations or chat with work related acquaintances than LinkedIn?
It is easy to see why LinkedIn popularity will continue to rise up in 2021 also in employer branding, and all talent marketing for that matter.
But the nature is going to be conversational, not promotional. What some of the social media professionals therefore suggest is starting to focus on mastering conversational marketing.
Listen to episode #57
In this week’s episode of Building a Modern Employer Brand -podcast I share four (4) employer branding trends that I believe to be important in 2021 for modern talent marketers.
Episode-length: 24:10 min
In this episode I explain the following four predictions I made as employer branding trends for 2021:
- Talent marketers will learn to understand the range different talent marketing strategies and pick up the most suited for their business and talent marketing needs.
- Social media continues to maintain its position as the key media for employer branding specifically.
- Humane values will rise up as the core values in modern organizations.
- EVP’s will be adapted to a new, different role.
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2 Responses
Very informative article.I would like add my thought that companies are aware of the employer branding’s importance, and they invest thousands of pounds in developing theirs and remain in a competitive position that can bring them the most remarkable talents in the job market.
Thanks for your comment Jigna!
Some companies – especially in the tech industry as an example are very aware of the importance of employer branding. But I can also see a difference in recognizing the importance and doing something transformative about it. Many HR departments have long been fighting to get enough resources, but for many decision makers (top management or marketing department) there is still a strong lack of understanding employer branding needs permanent resources to make an impact. Too many people involved still see employer branding the same as a recruitment campaign. It is like saying sales and marketing are the same thing.