A strong employer brand is the ultimate tool for recruiting top, diverse talent in a virtual world. Why? Without the ability to meet recruiters at career fairs, attend informational sessions in real life, or network in person, today’s recent grads and college students are looking to your online employer brand as a way to quickly assess whether they’d like to work at your company. With Gen Z making up a quarter of the workforce, companies must ensure that their employer brands speak to the most diverse generation in history.
What exactly is this generation looking for in an employer brand? Gen Z wants to work for a company whose values align with theirs. For example, in 2020 and 2021, we’ve seen that candidates typically look to see how companies are actively promoting diversity and how they’re elevating their company culture virtually. They also want to know how companies contribute to social impact issues and how their mission ties into their day-to-day workflow.
Without in-person recruiting opportunities, a top-notch employer brand is your best tool for attracting top, diverse talent — especially for this year’s Spring recruiting. So, where do you begin? To help you rethink your employment branding strategy, we picked out some of the top employment branding campaigns of 2020, why they worked, and why they matter.
What they did
With the help of the WayUp team, Thermo Fisher — a Fortune 200 science company dedicated to making the world healthier, cleaner, and safer — released a sponsored article on their specific approach to fostering diversity.
Why it worked well
Thermo Fisher has always valued diversity, and they wanted their candidates to see what D+I initiatives the company focuses on, why these initiatives work, and how they drive the business as a whole. Their article helped answer some critical questions for candidates like, what does D+I at a company really mean, and what should you be looking for in a company? This made it easy for candidates to see Thermo Fisher’s commitment to diversity all in one place.
Why it matters
How a company values diversity is crucial to any positive employer brand, especially for companies that want to attract diverse Gen Z candidates — 86% of whom cite a company’s commitment to diversity as one of the top factors in deciding whether or not to accept an offer.
And as our CEO and Co-founder, Liz Wessel, puts it, “commitment to diversity is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have if you want to hire top talent,” said Wessel. “After all, Gen Z is the most racially diverse generation out there, and they truly care about working at a company that values diversity.”
What they did
Anthem’s purpose – Improving the Health of Humanity – is at the core of what they do. We worked together with the Anthem team to put together a sponsored article about what their purpose means and how they deliver on it every day.
Why it worked well
Anthem knows that purpose-driven companies grow on average 3X times faster than their competitors and have a lasting impact on the world. Anthem also knows that Gen Z values authenticity, so they wanted their candidates not only to know their purpose but to understand how their company brings their purpose to life in daily work — and this article did the trick.
Why it matters
While they’re tech-savvy, competitive, and open-minded, Gen Z gravitates toward companies that are purpose-driven, both from a consumer and candidate standpoint — according to new research from LinkedIn. By highlighting your company’s values and purpose, you could greatly influence your candidate pool and attract far more diverse candidates to your roles.
What they did
We teamed up with L’Oreal — the #1 beauty company in the world — on a sponsored article to highlight how the company leveraged its status as a global beauty tech giant to help the communities it serves.
Why it worked well
Whether it’s technological innovations for sustainability or crafting diverse communities at work, L’Oréal has long considered its business as an avenue for positive change, and they wanted to make sure candidates knew their commitment. This sponsored article did a great job highlighting all of the ways L’Oréal shows up for its communities — especially amid the global pandemic. It also showcased how this effort wasn’t just a one-time response but an ingrained part of L’Oréal’s company culture.
Why it matters
Gen Z cares deeply about social impact issues and their communities. In fact, a survey by i4cp found that a whopping 93% of Gen Z said their decision to accept a job is directly affected by the company’s impact on society. So if your recruiting goals include hiring diverse, early-career candidates, then showing students and recent grads your commitment to social issues that they care about is a great way to attract top talent.
What they did
WayUp partnered with Bloomberg — a global information and technology company — to host three Virtual Events that attracted 94% Black and Latinx early-career candidates.
Why it worked well
Without in-person campus events, the Bloomberg team needed a way to connect with qualified candidates personally. And, after all, one of the best ways to showcase your employer brand is to invite your candidates into it, so this virtual event was the perfect solution. How do we know if it worked? Well, 100% of attendees reported that they intended to apply to Bloomberg.
Why it matters
With remote work on the rise and recruiting turning 100% virtual, employers must find effective ways to stay connected to the candidates they want to hire. Virtual recruiting events are a great solution to engaging with diverse students and recent grads. Plus, in a recent survey, we found that 40% of respondents had attended a virtual recruiting event in 2020, and Black & Hispanic respondents were 25% more likely to participate in them.
What they did
WayUp partnered with Apex Systems — a world-class technology services business — to help them create a timely and impactful employment branding video. With this video, they showcased how they provided more flexible solutions for their staff and how the company culture ultimately came out stronger during the pandemic.
Why it worked well
Why it worked well
With students and recent grads facing a challenging and changing job market, highlighting your company’s response to change and uncertainty shows candidates just how resilient and agile your company culture is. Not only that, but Apex led with compassion and understanding, which really stood out to potential applicants. Given that 88% of recruiting teams who use video have found it generates more responses from passive candidates, and 78% of those using video believe it has helped increase the quality of applications (according to VideoMyJob), Apex knew video would be the perfect way to get that message across.
Want to learn more about why video is so critical to reaching Gen Z? Click here to watch the replay of our webinar with Clorox about the top 5 employment branding videos of 2020 and why.
Why it matters
With 10.7 million unemployed, the pandemic has posed a lot of uncertainty — especially for those just entering the job market. In a December 2020 candidate survey, our results showed that respondents were half as likely to feel confident about finding a job since the crisis. Gen Z is looking for a company that genuinely cares about its staff, and by showing how your company has stuck together since the crisis, you could significantly increase your pool of diverse candidates.
There’s no questioning that a strong employer brand helps employers attract and hire more diverse, early-career candidates. On behalf of WayUp, congrats to all the employers listed who’ve already stepped up to the challenge.
Are you an employer looking to virtually connect with diverse early-career candidates? Connect with us to learn more about how we can help you create employment branding videos and articles so you can share your brand story and attract top talent. To connect, fill out the form below, or email us at engage@wayup.com.
