REPORT
To rank amongst the best workplaces, companies need a very clear employer branding strategy. The conference held at ESADE Madrid examined real-life cases of companies using this strategy successfully.
Many companies want to reach the higher echelons of best employer rankings, but very few make it. The conference held by the ESADE Alumni People Management and Organisation Club on March 29 in Madrid examined real-life success stories.
The case studies were presented by Rafael Rodríguez, e-marketing manager at Acciona; Gerardo Lara, HR innovation and development manager at Sacyr; and Javier Mourelo (AMP 11), personnel manager at Kreab. The three explained how their companies have implemented an employer branding strategy based on the combined efforts of their marketing and HR departments.
David Novoa (PMD 11), board member of the ESADE Alumni People Management and Organization Club, welcomed those present and thanked the event sponsor, Mercer, for their support.
All three speakers emphasised the importance of people as the focal point of an employer branding strategy. The ability to treat workers and candidates like customers is one of the secrets of first-rate employers. A company’s employees are its best spokespersons and employees who are motivated and proud to belong to a company will be its best ambassadors. The focus must be on people in theory – and in practice. Rafael Rodríguez explained that Acciona’s claim – Your talent for a sustainable future – focuses on people. ''This message appears in all our communications. We also use photos of real company workers to create closer links and convey our values realistically.''
The same applies to candidates. Someone treated well during a recruitment process will speak highly of the company, regardless of whether they get the job. ''The usual mistake is to give candidates no feedback, but it is very easy to let them know about their application by phone or email or Whatsapp. This earns brownie points for employers,'' said Javier Mourelo.
Another key factor mentioned during the conference was the importance of having corporate values and getting everyone to espouse them. Gerardo Lara explained that innovation, optimism, the ability to work in a team and have a global outlook are the four values that constitute the DNA of everyone at Sacyr. ''We work hard to assimilate and apply these values and get all our professionals to champion them. These are the values of Sacyr employees and the ones we look for in candidates.''
The internet offers great ways of enhancing employer branding. Websites, blogs, social media, apps and e-newsletters are vehicles for communicating achievements and brand values and developing strategies for candidates. This makes it possible to offer candidates a plus and thereby attract the best talent. ''What matters most is to provide lots of content and useful information on line. It is important, for example, for candidates to be able to read about employment trends on our blog. All this content must, of course, be part of a real content creation strategy. It requires a lot of work and must not be left to people not prepared for it. It’s also necessary to innovate and provide content in all sorts of formats, such as the 360 videos now trending'' said Rafael Rodríguez.
Gamification is another aspect of new technologies that helps create a positive image for employers. Apps with game elements are very appealing to people looking for information about a company with a view to joining it. ''One fun initiative that we’ve launched in Sacyr is a blog called ''A penguin in the digital age'' where candidates can say whether they think the penguin will find a job or not. Another example is ''Sacyr people around the globe'', a programme on our YouTube channel showing videos of employees all over the world who introduce themselves and explain what their international experience is like. We also have a Trivial quiz about Sacyr for candidates, and more,'' said Gerardo Lara.
Javier Mourelo wound up the conference with some interesting facts such as 70% of employees are not committed enough to the company where they work, according to a McKinsey survey. The first thing in this case is to use transparency, honesty and communication to find out why, and then take steps to remedy the situation. ''This is the only way to improve the brand image, reduce staff turnover and the increase corporate revenue.''
Programme
The ESADE Alumni People and Organisation Management Club invites you to come along and discover how to implement an employer branding strategy by examining several real-life success stories.
Benchmark employer brand creation is the aim of many companies but achieved by few. Employer branding are two words that are very easy to explain, but very difficult to design and execute.
This mainly hands-on conference will examine the real-life cases of employer branding implemented by Sacyr (Gerardo Lara, Director of HR Innovation and Development, Sacyr), Acciona (Rafael Rodríguez, Head of Digital Marketing, Acciona) and Kreab (Javier Mourelo, Director of People).
These practical examples aim to give an insight into the best practices to position the brand vis-à-vis not only customers but also employees and future recruits.
Speakers:
Rafael Rodríguez, Head of Digital Marketing, Acciona
Gerardo Lara, Director de HR Innovation and Development, Sacyr
Javier Mourelo (AMP 11), Director de People, Kreab
Chaired by
David Novoa (PMD 11), board member of the ESADE Alumni Organisation and People Management Club
Javier Mourelo
Javier Mourelo is People Manager at Kreab. He is communications, reputation and public affairs consultant of Swedish origin. Previously, he was HR development manager at Clifford Chance, call centre manager at Retevisión and founding partner of a law firm. He has also been a freelance recruitment, training and development consultant. Javier holds a law degree, a diploma in psychology and graphology, a master in human resource management and AMP (ESADE and Wharton). He teaches people management at the University of Navarra, IE, Garrigues study centre, and San Pablo CEU. Regular contributor to El Confidential and 5 Días. Director of the Management and Innovation Forum at the FIDE Foundation and co-author of ''En la Frontera'' and ''El Cronógrafo'' books of short stories published by the Almuzara publishing house.
Rafael Rodríguez
Dedicated to the internet since 1999, when hardly anyone knew what a website was and Google had not yet been invented. During his career he has worked in digital marketing agencies, FMCG companies and B2B companies. He is currently head of the e-marketing department at Acciona, where he is responsible for creating, defining and implementing the company’s global strategy for websites, social media, content marketing, SEO, SEM, display advertising and mobile apps. He also manages the digital employer branding strategy and actively works on keeping the company at the forefront of digital communication.
Gerardo Lara
Gerardo Lara is HR innovation and development manager at Sacyr. He holds an MBA (IE Business School) and is a telecommunications engineer (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid). Before joining Sacyr, Gerardo worked for other companies in the industry: manager of organization, training and job market at Acciona from 2009 to 2015, and manager of compensation, training and recruitment at Indra from 2000 to 2008. Other posts include head of retributive policy at Vodafone (Airtel), consultant at Hewitt Associates and consultant at Accenture.
See you there!
For further information:
guillermo.angulo@esade.edu
