Sustainability content is your best recruitment tool

IMPROVE CUSTOMER VALUE VIA YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND

Companies focused on climate action are not only lifting their customer value, but also their employer brand. They’re experiencing stronger recruitment and retention, and overall financial value, according to a recent EY report[1].

Despite this, many brands are still reluctant to highlight their sustainability credentials to attract candidates.

According to a recent study by IBM[2], 71% of workers see environmentally sustainable companies as more attractive employers, and almost 50% would take a lower salary to work for them.

SUSTAINABILITY JOBS ARE GROWING

Currently there’s 17,816 jobs on SEEK associated with sustainability. Naturally, an interested jobseeker would click through to the employer’s website and expect to quickly see their level of commitment to sustainability.

Look up that same company on LinkedIn, and you’ll probably find a noticeable gap in published organic content on the topic. If there is content, it fluctuates wildly from dry to boastful.

It’s a common blind spot. One we see often as an official LinkedIn Content Agency partner.

We know that finding your voice and developing an authority to talk about sustainability can be tricky, but it’s not insurmountable. Get it right and it can boost your ability to attract and retain top talent.

YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND STRATEGY SHOULD BE AS CLEAR AS YOUR OVERALL BRAND STRATEGY.

At 3rdspace we call this ‘connecting your brand purpose to every surface’.

What do we mean? Wherever your brand extends (channel, touchpoint, physical, or digital) your sense of purpose must be baked into the DNA of that surface. This extends down to your job description templates, and even a new employee’s first pay slip.

The great companies we’re working with aren’t fluffing up their sustainability creds by shoehorning in the latest buzz terms.

THEY’RE BUILDING PROGRAMS THAT IMPROVE THEIR BUSINESS FROM THE INSIDE.

We help shape those programs into a cohesive narrative and a sharp candidate proposition. We’re building content plans with killer pillars, so our clients’ LinkedIn channels curate a mix of voices that talk authentically about what sustainability means to them.

SUSTAINABILITY IS ACROSS ALL TEAMS AND LEVELS.

Brands who are getting it right are those where the CMO, the Chief People & Talent Officer and the Chief Sustainability Officer unite over a comms plan that speaks to all audiences, including new recruits and current staff.

Our job is then to help them build the comms frameworks that align and connect their employer brand with their customer brand.

We also help steer them away from hygienic box-ticker messages (like diversity, flexibility, growth, etc), to focus on interesting and different proof points.

It’s not about not using these key search terms, it’s about uncovering stories of them in action and creating content that shows them in the most distinctive way possible: content that elevates a brand’s purpose and provokes action.

This helps the potential recruit conclude in their own mind that the brand really does walk the walk of what sustainability means to them. This is important because it’s the candidate’s perception that matters, not what  the brand tells them to think.

A FOUNDATIONAL BUILDING BLOCK TO YOUR BRAND STORY.

Building your employer brand narrative and content plan is a foundational piece of work that brings your sustainability recruitment story to life.

If you feel like the true value of your brand hasn’t been unlocked to optimise your recruitment and retention goals, we’re here for a chat to see if we can guide you towards success. Or, if you have figured it out and want a memorable piece of content as reinforcement, we’re here for you too.

Reach out: Andrew Sidwell, Head of Content & Experience.

3rdspace is one of only two content agency partners of LinkedIn, which gives us deep insight into what’s working and what’s coming next.

[1] https://www.ey.com/en_gl/sustainability/how-can-slowing-climate-change-accelerate-your-financial-performance

[2] https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/sustainability-consumer-research