In Brunswick’s recent webinar, 'The Rules of Attraction', my colleague Naz Sadri and I spoke with Brad Barrell, Director of Global Recruitment for Brambles, the global logistics company and invisible backbone of global supply chains.
Brad described the importance of Brambles’ purpose, and status as one of the world’s most sustainable supply chain businesses, for attracting new digital talent to the company’s growing Data & Analytics team. And how this aspect of life at Brambles complements all the other reasons people join, stay and grow their careers with Brambles.
“The digital talent we need to attract wants to change the world. That’s the mindset we’re trying to tap into,” said Brad. “And when we spoke with our current digital employees it was clear they feel they’re the tip of the spear when it comes to making big, positive change in the world.”
Brad referred to Brambles’ unique business model that has sustainability ‘built in’ and how the company’s clear purpose – to connect people with life’s essentials everyday – is an important attractant.
“Our connectivity to the circular economy, what we’re doing with sustainability, the opportunity to make the world a better place, doing positive things with the environment, the wider impact we can have through our clients. When you package that up, people go from ‘I’m not sure who you are’ to ‘this is really exciting, and I want to learn more!’”
The webinar also covered the importance of a holistic approach to articulating who you are as an employer – your employee value proposition or EVP – using Brunswick’s five-dimensional approach: Direction, Deal, Daily, Diversity and Drivers.
Each of these dimensions is important, to a greater or lesser extent, to every employer and every employee. The key is determining which aspects you want to shine a light on because they matter to the employees you want to attract and retain, and make you stand out from your talent competitors.
As Brad said: “You’ve got to put the effort into talking to your employees in a very organised way. Distil what they say and ensure it’s authentic and representative of the real employment experience. And look out in the marketplace. There are a lot of great places to work. But what’s different about you? What makes you an employer of choice?”
In a future post Naz will look at the importance of bringing the EVP to life through an employer brand. She’ll refer again to the discussion with Brad, and how a creative approach can raise awareness, stimulate interest and illuminate the key differentiators that make you an employer of choice.