The job market has changed considerably within the last 20 years. No longer are qualifications the deciding factor for whether an applicant secures a role. Nowadays, companies place a much larger emphasis on culture, interpersonal skills, and attitude to ensure they are hiring for the future.
Similarly, candidates have become particularly picky about the companies they apply for. Just as the CV is no longer enough for candidates to join a business, neither are traditional job descriptions. For companies to attract the best employees, how they promote themselves online matters.
In this article, we explore how companies can promote themselves better online through thought leadership to strike the right chord with candidates and build a well-performing business. If they don’t, companies risk hemorrhaging staff, time, and money trying to right their wrongs to no avail.
How Has the Job Market Evolved?
In the modern world, LinkedIn has become the bread and butter for professionals looking to advance their careers. It’s where job adverts are signposted rather than Indeed, as the best candidates and businesses go the extra mile to convince each other they’re a match.
But for businesses hoping to hire the very best professionals, media coverage showcasing their expertise and ambition has become increasingly important. News headlines point to credibility, especially when they’re from a national publication—or even better, a broadcast feature.
This is why thought leadership for businesses and their HR teams has become paramount— it performs so well on social media and in the media. More importantly, there’s demand for it.
What Is Thought Leadership?
Thought leadership involves an individual or organization leveraging their experience to create and share informative, unique, and ultimately, interesting insights to generate engagement from key audiences. This helps thought leaders grow their following and improves their credibility.
Because of thought leadership’s wide-ranging value, the number of those engaging in thought leadership has grown over the years. This is helped by audiences now preferring information coming from real experts rather than news outlets or marketing materials that have underlying agendas.
With HR being a particularly competitive industry, thought leadership can help businesses beat their competition to new hires, and even retain current staff.
Can Anyone Become a Thought Leader?
Because almost anyone with the right credentials can become a thought leader, it’s become much harder for companies to stand out. There is a greater need for bolder hot-takes, ambitious predictions, progressive research, and more direct forms of thought leadership content like short and punchy videos to steal the spotlight and build momentum.
Concerning HR thought leadership, a founder or CEO can be perceived as the most authoritative voice in leading a campaign. However, an HR director can be just as effective as they may even have more specific insights to offer than a founder or CEO would. They only need to have something interesting to say, an eye for creativity, and a willingness to commit to thought leadership for the long term.
How Exactly Does Thought Leadership Benefit HR?
For one, outsourcing HR is significantly expensive, with average costs rising to $1,500 a month. Yet, when a company markets itself with thought leadership, it can convince potential candidates to join it more organically, helping these companies save a considerable amount of time and money.
Secondly, by consistently engaging in thought leadership, a company can lead conversations concerning HR trends. This might involve an executive discussing the importance of diversity and inclusion initiatives to position their company as an industry leader. This will help keep current employees happy and avoid instances where they need to replace staff at all.
Thirdly, HR thought leadership helps employees stay aligned with the business’s ambitions, keeping staff both focused and motivated, which helps to create a unified and productive community. Without this, a company will never reach its full potential.
What Should HR Leaders Talk About?
HR leaders can talk about various topics to improve their employer brand and outperform their competition. But there are a few key topics they must focus on.
Culture is perhaps the most essential. Employees want to join and stay at a business that is supportive, rewarding, and enjoyable to work for. This is why HR teams should consider using their thought leadership campaigns to speak about mental health and celebrate staff achievements.
Not every thought leadership post needs to be ground-breaking, and you’d be surprised at how many companies don’t promote their culture. By regularly speaking to staff and committing additional time to sustainability thought leadership, executives can reassure their team that their views are valued, cared for, and most importantly, heard.
Executives just need to make sure that they can always substantiate any insights with real action. Not only does a call to action strengthen thought leadership, but it prevents a thought leader from being criticized for being a hypocrite or liar.
Moreover, executives should leverage research to ground their claims concerning the wider market, while some experts suggest that they should consider pitching any achievements to HR award ceremonies for an extra stamp of credibility.
Of course, you can’t completely prevent employees from leaving your business. But you can ensure your company is presented in the best possible light to maintain a high retention rate and attract the most talented candidates.
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