Category: Employee Engagement

Internal Mobility: Filling Skills Gaps with Your Existing Workforce 

Posted on by akessler

With labor shortages and intensifying talent scarcity, hiring challenges are only increasing, impacting all industries. To tackle these hiring difficulties, many leaders look to external solutions like expanding their talent pool or enhancing their employer brand. However, one of the most effective and sustainable solutions is already inside your organization. Developing existing employees through internal mobility is key to filling skills gaps now and in the future. 

Keep reading to learn more about internal mobility, why internal mobility programs are crucial for future success and how you can leverage reskilling and upskilling programs to facilitate internal mobility at your organization.  

What is Internal Mobility? 

The goal of internal mobility is to match your existing talent to open positions through internal transfers, job rotations, secondments and promotions. An internal mobility program is a structured process that facilitates the movement of employees, both vertically to higher or lower positions as well as laterally between roles at the same level. These programs are often anchored in reskilling and upskilling initiatives focused on developing employees’ skills and capabilities to meet evolving organizational needs. 

Reskilling programs aim to provide training to help employees gain new skills that allow them to transition into different roles or business areas. For example, a finance employee can reskill to learn data analytics and move into a business intelligence role. 

Upskilling programs focus on building additional skills and competencies related to an employee’s current role or expanding their knowledge in their field. For example, a marketing manager can upskill their digital marketing capabilities in social media and digital advertising platforms to take on a more strategic role in the department.  

The Benefits of Internal Mobility 

A strategic focus on internal mobility provides both talent management and bottom-line benefits for an organization, including: 

  • Improved employee retention and engagement: Providing clear paths for career development and advancement within the company increases employee satisfaction and loyalty. Employees feel valued and motivated when they see opportunity for upward or lateral mobility. 
  • Stronger talent pipeline: An internal mobility program creates a robust pipeline of qualified candidates for open roles from within. According to research from LinkedIn, organizations that leverage skills-first hiring expand their talent pool by nearly 10x on average compared to those simply looking for similar job titles or industry experience.  
  • Cost savings: It is typically more cost effective to fill a position internally rather than externally recruit, onboard and train new hires. Internal mobility is a strategic talent management approach. 
  • Improved performance: Internal candidates have organizational and cultural knowledge, so they are often able to transition and ramp up faster in new roles. Data from Spotted Zebra shows that internal movers reach competence 20% faster than external hires and are twice as likely to be rated as top performers in their role. 
  • Improved diversity: Internal mobility provides opportunities for improved representation and diversity in leadership by developing and advancing talent from within. 
  • Agility and flexibility: Having an internal bench of qualified candidates enables organizational agility to swiftly mobilize talent to meet emerging needs. 

The Lack of Investment in Internal Mobility Programs 

Despite the benefits, internal mobility is not being prioritized by most HR leaders. Given the challenges recruiting skilled talent, we expected to see internal mobility as HR leaders’ default strategy to tackle skills shortages. However, through our research report, The Skills Crisis Countdown, we found that nearly a third (30%) of HR leaders admitted they simply do not view reskilling and upskilling as a priority and only 37% of organizations have formal reskilling and upskilling programs in place. Even in areas of high priority like technology advancement, there appears to be a lack of focus on mobility and development. When we asked HR leaders about how they’re preparing their workforce for the implementation of new technologies, only a fifth (20%) said they’re investing in upskilling initiatives to enhance current employee technological skillsets.  

The lack of skills development is echoed by employees. A quarter of employees report their employer has not been offered opportunities to upskill or reskill. A third (34%) of workers have doubts about how their skills will keep pace with new technology and automation. With transformations on the horizon for many roles due to technological advancements, ensuring employees’ skills evolve along with their jobs is essential for organizations.  

The Key to Internal Mobility: Reskilling and Upskilling 

Ongoing reskilling and upskilling of employees is crucial to enabling effective internal mobility. As business needs evolve and new technologies emerge, employees’ skills and competencies must also progress to keep pace. Providing internal development opportunities allows employees to gain the updated capabilities required for critical roles, increasing their eligibility and readiness to transition into new positions. By making learning core to the culture, reskilling and upskilling initiatives ensure organizations can source top talent from within. 

Implementing Successful Upskilling 

For your upskilling programs, you need an accurate understanding of your employees’ current skills and future needs. Our research showed most HR leaders rely on subjective manager feedback rather than taking a data-driven approach. 

To get ahead of emerging skills gaps, perform a skills audit and compare that to how your existing roles will evolve in the coming years. Identify both the competencies your employees need to be effective in their roles as they develop into the future and any deficiencies they have now.  

Once you understand the lay of the land, you can develop continuous upskilling initiatives to grow your employees’ high-value skills over time in alignment with technological advancements. Proactively upskilling employees will keep your workforce on the cutting edge of skill set transformations. 

Implementing Successful Reskilling 

Reskilling programs also require an understanding of the existing capabilities of your workforce and the required competencies for emerging roles. This allows you to accurately match employees to opportunities they can transition into successfully. 

Rather than relying on subjective manager interviews, utilize skills-based assessments. This provides data-driven insights into employees’ technical aptitudes and behavioral strengths. You can then align these skill profiles with the requirements of your new roles. 

For example, PeopleScout partnered with a global financial services company to take a skills-based approach for a major digital transformation initiative. By identifying the best candidates for reskilling, we helped employees move from declining customer service roles into new tech-focused positions, saving the company $2 million in exit costs and reduced training dropouts dramatically. The company gained the critical future-focused skills it required while providing career growth opportunities to its valuable existing employees. 

Internal Mobility & RPO: Your Partner in Sustainable Workforce Planning 

Over half (56%) of HR leaders report resistance to change within their organization when faced with the prospect of what they mistakenly believe can only be a huge, C-suite-led project that spans the entire talent lifecycle. However, as a leading RPO partner PeopleScout is perfectly positioned to provide the strategies and technology to embed and scale a skills-based approach. 

By leveraging an RPO provider’s expertise and resources, organizations can maximize the return on investment in internal mobility initiatives. According to Everest Group, over half of RPO engagements include some element of internal mobility. The RPO acts as a strategic talent advisor focused on improving talent mobility with strategies like: 

  • Skills gap analysis: An RPO provider can perform a skills audit to assess current capabilities versus required future skills and identify reskilling needs to inform development programs. They can also provide market intelligence to help you understand the skills available within your talent markets as well as salary requirements so you can make informed decisions.   
  • Internal candidate sourcing: Your RPO partner can source and screen internal candidates for open roles to identify top talent for mobility opportunities. 
  • Career mapping: RPO experts can map career paths, succession plans and competency requirements for critical roles to guide internal development. 
  • Development program design: An RPO provider can help design and implement reskilling, upskilling, job rotation and mentoring programs to build enterprise talent. Plus, they can administer and manage the end-to-end internal mobility program from sourcing to placement as well as provide project management. 
  • Change management: RPOs can provide guidance on change management strategies to gain buy-in and promote a culture of internal mobility. Plus, they’ll provide data, analytics and reporting on program effectiveness and opportunities to fine-tune strategies. 
  • Technology consultation and implementation: RPOs can recommend and implement skills management platforms and talent mobility platforms to enable seamless movement and track program metrics. 

Filling your organization’s talent gaps begins with the workforce already inside it. But this untapped talent potential can only be leveraged through strategic, skills-based internal mobility programs. Your existing workforce could provide the talent solution you’ve been searching for. By partnering with an RPO on reskilling and upskilling initiatives, you gain strategic expertise to build a future-ready, skilled workforce.  

Reskilling for Tech Roles Results in $2.5M in Savings for Global Bank

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Reskilling for Tech roles Results in $2.5M in Savings for Global Bank

TALENT CONSULTING

Reskilling for Tech roles Results in $2.5M in Savings for Global Bank

PeopleScout helped a global financial services company in their digital transformation efforts with a reskilling program to move employees from declining customer service roles to tech and digital roles.

150 customer service staff redeployed to tech roles in pilot program
5,000 more employees will be reskilled following the successful pilot
70 % reduction in reskilling cost-per-person achieved

Situation

A large global financial services company needed to undertake a major digital transformation program, which required new digital and tech skills. With the growth of online and digital channels, in-person transactions through bank branches and call centers have declined. The organization needed to acquire hard-to-find tech and digital skills to grow and maintain digital banking tools while leveraging the existing company knowledge of employees in declining customer service roles by reskilling them into new high-growth roles.

Reskilling efforts focused on developing new hard skills, so finding the best candidates meant identifying those with the soft skills most aligned with the new job opportunities. Previous efforts by the financial services organization to assess candidate suitability for reskilling were led internally and included multiple, time-consuming line manager interviews. Of even greater concern, around a quarter of those who began the reskilling
program dropped out.

Solution

As their long-term RPO partner, PeopleScout worked with the client and skills-platform provider Spotted Zebra to create a skills-based approach to reskilling, helping the organization to assess customer service staff in bank branches and call centers to find ideal candidates for its tech skilling program.

We identified individuals who had a strong motivation to reskill, high levels of adaptability (a predictor of future potential) and a strong alignment with the behavioral skills required for success in the role. A skills profile was created for all the growth roles, and employees were assessed against them to identify which role was the best fit.

Results

  • Through an initial pilot, the company redeployed over 150 people from declining roles who would have been made redundant to tech jobs, saving around $2.5 million in exit costs.
  • The company is expanding the reskilling program to move over 5,000 employees into new roles with one year.
  • By identifying those individuals who are a better behavioral fit for reskilling opportunities, the number of dropouts from the training program dropped dramatically, resulting in a savings of in training and development costs.
  • The new approach is more effective, simplifying the process in a fair and consistent way. The company has saved a considerable amount of manager time and reduced the reskilling cost-per-person by 70%.
  • Crucially, the reskilling program means the organization’s digital transformation project is on track, with reskilled individuals moving into mission-critical digital roles that would otherwise go unfilled.

AT A GLANCE

  • COMPANY: Global financial services company
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Talent Advisory
Contact Sales

The Skills Crisis is Coming: Are You Ready? [Infographic]

Posted on by akessler

Skills in the workplace are evolving faster than ever thanks to advances in AI, the greening of the economy and shifting demographics. But, our latest research, The Skills Crisis Countdown, shows that HR leaders seem oblivious to the urgency of the coming change.

Nine out of 10 of HR pros surveyed said up to half of their workforce will need new skills within the next five years. Yet, only 7% are actively investing in reskilling programs right now, and 45% admit they have no plans underway to prepare their people for the shifting skills landscape.

Our data quantifies the massive disconnect between awareness of looming skills gaps and action being taken to reskill workers. Check out the infographic below to see the stats and get ahead of the curve on developing a future-ready workforce.

Check out this infographic with key findings highlighting the worsening skills crisis.

Countdown to Skills Crisis? What Our Latest Research Tells Us About Skills Gaps

Posted on by akessler

By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory Consulting

The workforce skills landscape is transforming at blinding speed. Automation, AI, sustainability initiatives, demographic shifts—global forces are conspiring to make skills gaps and talent shortages more acute by the day. Don’t think it’s moving that fast? Well, the World Economic Forum predicts that a jaw-dropping 85 million jobs could sit vacant by 2030, resulting in $8.5 trillion in lost revenue.

The very meaning of “skills” is shifting beneath our feet. Skills requirements have already changed 25% since 2015, and experts forecast 65% more change by 2030. However, companies still rely heavily on degrees and experience over skills when it comes to making hiring decisions. No wonder we’re careening towards a global skills crisis.

PeopleScout partnered with skills-based workforce management platform provider Spotted Zebra to survey over 100 senior HR and talent acquisition leaders globally, plus over 2,000 employees worldwide, to compare perspectives. Our new research report, The Skills Crisis Countdown, maps the skills landscape and diagnoses the disconnects between employers and their workforce.

Read on for some key findings from our report.

HR Leaders are Ill-Prepared for the Skills Crisis

According to a study by PwC, 40% of global CEOs believe their business will be economically unviable in 10 years unless they reinvent for the future. Our study revealed that nine out of 10 HR leaders believe that up to 50% of their workforce will require new skills to effectively perform their job in the next five years. Yet, when asked if they are currently undergoing or planning a workforce transformation initiative in the next three years, nearly half (45%) of HR leaders admit to having no plans to undertake one.

So, in other words, half of employees will soon be underprepared for the future, but most companies have no strategy in place to address the issue.

According to LinkedIn, 84% of members are in occupations that could have at least one quarter of their core skills affected by generative AI (GAI) technologies, like ChatGPT. So, how are HR leaders preparing for this digital transformation and the AI era? Shockingly, a full third (34%) say they have no preparations in place to prepare for new technologies. Those who are preparing emphasize bringing in outside talent rather than reskilling existing employees.

Industry Composition by GAI Segment
Percentage of LinkedIn Members by Industry

Impact of GAI on workplace skills
(Source: LinkedIn Economic Graph Research Institute)

This is likely because they lack an understanding of the skills they have within their existing workforce. Our data revealed that 68% of organizations identify skills from manager feedback, which is highly subjective. So, it’s no surprise that 56% of employees think their skills are underutilized in their current roles, and 61% think there are other roles in their organization where their skills could be utilized.

An unprecedented skills revolution is barreling down the tracks, but companies are fast asleep at the switch. It’s time to wake up and get employees future-ready or risk a global skills crisis and talent scarcity for decades to come.

Digital & Tech Skills Gaps are Widening but Tech Skills are Viewed as Unimportant

Both employers and employees dangerously underestimate the importance of tech and digital skills. In our survey, both parties listed tech and digital literacy skills with low importance. With the skyrocketing demand for tech and digital talent, this does not bode well.

skills in the workplace

Mobile apps, ecommerce and digital transformation have made technology integral to every corporate strategy. However, supply isn’t keeping up with demand. McKinsey analyzed 3.5 million job postings in high-tech fields and found there’s a wide divide between the demand for tech and digital skills and the qualified talent availability. The most sought-after skills have less than half as many qualified professionals per posting compared to average global figures. 

No wonder 63% of HR leaders in our survey admit they struggle to recruit the skills they need. Closing tech and digital skills gaps through recruitment alone is no longer sufficient. So, we were concerned when our research showed that 73% of the workforce haven’t been offered opportunities to reskill.

Organizations must invest in helping their employees evolve their skills via reskilling and internal mobility to cultivate digital and tech literacy across their entire workforce.

Case Study: Reskilling in Action

The Challenge:

A large global financial services company needed to undertake a major digital transformation program. The organization needed to acquire key digital and tech skills while leveraging the existing company knowledge of employees in declining customer service roles by reskilling them.

Previous efforts by the organization to assess employees’ suitability for reskilling were led internally and included multiple, time-consuming line manager interviews. Of even greater concern, around a quarter of those who began the reskilling program dropped out.

The Solution:

The bank worked with their long-time RPO partner, PeopleScout, and Spotted Zebra to assess customer service staff in bank branches and call centers to find ideal candidates for its tech and digital skilling program. Skills profiles were created for tech roles, which employees were assessed against to find the best fit.

The Results:

  • Redeployed 150 people, saving over $2.5M in exit costs
  • Saved over $350,000 in training and development costs
  • Reduced time investment by hiring managers
  • Reduced the reskilling cost-per-person by 70%

Employees Don’t Feel Confident in their Skills for the Future

A third (34%) of workers have doubts about how their skills will keep pace with new technology and automation. Meanwhile, just 17% of organizations are offering targeted reskilling programs for existing employees.

Where are HR Leaders Deploying Skills-Based Practices?

Skills-Based Practices in the workplace
(Source: PeopleScout and Spotted Zebra)

This imbalance spells disaster. As change overwhelms existing skill sets, most workers will begin to feel unsure of their career paths or left struggling to stay relevant.

Investing in reskilling makes solid business sense. We must bridge the gap between workers anxiously facing uncertainty and leaders failing to invest in their resilience. HR leaders who empower their workforce with adaptable skill sets today will drive continued success in times of swift and sweeping change.

Finding a Talent Partner to Support Your Skills Transformation

The agility to match emerging skill requirements will soon become a competitive necessity. If you haven’t started your skills-based transformation, now is the time.

In our survey, one in two HR leaders admitted to a lack of understanding of skills-based practices. If you’re struggling to understand how to take advantage of skills-based practices in your organization, PeopleScout is here to be your guide.

As a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partner, we can help you understand the skills within your existing workforce as well as the external market supply and demand. We offer solutions across the skills agenda, from skills-based talent intelligence and market insights, building skills frameworks, and creating skills-based success profiles to redesigning recruitment processes, skills-based hiring strategies, and helping you maximize the potential of your existing workforce.  

To learn more about PeopleScout’s skills-focused talent solutions, get in touch.  

[Webinar On-Demand] The Ticking Talent Clock: Is Time Running Out to Address the Skills Crisis?

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[Webinar On-Demand] The Ticking Talent Clock: Is Time Running Out to Address the Skills Crisis?

With the rapid advancement of AI, accelerated digitalization and the greening of the economy, businesses are grappling with the changing nature of work—how we work and the types of jobs we do. In fact, a new research report from PeopleScout and Spotted Zebra, The Skills Crisis Countdown, reveals that nine in 10 HR leaders believe that up to half of their workforce will need new skills to perform their jobs in the next five years. Yet, only less than one in 10 say they are actively investing in reskilling programs.

Are HR leaders running out of time?

Join PeopleScout’s Global Head of Talent Consulting Simon Wright and Spotted Zebra’s Chief Customer Officer Nick Shaw as they delve into the key findings from the research, lay bare the skills crisis and show why the clock is ticking for HR leaders.

In the webinar, Simon and Nick cover:

  • How organizations are addressing the mismatch in skills demand and supply
  • The current state of skills utilization, skills-based hiring and the need to expand talent pools
  • Strategies for improving talent mobility (including case studies and success stories)
  • Practical steps you can take to transition to a skills-focused model
  • And more!

 

Talent Trends: 2023 in Review

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By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory Consulting  

Earlier in 2023, we highlighted six key areas that would impact how companies attract, retain and develop talent. With the year wrapping up, we’re revisiting these critical topics to examine what transpired in the talent landscape and what may be on the horizon for 2024.  

From closing persistent skills gaps to offering more work flexibility, companies continue to face pressing talent challenges. Economic fluctuations have led some employers to pull back on hiring and remote work, while others doubled down on upskilling programs and expanded their talent pools.  

In the following review, we trace how the 2023 predictions played out amidst an uncertain economy and ever-evolving workplace. 

1. Closing Skills Gaps 

What We Said: 

With rapidly evolving technologies requiring new skills, companies are making upskilling and reskilling their workforce top priorities. Most employees feel unprepared for future jobs, so it’s important for organizations to invest in development to retain employees, build confidence, and help them adapt to changing business priorities. 

What We Saw: 

Skills gaps, and the upskilling and reskilling that must happen in order to close them, are still very much top of mind for HR leaders. The economic slowdown has increased candidate availability, so in the short term there has been more tech talent available, for example. But long term, there is still a skills crisis, and organizations are largely yet to shift to skills-based practices. 

We’ve seen front-runner organizations investing in skills development initiatives to grow the workforce they need. For example, Amazon’s program Career Choice is part of a wider initiative to invest over $1.2 billion by 2025 to provide 300,000 U.S. workers with the training they need to pursue careers in whatever field they choose.  

The average shelf-life of skills is now less than five years. So, the skills conversation is only going to get louder. If the World Economic Forum’s prediction is correct that over 85 million jobs will go unfilled by 2030 due to a lack of skilled talent, resulting in $8.5 trillion (USD) in annual lost revenues, then this is the most pressing issue facing talent leaders today.  

2. Offering More Flexibility 

What We Said: 

Amidst the acceleration of remote work, companies are facing mounting pressure to offer greater location and schedule flexibility to attract and retain talent.  

What We Saw: 

The return to the office debate is still raging. Employees want greater flexibility, but more and more employers are pulling people back into the office. Even Zoom, the video communications company that helps us all work from home, announced in August that it will start tightening its restrictions on remote work. Amazon, Disney and more have all reduced remote-work days. 

While power has shifted back to the employer, this issue won’t go away. If you really think your employees love coming to the office just because you’ve introduced free snacks, you don’t understand what flexibility means to your workers. Flexibility is not just about where you work. True flexibility is about giving more autonomy to your employees about the kinds of work they do and when and where they do it. 

3. Shifting to Contingent Workers 

What We Said: 

As the desire for work flexibility drives more professionals into freelance and contract roles, organizations are increasingly utilizing these temporary workers to fill pressing skills gaps and specific project needs while maintaining financial and strategic workforce flexibility. 

What We Saw: 

The economic uncertainty this year has made organizations less likely to make permanent hires. Plus, freelancers, consultants and contractors have developed into an essential part of the workforce as skills requirements become more complex. Maintaining a mix of traditional and flexible talent is crucial for businesses to stay ahead in today’s dynamic climate. 

With the enormous interest in ChatGPT and generative AI, it’s not a stretch to think the pace of business transformation will only accelerate in 2024. And demand for contingent workers will continue to rise. Indeed, according to Ceridian, 65% of organizations plan to increase their reliance on contingent workers in the next two years. 

Talent Trends 2023

4. Tapping into New Talent Pools 

What We Said: 

Facing workforce shortages, organizations are expanding their applicant pool by targeting untapped talent like Generation Z, unretiring Baby Boomers and boomeranging ex-employees.  

What We Saw: 

In 2023, the UK government launched a “returnership” initiative to inspire those over the age of 50 to come back to work. The goal is to help older workers retrain and learn new skills, providing them with a roadmap back to the workplace and encouraging organizations to hire them.  

We also saw organizations turn their attention to the talent pool sitting right under their noses. Internal mobility was a hot topic for talent leaders in 2023 as recruiting new talent became more and more challenging and costly.  

We were also reintroduced to the concept of labor hoarding, a term coined in the 1960s. This practice refers to organizations forgoing head-count reductions now, so they’re prepared when business picks up. In an era of labor shortages, organizations are keeping their workforces to avoid the risk of losing good talent to a competitor and to skip the costs associated with hiring again. 

5. Rallying Around the Mission 

What We Said: 

Our Inside the Candidate Experience research revealed that for 50% of candidates, an organization’s mission and purpose are a key influence on their decision to apply. Yet, when evaluating career sites, we found details on the mission or purpose of the organization less than half (48%) of the time.  

What We Saw: 

Employees are more dedicated than ever to finding an employer that shares their values and offers them a sense of purpose. However, workers within organizations that lack a sincere commitment to improving the community and supporting climate initiatives often report disengagement.  

According to Gallup data from June 2023, 59% of global workers say they’re not engaged at work. This is worrying as we move into a labor market that favors employers, as they will inevitably become less motivated to keep their employees engaged. Yet, a key reason why someone quiet quits hasn’t changed—and it’s down to a lack of connection to the company culture and purpose. 

A lack of engagement in the workforce is a leading factor in the productivity vacuum. Going into 2024, my hope is HR leaders will go beyond simply thinking about wellbeing to view their employees as whole people—not just workers. Updating your employee value proposition (EVP) to be more human-focused can help strike the right balance between compassion and business interests. Shifting to a Personal Value Proposition (PVP), and customizing offerings so that each employee feels valued as an individual, can help in fostering a positive emotional connection. 

Learn how to evolve your EVP to a human-centric PVP and increase productivity 23%.   

6. Engaging Outside Talent Acquisition Solutions 

What We Said: 

Despite economic uncertainty, business leaders foresee revenue growth in the coming year, but may need flexible and agile workforces achieved through contingent staffing to meet their top challenge of filling critical roles amidst a shifting talent landscape. 

What We Saw: 

We saw an increase in talent acquisition teams looking for quick wins. At PeopleScout, we are investing heavily in talent solutions designed to boost agility for employers of all sizes and across all industries. This includes offerings like our Amplifiers and PeopleScout Accelerate solutions launched this year. 

Amplifiers provide modular, targeted recruitment process outsourcing tailored to specific hiring needs. Clients can implement RPO support for just part of the talent acquisition lifecycle, whether that’s filling the top of the hiring funnel with high volumes of qualified talent or gaining deeper insights to guide strategic workforce decisions. This “as-needed” model is ideal for companies that want to remain nimble. 

Additionally, our PeopleScout Accelerate technology-enhanced RPO solution is purpose-built for fast-scaling organizations that need to ramp up recruiting quickly. We can implement PeopleScout Accelerate in just two weeks, providing access to our proven recruitment methodologies and our industry-leading Affinix talent acquisition technology suite right out of the gate. 

As we close the books on 2023, it’s clear the talent landscape continues to shift in new and uncertain directions. In the coming year, agile organizations that invest in the longevity of their workforce and truly connect with their people on a human level will maintain an edge. Rather than recoiling from change, forward-thinking talent leaders have an opportunity to guide their organization’s evolution. Now is the time to build workforces that can pivot on a dime while staying true to their purpose. 

Authenticity in Action: 6 Things Candidates Look for in Your Employer Brand

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By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory Consulting

As businesses have stabilized post-pandemic, the conversation in the C-suite has shifted to balancing productivity and empathy—how to drive business performance while addressing the evolving needs of the workforce.

The secret lies in your employer value proposition (EVP).

Your EVP must place individual employees firmly at the heart of their own experience. This new approach to EVP—a Personal Value Proposition or PVP—is designed to resonate with employees as unique individuals with distinct motivations and aspirations.

Job seekers can see right through generic employer brands nowadays. Candidates crave authenticity and want to connect with a company’s true culture before joining. So, how can you craft an employer brand that both resonates with individual job seekers and showcases what your organization is authentically all about?

Here are six key areas today’s talent looks for when evaluating an employer brand’s authenticity.

6 Signs of an Authentic Employer Brand & EVP

Keep these priorities front and center as you shape your EVP to align both with your organizational priorities and employee needs.

1. Meaningful Connections

What Candidates Want:

In today’s job market, candidates aren’t just looking for a job—they want a workplace that helps them feel truly engaged and connected. A leading employer brand should attract top talent by cultivating genuine connection with peers, leaders and the overarching mission.

What Employers Should Show:

In our research report, Inside the Candidate Experience, we found that mission and purpose is a top three consideration for job seekers looking for a new job. Yet, less than half of employer show information about this on their career site.

By highlighting your organizational mission, you help candidates make an emotional connection to your employer brand. Amp up the authenticity through storytelling—how individual employees live your mission through their work, how your organizational policies reflect your brand purpose, how new hires can expect to make an impact when they join.

Purpose oriented employees are 47% more likely to promote their employer externally without incentive.

2. Holistic Development

What Candidates Want:

Employees are seeking work experiences that help them realize their potential beyond just job tasks. Workers are taking more control of their own professional trajectories, seeking opportunities that offer autonomy and alignment with their skills, passions and personal circumstances.

Work is no longer confined to a single job or career path. Instead, it is seen as a series of opportunities that facilitate personal and professional growth.

What Employers Show:

Development opportunities like mentorship programs, leadership workshops and reskilling bootcamps to support internal mobility are top of mind for employees—especially Gen Z. Training should address both hard skills (like coding, certifications or licenses and statistical analysis) and soft skills (like resilience, relationship building and empathy). However, we find that organizations don’t do enough to show the impact of this training on individuals and their personal and professional growth.

You can show this impact authentically by bringing it to life through telling the career stories of your employees. Watching a video of an employee sharing how they were able to go through a reskilling program and join a different department is far more powerful for a candidate than just reading about the program.

Here’s an example from Adobe showcasing their employees’ career paths on social with a global #AdobeForAll celebration.

3. Flexibility & Empathy

What Candidates Want:

Flexibility should no longer be the domain of people with children. Everyone wants more flexibility in where, when and how they work. It could be about caring responsibilities for parents, or it could just be having the time and space to pursue passions outside of work. Ultimately, this issue is about organizations demonstrating they trust their people and providing autonomy where possible.

What Employers Show:

Employees who are granted time and space to pursue their passions bring fresh energy, insight and creativity to the job. Yet, for our Inside the Candidate Experience report we audited the career sites of over 215 organizations and found that information on flexible working and work/life balance is mentioned just over half the time.

Help candidates experience this authentically by profiling employees who are embracing flexible work patterns. This helps them see how a role can fit into their own life. By understanding life outside work directly fuels innovative excellence within it, organizations can architect roles that let people show up as their best and truest selves every day.

4. Well-Being & Psychological Safety

What Candidates Want:

If this past era has taught us anything, it’s that employees require our care as much as any business strategy. The Great Resignation was fueled by individuals reprioritizing their well-being over their next promotion or paycheck. And Quiet Quitting is often the result of employees losing psychological safety and no longer seeing a return on their engagement.

Why Leaders Think Employees Quit: Looking for better jobs Compensation Work-life balance Why Employees Actually Quit: Not feeling valued by their organization of by their individual managers Not feeling a sense of belonging at work
(Source: McKinsey)

What Employers Show:

To keep employees healthy and productive, employers must start constructing safe spaces for people to bring their whole selves to work. That means prioritizing both physical and mental health, with an emphasis on creating environments where employees feel safe to both express ideas and dissent and even discuss failures without fear of backlash. It also means creating a culture of gratitude in which employees are given the opportunity to recognize and reward their peers for a job well done.

To communicate to candidates that your focus on well-being is more than lip service, include information on specific actions your organization is taking to support employees whether that’s wellness benefits or financial support programs. Don’t just state you have work-life balance programs—showcase how you empower people to utilize them through things like extra PTO days around major life events and even showing leaders modeling using your well-being perks to set the tone.

5. Diverse & Inclusive Environments

What Candidates Want:

Employees want to be a part of an organizations that celebrates true diversity, promotes cultural intelligence and fosters a workplace where multiple traditions, rituals and ways of thinking lead to innovation. These conscious cultures go beyond attracting candidates from underrepresented groups. They amplify their voices and put them into positions to reshape industry norms altogether. When asked how hearing from actual employees would influence their job search 86% of job seekers said they value stories from employees.

What Employers Show:

We found that 35% of organizations don’t feature a diverse group of real employees on their career sites. In addition, 60% of career sites don’t contain any video content in which employees share their personal journeys and stories. Often, we see that organizations mention their employee resource groups (ERGs) but fail to share the work these groups are doing and the impact they make within the organization and community. Employees want to see action, not virtue signalling.

Candidates find the voice of an average employee more credible than what companies say about themselves, so featuring real employee stories throughout the candidate experience is a proven way to engage candidates on an emotional level, building authenticity and brand trust.

35% of organizations don’t feature real employees on their career site

6. Community Engagement & Purpose Over Paycheck

What Candidates Want:

Employees are becoming more socially conscious and looking for employers that provide avenues for engagement with environment social governance (ESG) issues, with as many as 80% of workers in some industries saying that community and sustainability concerns play a role in whether they will resign from or remain at certain organizations. Two-thirds of candidates use social media to research companies during their job search, and they will look to your posts to see how your organization is backing up its promises.

74% of employees say their job is more fulfilling when they’re given the chance to make a positive impact on social and environmental issues

What Employers Show:

Employers must take purpose beyond platitudes. Yet, we found that a one in three organizations are not posting employer brand related content to their social channels at least on a week.

A great example is Ben & Jerry’s. The company actively engages in social justice campaigns like Advancement Project, including on their social media channels, and gives employees time off to volunteer in community projects.

Include social media posts of photos and videos of corporate volunteer activities or ERG-sponsored events. Seeing images of real employees giving back makes your purpose-driven culture tangible for candidates. Even a corporate post of an individual employee who ran a marathon in support a charity close to their heart can show what purposeful empowerment looks like at the individual level.

The Power of Storytelling for an Authentic Employer Brand

Injecting authenticity into your employer brand is about moving past broad statements of intent, to the actions that back it up. Follow the old adage—show, don’t tell.

Your brand should remain as dynamic as your people. Don’t shy away from evolution when new priorities emerge. So be bold, stay real, and let your employer brand reflect what truly makes your organization shine.

Employer Brand Hacks: 10 Tactics to Steal from Consumer Marketing 

Posted on by akessler

By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory Consulting 

Consumer marketers have honed their brand strategies through decades of tracking detailed customer analytics, optimizing digital experiences and crafting emotionally compelling messages. When it comes to leveraging data and analytics, consumer marketing is ahead of employer branding. But it doesn’t have to be that way!  

Talent acquisition pros can adapt these same tactics to understand candidates, polish touchpoints and build strong employer brands. Your employer brand can steal a page from the consumer brand playbook to step up talent attraction and retention. 

Hacking the Employer Brand: 10 Tricks from Consumer Marketing 

To help you think outside the recruitment box, we’ve outlined 10 employer brand hacks below to infuse your candidate attraction strategy with consumer-savvy flair. From mystery shoppers to NPS surveys, these creative approaches will revolutionize your talent attraction strategy.  

1. Engagement Analytics 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Measure engagement metrics on ecommerce and social platforms to gauge product resonance. 

Employer Brand Hack: Consumer marketing is as much science as it is art these days. Take page from your marketing peers and leverage analytics tools to monitor engagement levels with your content across digital platforms and third-party sites. You can gain valuable insights into how potential candidates perceive your employee value proposition (EVP) by monitoring the types of content that talent interacts with on sites like LinkedIn and your career pages. 

For example, heavy traffic and shares of content spotlighting your company’s flexible work options, learning and development programs or commitment to DE&I indicates these subjects are important to candidates. Likewise, you can identify red flags where pieces of your EVP are falling flat or even turning candidates away. 

By analyzing these engagement metrics, talent acquisition teams can refine outward-facing messaging to better reflect and emphasize the cultural elements already igniting passions. 

2. Sentiment Analysis 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Analyze customer conversations on social media to gauge sentiment around products. 

Employer Brand Hack: Job forums and social media channels have become backchannel focus groups, where in-the-know candidates exchange intel and impressions of potential employers. The everyday dialogue happening online shapes perceptions of your organization and EVP outside your control. Are you listening? 

Immerse yourself in these dynamic discussions by using social listening tools to assess the narratives being woven about your company culture and their sentiment. Pay special attention to the emotional tone. What feelings are sparked at the mention of your organization? Is it warmth, intrigue and affinity? Or perhaps skepticism, frustration or even antagonism? 

These unfiltered insights should inform your talent marketing strategy in real-time. Where positivity and praise emerge, double down on those messages. When you uncover misconceptions, course correct. Talent will continue to chatter, but plugged-in talent leaders can help guide the tone. 

3. Feedback and Review Platforms 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Closely monitor customer reviews on sites like Amazon or Trustpilot. 

Employer Brand Hack: Employer review platforms like Glassdoor, Indeed or kununu have become gold mines for candid insights directly from current and former employees. Monitoring these key sites should be a standard pulse-check for talent acquisition leaders and CHROs alike. But be warned—this is where you’ll find the unvarnished truth. 

One way to improve your employer brand is through employer review sites. We recommend a quarterly audit digging into themes and analyzing sentiment over time. Are certain departments or practices called out repeatedly? Do some locations have better scores than others?  

Used strategically, these insights provide CEOs, talent acquisition leaders and hiring managers at every level with an unfiltered mirror into the inner workings of company culture as employees are actively experiencing it. With this invaluable intelligence in hand, you can address problem spots through policy change or manager coaching. You can also double down on what’s working—the perks, flexibility, and cultural elements making employees stay. 

4. Net Promoter Score (NPS) 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Use NPS to gauge product loyalty and word-of-mouth potential. 

Employer Brand Hack: Implementing employee NPS (eNPS) and candidate NPS (cNPS) surveys offers a valuable pulse check for recruitment and retention alike.  

With existing employees, these surveys quantify the likelihood of recommending your organization as a workplace. Low scores signal disengagement. Likewise, surveying candidates during the recruitment journey provides an understanding where expectations aren’t matching up with realities, helping you to refine your talent screening practices. Candidate NPS surveys can be sent post-interview and again post-onboarding for insights into both the recruitment and induction process. 

Your employer brand health hinges on aligning the candidate experience with the employee experience and delivering on your brand promises throughout the talent lifecycle. Both eNPS and cNPS metrics offer evidence-based insights to inform your talent program strategy. 

How does your Candidate Experience Quotient stack up? Learn all about our new method of calculating candidate experience as well as the hard truth about candidate expectations versus reality in our report, Inside the Candidate Experience.  

5. Focus Group Discussions 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Dive deep into consumer preferences using focus groups. 

Employer Brand Hack: When was the last time you picked the brains of candidates who have recently been through your recruitment process? As you refine your employer branding strategy and before you evolve your candidate experience, these individuals offer invaluable, straight-from-the-source insights. 

In addition to surveys, organize quarterly listening sessions with a mix of talent segments: recent new hires, employees in their first year, candidates who made it to advanced stages but ultimately declined offers, and even short-listers you opted not to hire. In a judgment-free environment, empower them to share candid impressions about their journey with your organization pre- and post-hire. 

Use this time to dig deep. What excited or deterred them about your employer brand initially? How did the interview or communication style align with their expectations of company culture? What workplace elements inspire their loyalty or doubts now as employees? Are perceptions consistent or disparate across genders, generations and ethnic groups? 

These focus groups go beyond what a survey can fully capture. As a result, you can pinpoint what’s resonating or missing the mark in talent attraction, selection and retention. Bonus—it also demonstrates that employee input spurs action. 

6. Mystery Shopping 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Deploy individuals to assess the customer experience—incognito. 

Employer Brand Hack: Another way to get the insider perspective on your candidate experience is to use an old trick from consumer marketing—mystery shoppers. This involves engaging individuals to navigate the recruitment process undercover, reporting on their experience from start to finish. 

Equip your “mystery shopper” to navigate the application, screening and interviews as authentically as possible, jotting detailed notes along the way. Instruct them to assess logistics around communication cadence, process efficiency and technology glitches. But more importantly, they should capture the emotional highs and lows they felt when interacting with your employees, content and brand at each step. 

When you debrief, try to uncover interactions where your employer brand deviates from the actual experience across key variables like location, department, seniority level and demographic background. These behind-the-scenes findings will prove invaluable as you seek to optimize recruitment ROI and evolve the candidate journey. 

7. Competitive Analysis 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Assess the brand vis-à-vis competitors. 

Employer Brand Hack: Benchmark your employer brand against competitors to grasp areas of strength and improvement. 

In today’s transparent talent marketplace, candidates have unprecedented visibility into everything from compensation to culture at your organization as well as your closest rivals. They are comparing you on everything from your work environment to DE&I commitments. 

This means your employer brand strategy can no longer happen in a silo. Formal competitive intelligence monitoring can help you benchmark your employer brand against competitors to understand strengths and opportunities. 

Audit the career sites, social media channels, job boards, industry reports and review site profiles of competitors to understand what messages and claims they’re leaning into with their employer brand. The goal here is not copying others’ employer brands but to understand how you can stand out and where you can bring sharper focus to what makes your culture uniquely attractive.  

8. Deep Dives into Unstructured Feedback 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Sift through customer service calls and chats to identify common themes. 

Employer Brand Hack: In their focus on surveys, employer review sites and focus groups, talent acquisition leaders often overlook the wealth of qualitative feedback hiding in plain sight internally.  

Sources like exit interviews, town hall meetings and other internal platforms can offer genuine glimpses into how employees view your employer brand. You’ll uncover grounded narratives around things like which leaders inspire employee pride or skepticism, or real-talk on workloads affecting mental health and work-life balance. 

This intelligence takes your employer brand strategy from reactive to proactive. It empowers you to intervene early before issues become viral Glassdoor threads. But just as importantly, you can also double down on what’s working, giving you an informed perspective to guide messaging, policy and experience in sync with employee values and expectations. 

9. Audience Segmentation 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Segment the customer base to tailor messaging and understand perception among different audiences. 

Employer Brand Hack: Employee perceptions within departments, roles, locations and tenure lengths often vary more than we realize. What engages your engineers may disengage your creatives. What excites recent college hires may fall flat for senior leaders. 

In today’s fragmented but transparent talent marketplace, one-size-fits all employer branding is no longer effective. By investing time and effort into audience segmentation, CHROs take big step in evolving their EVP to PVP, personal value proposition.  

Like customer personas, developing talent personas are a great way to engage in a targeted, personalized approach to talent attraction. These nuanced profiles allow you to sharpen your employer brand and talent attraction content for niche talent pools beyond one generic EVP message. Plus, you can tailor by regional expectations, whether in different cities in the same country or across continents.  

Getting segmentation right ensures candidates see your employer brand as a match for people like them from the start.  

10. User Behavior Analytics 

Consumer Brand Best Practice: Understand how customers interact with their website or app by using user analytics tools like heatmaps. 

Employer Brand Hack: Consumer marketing teams are increasingly adopting digital analytics tools to better understand customer preferences and behavior. Talent acquisition leaders can borrow this tactic too. Tools like heatmaps and click maps offer visual snapshots tracking precisely how users navigate and scroll career pages. These visual activity maps identify which content generates the most interest or engagement on your career site.  

Lingering on the mission statement? Scrolling past office photos? Double-tapping into stories on career mobility but glossing over benefits? These granular insights reveal which candidate attraction content holds the greatest appeal for your candidates. 

By understanding where your high-traffic areas and natural user flows are, you can guide candidates with attention-grabbing messages or entry points to more in-depth information. Likewise, you can weave in more stories around topics that are proving popular to leverage that momentum. These tools can also flag areas of friction, like errors or “rage clicks,” that could lead to candidates abandoning their application or leaving your career site.  

Employer Brand Strategy: The Value of Data 

Data and insights should always be the bedrock beneath an employer brand. Take time to gather feedback, analyze findings and track the impact of new initiatives. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new perspectives and unconventional approaches to stand out from the crowd. 

With the right balance of boldness and research, you can craft a magnetic employer brand that both resonates with candidates and drives critical recruitment metrics. So, take a cue from your marketing peers—be brave, think big, and transform employer branding into a discipline as sophisticated as consumer marketing.  

Don’t Make These 10 Employer Brand Mistakes

Posted on by akessler

By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory 

Let’s be real—crafting an authentic, compelling employer brand in today’s dynamic talent marketplace is no easy feat. With diverse candidate expectations and rapid digital disruption, even the most seasoned talent acquisition and HR leaders can slip up. Don’t fret if you’ve made some employer branding missteps along the way. To help you diagnose potential gaps, I’ve put together this handy list of 10 common employer brand mistakes.  

These pitfalls can erode candidate trust, diminish your employer value proposition, and even cost you top talent. Learn from other companies’ miscues to refine your brand messaging and employee experience. The key is course-correcting before your employer brand perception deteriorates further. Let’s dive in! 

1. A One-Size-Fits-All Approach  

Companies often craft a single, broad message, expecting it to resonate with everyone. In our diverse world, nuanced tailoring to different demographics, cultures and backgrounds is far more impactful.  

By evolving your employee value proposition (EVP) into a dynamic, human-centric personal value proposition (PVP) you embrace a flexible approach that addresses employees’ diverse needs and aspirations as unique individuals, not just workers. The PVP does not replace the EVP; rather, it evolves it. It’s not just about being an attractive employer. It’s about enabling each individual to realize their full potential, and in doing so, empowering your organization to thrive in an increasingly competitive and complex landscape.  

Learn how to evolve your EVP to a human-centric PVP and increase productivity 23%.  

2. Overlooking Employee Voices 

Employers sometimes mistake professional aesthetics for authenticity, sharing polished, yet hollow messages. In today’s world of TikTok and Instagram, your talent craves real talk and real storytelling. At the end of the day, facts and stats don’t connect like stories do—whether it’s through videos, podcasts, blogs or social media posts. 

One of the most effective ways to manage perception and shift views is through showcasing real-life employee experiences, achievements and testimonials to highlight the positive aspects of your workplace. PeopleScout’s recent research, Inside the Candidate Experience, found that 35% of organizations don’t feature their real employees on their career site. Yet, 86% of candidates say they value stories from employees and that it helps to influence their job search. 

Employee testimonials can provide the most candid and compelling insights about a company and are one of the best ways to inject authenticity into your employer brand. So, put your people first, and let their journeys within your organization take center stage. Leveraging employee advocates in your employer brand and candidate attraction content will help you grab hearts and stand out from the competition.  

3. Static Branding in a Dynamic World  

The pandemic was a major shift that changed people’s perspectives on work. The Great Resignation shook things up even more, with workers now expecting a lot more from employers when it comes to meaningful work, development opportunities, work-life balance and flexibility. However, many organizations are still relying on the same old pay and perks-focused EVPs that just don’t inspire today’s talent anymore, leading to low engagement and high turnover. 

Companies that define their employer brand—but don’t revisit and revise it periodically—risk appearing out of touch or stagnant. If your organization hasn’t updated its employer in the last three years, you’re overdue. 

4. Overemphasis on Perks, Under-Emphasis on Purpose  

Modern employees, especially younger generations, often prioritize purpose and impact over perks. Our research shows that half (50%) of candidates say an organization’s mission and purpose are key influences on their decision to apply. Yet, less than half of employers show information about the organization’s mission, purpose or values on the career site. Companies that solely highlight surface-level benefits may miss attracting deeply committed talent. 

Top Considerations When Looking for a new Job by Generation

candidate experience
(Source: Inside the Candidate Experience 2023 Report) 

Candidates want fulfilling employment and a company that upholds their values. By not featuring this information on your career site, you’re passing up an opportunity to create an emotional connection with your talent audiences. 

I know what you’re thinking—why not just direct candidates to where this information is on our corporate site? Here’s the thing: the second you send applicants somewhere else, you risk losing them. They may never make it back to actually submit an application. Instead, make things seamless by keeping the candidate journey in one place. The more you immerse talent in an experience right on your career site, the more likely they’ll envision themselves at your organization and apply for a job.  

5. Over-Promising, Under-Delivering 

Brands sometimes craft a compelling and aspirational image, but if the day-to-day reality doesn’t match, it can lead to disillusionment and distrust among employees. 

The number one obstacle for candidates when it comes to applying is not knowing what it’s like to work at an organization. So, brands that can show candidates what their day-to-day tasks will look like in a role will see more applications and higher-quality candidates. Consider creating videos that show a diverse range of your employees in their real work environment so candidates can see themselves in the role and at your organization.  

6. Neglecting Feedback Loops 

Not establishing mechanisms to gauge how the employer brand is perceived internally and externally leaves companies blind to misalignments or areas of improvement. Different workforce segments—full-time workers, contingent workers, working parents, employees just starting their careers and those considering retirement—all have diverse needs. So, involving employees in the EVP development process is a great way to ensure their voices are heard and their perspectives are considered.  

Conducting focus groups, workshops or surveys to gather employee input and insights will help you understand how to tailor your EVP to these unique segments. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of ownership and buy-in among employees, increasing their engagement with the EVP and creating a crucial step toward achieving a PVP. 

7. Not Addressing Negative Perceptions  

Ignoring negative reviews on platforms like Glassdoor can further erode trust. A proactive, open approach of responding to reviews is one of the most important ways to create a strong brand presence on employer review sites.  

Leaving thoughtful replies demonstrates maturity and commitment to growth and is guaranteed to show candidates and employees that you care—regardless of whether the feedback is positive or negative. In fact, according to a Glassdoor survey, 62% of job candidates agree their perception of a company improves after seeing an employer respond to a review. 

8. Lacking Cultural Competence 

Global brands must recognize and respect the cultural nuances of the regions they operate in. A message that resonates in one culture might misfire or even offend in another. A lack of cultural literacy in your employer brand can lead to confusion among your talent audiences, making it more difficult to recruit top talent.  

When it comes to your global talent strategy, it is important to work with local employees to build an employment brand that is effective across the world. Plus, you want to ensure that your recruitment marketing campaigns are culturally appropriate in each region. This could even include leveraging different social media sites which can have varied relevance for employer brand recognition and job searches from country to country. 

9. Failure to Integrate Your Employer Brand Across Touchpoints  

An employer brand isn’t just about recruitment ads or company websites. It should be integrated into every employee touchpoint, from onboarding to training to exit interviews. 

Every aspect of your employer brand—from voice to visuals—should capture the essence of life at your company. When candidates see your brand personality reflected everywhere, it builds trust. They don’t just hear you boast about culture fit and experience—they feel it through every interaction. So, let your employer brand shine through in big and small ways on your career site, social posts, job descriptions and more. Candidates will gain confidence that your employer value proposition rings true if you walk the walk at every step. 

10. Ignoring the Role of Middle Management 

While top leadership plays a role in defining the brand, it’s often middle management that has the most face time with employees. They translate your employer branding into daily reality. If they aren’t aligned with the brand message or don’t embody its values, the EVP can quickly fall apart as employees recognize the inconsistencies between branding and behavior. 

Managers should undergo employer branding training. When the entire management chain fully buys into the brand promise, managers can activate it for both employees and candidates. With alignment from executives to front-line supervisors, your employer brand transforms from buzzwords into actual company culture. 

PeopleScout Can Help You Avoid Employer Brand Mistakes 

Avoiding common employer brand mistakes takes dedication, but the rewards are well worth the effort. By sidestepping these pitfalls, you’ll craft authentic and human value propositions, strengthen candidate connections and build an employer brand that is flexible enough to speak to a variety of talent audiences.  

PeopleScout’s award-winning in-house Talent Advisory team has fresh ideas to help you evolve your employer brand. Contact us today to get help with your toughest challenges. 

Menopause in the Workplace: Creating a Supportive Environment for Women

Posted on by akessler

Once a taboo topic, menopause in the workplace is having a moment. And it’s about time. Globally, 657 million women are in their menopausal years (aged 45–59) and around half contribute to the labor force. According to CIPD, three out of five (59%) working women between the ages of 45 and 55 who are experiencing menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on them at work.  

With stereotypes and embarrassment persisting, some women try to push through the challenges on their own. But at an age when many women are stepping into leadership roles, employers must do more to support employees who are experiencing symptoms of menopause in the workplace. 

What is Menopause? 

Menopause signals a natural transition in a woman’s life, marking the end of menstruation and fertility. It typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55 as hormone levels fluctuate and decline. While a normal part of aging, menopause can usher in a variety of symptoms. Hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, memory lapses, mood swings—no two women experience it the same.  

How Menopause Impacts Women at Work 

In the same CIPD report, nearly two-thirds (65%) of women said they were less able to concentrate. More than half (58%) experienced more stress, which led to less patience with clients and colleagues.  

Not only do menopause symptoms disrupt focus, but they can also impact morale and attendance. In fact, 30% of impacted women have taken sick leave because of their symptoms. However, only a quarter of them felt able to tell their manager the real reason for their absence with some citing embarrassment (34%) and concerns about privacy (45%). Even more concerning is that another 32% said an unsupportive manager was the reason for not disclosing. In some cases, women have even left their jobs due to these challenges.  

The decrease in engagement and loss of productivity shouldn’t be overlooked by employers. A report from the Mayo Clinic revealed the U.S. economy loses $26.6 billion (USD) each year due to lost productivity and health expenses resulting from employees who are managing menopause symptoms.   

With the right support, women can shine through menopause without missing a beat in their careers. Enlightened leaders can create a culture where women openly discuss their experiences and get the flexibility they need.  

How to Create a Supportive Environment for Menopause in the Workplace 

HR leaders have real power to destigmatize menopause and help women thrive. By treating this transition as you would any other employee wellbeing topic and regularly evaluating policies, you can set the tone for women in your organization. Menopause isn’t just about managing symptoms. It’s about supporting employee growth. 

So, how can CHROs foster a supportive environment for menopausal staff? Here are some recommendations: 

1. Encourage open dialogue and self-advocacy. Make space for open, judgment-free conversations about menopause and let women know assistance is available. Breaking the stigma through dialogue and education is key. 

2. Review policies through a menopause lens. Is time off sufficient? Are you penalizing women unfairly? Consider putting a dedicated menopause policy in place. Ensure that work schedules, remote work options, and time off allowances give women managing menopause the flexibility they need to manage their symptoms.  

3. Make accommodations. Give leeway on start times for sleep struggles. Allow remote work flexibility. Simple adjustments like cooling fans, access to cold water and relaxed dress codes can go a long way to help ease hot flashes. 

99% of women don’t get any menopause benefits at work 

4. Provide education. Make educational resources readily available including FAQs, support groups, webinars, workshops. Consider offering menopause-specific training for managers so they feel more comfortable initiating menopause discussions. Plus, ensure they understand your policies to ensure women are not penalized or sidelined in performance reviews and career advancement unfairly due to menopause difficulties. 

It’s time to move past minimizing women’s symptoms or whispering about “the change.” Companies that support women experiencing menopause in the workplace are better at holding on to experienced female talent and avoiding costly turnover. With the right policies and culture, women can feel empowered and valued during this transition. When women feel their company has their backs through this transition, that loyalty and trust lasts. They’ll repay it with their talent and dedication.