This document summarizes a webinar discussion about employee voice and employer branding. It discusses how empowering employees and giving them a voice through storytelling can help attract and retain top talent. The webinar reviewed findings from Gallup's State of the American Workforce report, which showed that over 50% of employees are actively looking to change jobs. The top factors employees consider in a new job are ability to do what they do best, work-life balance, stability, increased pay, and working for a great brand. The webinar provided action steps employers can take to address these factors and strengthen their employer brand through employee voice.

1. HR’s ad agency.
Employee Voice and Employer Brand
March 14, 2017 │ Webinar Discussion
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

2. HR’s ad agency.
Today’s Agenda
2
1) What we mean by employee voice and why it’s
critical today
2) Are they buying? (Inside Gallup’s State of the
American Workforce)
3) Action steps
N. Robert Johnson
Practice Leader, Workforce Communications Practice
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

3. HR’s ad agency.
Key takeaways …
• The best resource to compete for talent is all around
you: it’s your people (their voices and stories)
• Employee voice is really the level and strength of their
empowerment
• You need a sales strategy to attract and keep the talent
you need
3
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

4. HR’s ad agency. 4
HR’s ad agency.
Our clients apply advertising and marketing practices to
attract and retain talent in competitive talent markets.
We help them to do so.
The focus of The David Group’s Workforce
Communications Practice is to strengthen employer
brands, engage people and cut the cost of talent.
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

5. HR’s ad agency. 5
Employee Voice (and why it’s critical today)
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

6. HR’s ad agency. 6
Competition for talent is tough.
(And, it’s not getting any easier.)
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

7. HR’s ad agency. 7
What’s the answer?
Your employees.
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

8. HR’s ad agency. 8
Employees who are empowered, thus those who
have a “voice” in the organization, tend to …
• Be highly engaged and have stronger ties to mission and
purpose
• Build stronger customer/client relationships
• Stay longer
• Be strong advocates internally and externally
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

9. HR’s ad agency. 9
Employee voice, in the context of
employer branding, is the authentic story
of your organization, as told through the
experiences of your employees.
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

10. HR’s ad agency. 10
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
Employees
are not
empowered
(no voice)
Employees are
empowered
(voice)
weaker
• low employee engagement
• high voluntary turnover
• hard to attract new talent
Empowered employees as a
competitive advantage
stronger
• high employee engagement
• low voluntary turnover
• easy to attract new talent

11. HR’s ad agency. 11
51% of U.S. employees say they are
actively looking for a new job or
watching for openings.
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

12. HR’s ad agency. 12
“It’s a good time to find a quality job!”
2012
19%
2016
42%
And, keep in mind …
In the U.S., only 33% of employees
are engaged in their jobs.
Percentage of Americans saying:
it’s a good time to find a quality job
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

13. HR’s ad agency. 13
Most common explanation for leaving …
• Career growth opportunities
• Pay and benefits
• Manager or management
• Company culture
• Job fit
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

14. HR’s ad agency. 14
Action item: Find your employee voice
1) Define your organization’s purpose, mission and
employer brand attributes
2) Listen to your employees
3) “Mind the gap” between 1 and 2 to create your
authentic, employee voice
4) Infuse into employer brand and internal
communications through employee storytelling vehicles
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

15. HR’s ad agency. 15
Are They Buying?
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

16. HR’s ad agency. 16
Gallup asks:
Do your employees want what
your workplace is selling?
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

17. HR’s ad agency. 17
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
Gallup’s premise
Organizations need a sales strategy for
talent attraction and retention in the same
way they have a customer sales strategy.
(We agree.)
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

18. HR’s ad agency. 18
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
Sales strategy for those of us in HR …
• Understand what workers want
• Define how to fulfill those expectations (while adhering to
your authentic work experience)
• Use marketing and advertising practices through
employer branding and internal communications
platforms to reach and influence various talent
audiences

19. HR’s ad agency. 19
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
What employees want “to buy” in their next job:
1) The ability to do what they do best
2) A greater work-life balance and better personal well-
being
3) An environment of greater stability and job security
4) A significant increase in income
5) The opportunity to work for a company with a great brand
or reputation
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

20. HR’s ad agency. 20
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
The ability to do what they do best
• 60% of employees rate this as “very important”
• True for male, females and all generations
• Defined as the ability for an employee to integrate
his/her talent, skills and knowledge into the job
• Comes down to job-fit
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

21. HR’s ad agency. 21
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
A greater work-life balance
• 53% of employees rate this as “very important”
• Females are stronger on this than males; Millennials and
Gen Xers are stronger than Baby Boomers
• People don’t want to compromise (on either side)
• 51% of employees say they would switch to a job that
has better flextime and 37% would switch for a job that
allows them to work off-site at least part of the time
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

22. HR’s ad agency. 22
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
An environment of greater stability
• 51% of employees rate this as “very important”
• This number is generally the same across demographics
with exception to lower numbers for Baby Boomers
• People want solid footing and a positive growth outlook
in their organization
• They want to believe in the organization’s future and
their contributions to organizational success
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

23. HR’s ad agency. 23
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
A significant increase in income
• 41% of employees rate this as “very important”
• Higher numbers for males and Millennials and Gen Xers
• Organizations should not overlook the importance of
income
• The issue is just as much emotional as it is based on
reason
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

24. HR’s ad agency. 24
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
The opportunity to work for a great brand
• 36% of employees rate this as “very important”
• This carries the most weight with females and Baby
Boomers
• Brand recognition is reflective of a sense of pride
that is threaded through employer and external
brands
• It’s deeper than a paragraph found in “about us” on
careers site Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

25. HR’s ad agency. 25
Action Steps (to win and keep talent)
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

26. HR’s ad agency. 26
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
The ability to do what they do best
1) Make it clear to candidates, and current employees,
that you value individual strengths
2) Hire and develop talent based on what they do well
3) Hold them accountable through your performance
management strategies and processes
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

27. HR’s ad agency. 27
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
A greater work-life balance
1) “Walk the talk” of work-life balance and well-being
2) Your approach to work-life balance and well-being needs
to be ingrained into your culture
3) You want employees to feel empowered by your work-life
balance offerings (structured and communicated as a
way to help them to do their best)
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

28. HR’s ad agency. 28
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
An environment of greater stability
1) Show employees where you are going and inspire them
to see a “better tomorrow”
2) Create career and development paths that link to a
successful future
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

29. HR’s ad agency. 29
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
A significant increase in income
1) Talk about pay but put into the proper context
2) Don’t forget about other rewards, particularly as the
conversation becomes more personal
3) Remember that emotions are just as much in play as
empirical reasoning
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

30. HR’s ad agency. 30
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
The opportunity to work for a great brand
1) Give candidates and employees a clear presentation of
what your organization stands for and how this
connects to your authentic employment experience
2) Use your employee voice to tell stories through all your
communications channels
3) Draw particular connections to your local communities,
using PR and external marketing practices
Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017

31. HR’s ad agency.
In Summary
• The best resource to compete for talent is all around
you: it’s your people (their voices and stories)
• Employee voice is really the level and strength of their
empowerment
• You need a sales strategy to attract and keep the talent
you need
31
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice

32. HR’s ad agency. 32
Workforce Communications Practice
Employer Brand ● Employee Voice
Additional resources
Gallup’s State of the American Workplace, 2017
http://www.gallup.com/services/178514/state-american-workplace.aspx
David Group
www.davidgroup.com
N. Robert Johnson
nrjohnson@davidgroup.com
216.685.4486 (direct) 216.410.5258 (cell)

33. HR’s ad agency. 33
N. Robert Johnson
Practice Leader, Workforce Communications
216.685.4486 │nrjohnson@davidgroup.com
davidgroup.com
The David Group Inc. All rights reserved.