Digital Growth Magazine- Issue 8- June 2021 by nexadigital

DIGITAL GROWTH June 2021 | ISSUE 8

THE

DIGITIZATION

OF HR Inside this issue: • Everything You Need to Know About the Digitalization of HR • How to Attract International Talent • Employee Onboarding: Making it Easy and Facing Challenges

Plus • The Shift to D2C: Why Businesses are Cutting Out the Middleman • The Benefits of Direct Relationships w ith your Consumer

Digital Growth - June. 2021

CONTENT

PAGE 03

Editor's Letter

PAGE 04

MarTech in the News: Zoom Announces All-In-One Events Platform

PAGE 06

The Shift to D2C: Why Businesses are Cutting Out the Middleman

PAGE 10

The Benefits of Direct Relationships with your Consumer

PAGE 14

Business Growth Strategies: Humanising the Flywheel

PAGE 18

Everything You Need to Know About the Digitalization of HR

PAGE 22

How to Attract International Talent

PAGE 25

Digital Recruitment: Why Screening a Candidate's Social Media Can Be Misleading

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The Importance of Company Culture and Employer Branding

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Employee Onboarding: Making it Easy and Facing Challenges

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The Role of Technology and Automation in HR

PAGE 36

How Technology Can Eliminate Hiring Bias

Digital Growth -June. 2021

Letter From the Editor Hi All, We live in the digital era and with the internet comes instant communication and greater customer expectations. Consumers want to know that businesses care about them on a personal level and by understanding the growing needs of the modern customer, businesses have managed to create more customercentric models that have increased sales. Digital transformation companies such as HubSpot, have led the way for this business model. However, one element of business is beginning to take center stage - and that is the employee. In this month’s magazine, we take a look at how digital transformation can be used to streamline the entire HR process, from onboarding to employee branding and beyond. Technology coupled with strategy can help transform your business’s HR department with automated processes, analytics, and tracking to help find the right fit for your business. We hope that this issue helps you gain greater insight into how you can implement digital transformation tools for HR purposes, helping drive greater business success and workplace productivity.

Amit Vyas CEO, NEXA www.digitalnexa.com

About the Editor Amit Vyas is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nexa, a digital marketing agency that was launched in Dubai in 2005. With close to a decade of experience within Digital Marketing, Amit has seen first hand, the dynamic environment with which businesses now have to operate in order to achieve growth and to succeed. Amit has worked with hundreds of businesses in the Middle East from startups to large multinational clients during his time at Nexa and previously, in the UK. He can be found at international conferences and has spoken at marketing events in the USA (SXSW and Content Marketing Conference), Australia (ANZMAC), India (Content Marketing Summit at the World Marketing Congress) as well as countless others in Europe and the UAE.

Be a part of Digital Growth Do you have an article that you’d like to share or want to collaborate with our writers? Send an email to Amit@digitalnexa.com with your ideas.

About Nexa As one of the largest fully-independent Digital Marketing Agencies in the UAE, Nexa has provided a vast array of services to over 1,000 clients in the region since 2005. Nexa is HubSpot’s only Diamond Partner Agency for the GCC region. www.DigitalNexa.com

Digital Growth - June. 2021

MarTech in the News

Zoom Announces

All-In-One Events Platform

By: Toni Becker

he communications powerhouse Zoom has announced that it is creating Zoom Events. That is, an all-in-one platform for virtual experiences that will be made available to the public soon. The platform combines Zoom meetings, video webinars and chats and is designed to provide a comprehensive solution for hosting virtual ticketed events for external and internal audiences. The innovative platform will cater to events of any size, from small immersive experiences to large conferences. The platform will allow management of ticketing, billing and access from a single location and will track registration, attendance and revenue. A recent worldwide survey by Zoom discovered that “a large majority believe that even after COVID-19 concerns subside, video communications are here to stay.” This means that all businesses need to take virtual event tools seriously as they move forward into the new-normal. Not only are virtual events becoming the norm, they have a variety of benefits that cannot be dismissed. 4

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The Benefits of Zoom Events Platform: • • • • • • •

Customizable ticketing and registration Build an events hub that is easy to manage and share Host a variety of events - whether free or paid Control billing from a single portal Track event statistics including registration, revenue and attendance Events can be public or private or even posted to a public directory for others to view Zoome events can be used in conjunction with an existing paid Zoom Meetings or Video Webinar License

Oded Gal, Chief Product Officer at Zoom said, “It’s an exciting time to be at Zoom where the pace of innovation continues to accelerate. We know that people are looking for flexibility in how they attend events in the future. The hybrid model is here to stay, and Zoom Events is a perfect solution for our customers who are looking to produce and host customer, company, and public events with an easy, yet powerful solution. This is another way we’re helping customers scale to meet consumer demands and the evolving virtual and hybrid landscape.”

Digital Growth - June. 2021

The Shift to D2C: Why Businesses are Cutting Out the Middleman By: Toni Becker

usinesses the world over were hit hard by the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. This is particularly true for consumer packaged goods manufacturers as the industry experienced an abrupt loss of foot traffic and wholesale distribution was at a complete standstill. With these losses, businesses within the brick and mortar or retail space had to quickly amend processes if they wanted to survive. You see, brands that relied on storefronts to connect goods and services to consumers had to rethink an omnichannel strategy in order to accelerate a direct-to-consumer (D2C) approach. By focusing efforts on D2C, these brands are able to connect with consumers via online channels and in turn, reignite growth that may have been stunted during this unprecedented time.

Before we take a look at how top brands have started to turn to D2C tactics, let›s define the D2C business model.

Defining D2C Direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies manufacture their products and distribute them directly to buyers without relying on retail stores or related middlemen. This strategy allows companies to sell their products at a lower cost than traditional consumer brands which maintains end-to-end control over the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of products. D2C brands are different to traditional retailers as they have the freedom to test distribution models and don’t have to rely on retail stores for customer exposure. This is why wellpositioned start up companies are able to compete with some of the largest retail brands and in the time of COVID-19 and with the shift in buyer behavior - D2C is fast becoming the goto business model. According to eMarketer, “87.3 million people ages 14 and older in the US will make a purchase on a D2C platform, up 10.3% year-over-year. Meanwhile, spending will grow 12.7% to $203 per buyer. By 2022, the number of D2C eCommerce buyers will reach a milestone, at 103.4 million.”

So, with the above in mind, how can you benefit from shifting your business model to D2C?

3 Benefits of Shifting to a D2C Model There is of course, financial gain and greater profit to be made through a DC2 model (this goes without saying) but what other benefits will you get from this strategy?

Let’s take a look. Getting to Know your Customers on a Personal Level With a D2C model in place, brands are able to connect with their consumers on a more personal level. This helps brands understand consumer expectations and create marketing, sales and service strategies to reach these expectations and better the bottom line.

With a D2C Model brands will learn about their customers from a variety of touchpoints including: • • •

Point-of-sale Digital channels of communication including personalized emails, social media and live chat After delivery

Digital Growth -June. 2021

By understanding and learning about the consumer experience and expectations, you are able to amend your processes to suit their needs. With this data at hand, you are able to streamline processes which leads to increased sales and customer retention. And one thing all brands need in this day and age is brand loyalty…

1. Creating Brand Loyalty and Brand Ambassadors We live in the age of instant communication and the last thing a brand wants is for past clients to complain about their experience online. By providing a service that is catered to individual customer needs, you are able to have control over your brand perception. By cutting out the middleman you also have complete control over the entire buyer’s journey and have the ability to guide consumers through the sales pipeline on your own terms. From an online shopping platform to packaging and marketing, your brand is in complete control with a D2C model.

2. Access to Customer Data When you market and distribute your products via a middleman, you are not equipped with accurate data regarding your customers. With the help of Customer Relationship Management tools and data collection, you are able to understand the entire customer journey in greater detail and use this information to inform future marketing campaigns as well as sales and service processes.

3. Greater Speed to Market As you have greater insight into the consumer via up-to-date data, you are able to detect changes in consumer behavior. This ensures you are better equipped to respond to the market needs without having to coordinate with outside distributors. Now that we have a greater understanding of the benefits of D2C, let’s take a look at how you can use marketing to better your D2C efforts.

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Marketing Best Practices for B2C Businesses If you are looking to take a D2C approach to your business, then it is important you understand these best practices when it comes to marketing, informing and reaching your target audience.

Know Your Brand’s Voice As you move toward a D2C business model it is important you establish your brand voice. This is because many consumers will not yet be familiar with your brand on a more personal level and you will need to establish trust and create familiarity. In order to establish your brand’s voice, outline your company goals and values and ask yourself the below questions through this process: • • • •

Who are you as a business? What does your business stand for? What is your mission statement? How can you change and better the lives of your customers?

By answering these you are able to establish your brand’s voice and ensure that your brand message resonates with the consumer.

Know Your Audience If you want your D2C business to be successful, it comes down to understanding who your audience is, where they are online, and how you can better their lives with your product or service. When defining your ideal audience consider the following: • • • • • •

Demographics Location Careers Socioeconomic status Buying habits Online platforms they engage with

The above are just a few examples of what you should consider when defining your audience. Once this is done you are able to create buyer personas (fictional representations of your audience) for your target audience which helps you create personalized campaigns for specific segments of your audience.

When creating or updating your website consider the following: • • • • • •

Clean design Easy navigation Responsive design Search Engine Optimized website Search Engine Optimized content Quality content

By updating or creating a new website you are able to drive more prospective clients to your brand and convert them into leads.

Personalize the Consumer Experience D2C is all about the consumer and reaching the consumer where they are at in the buying cycle. This is why you need to focus on personalizing the entire experience for your audience. A Customer Relationship Management platform such as HubSpot is able to help you create a streamlined, personalized digital marketing strategy that reaches your audience at the right time, in the right place, with the right message. This is when automated and personalized email marketing also becomes important (a CRM is able to help you create segmented email campaigns to reach your audience at the right time).

How you can personalize the buying experience for your audience: • • • •

Using potential/current customer names in emails Creating targeted ads through social media platforms Created remarketing ads through social media and various digital platforms Optimizing your content for the search engine results to ensure your audience finds your brand when they are actively seeking your product or service

Personalization is vital for brand success and is especially important when it comes to D2C businesses. If you provide your audience with a seamless and personalized experience you are sure to build trust and establish brand loyalty that in turn, drives growth.

Top Brands Turn to D2C When COVID-19 hit the world at an alarming rate, restaurant attendance slowed down, theatres closed and buyer excitement around events outside of their homes hit an all-time low. With this, brands such as Coca-Cola were hit hard and the brand even reported depressed revenue with its Q3 earnings of 2020. Coca-Cola, being the brand giant that it is, decided it needed to shift its efforts and conversate on D2C sales to improve earnings. CEO of Coca-Cola, James Quincey noted that the company saw strength in its grocery and eCommerce offerings (essentially, “at home” offerings) as these worked with the shift in consumer behaviour. Quincely explained this shift saying, “We have been winning share in at-home channels, and that’s going to set us up for emerging stronger and being in a stronger position, even though mechanically in the short term, we lose share.” With Coca-Cola’s shift to D2C many other brands have taken note and re-strategize their efforts to suit the changing needs of the consumer. Other brands that have turned toward a D2C model include: Heinz, PepsiCo and Nestle. With the ever-changing dynamic of consumer behavior it is safe to say that many brands will be making this shift. So, how do you go about readjusting your marketing and sales strategy to suit this new model? Essentially, your marketing efforts come down to understanding the consumer and tailoring your marketing strategy to suit their needs and wants. It is vital you meet them at where they are in the buying cycle and measure your results - and a CRM such as HubSpot is able to help you do this with ease. Remember - it is all about the consumer.

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The Wrap Up Today’s consumer enjoys having personal relationships with their favorite brands. By cutting out the middleman you are able to establish and build these relationships. Consider the consumer in every decision you make as you shift toward a D2C approach, from strategy and branding through to marketing and sales. With big brands like Coca-Cola and Nestle moving toward D2C on a greater level, it is clear that D2C is part of the new normal and this path needs to be considered by brands looking to grow with the times.

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The Benefits of Direct Relationships with your Consumer By: Toni Becker

he surge of direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands over the last year marks a significant change in the buyer’s journey and the way we do business. This disruption can even be seen with some of the worlds most established brands including Coca-Cola and Heinz. This explosion of business disruption took center stage during the outbreak of COVID-19 as many distribution companies and retailers had to close their doors. However, the online world offered an excellent opportunity for brands to stay afloat at this time and with digital platforms at the helm, brands turned to eCommerce for direct to consumer purchase.

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D2C brands are now transforming the way the world does business, and brands in this space offer a variety of products and services including health and wellness products, clothing, food and beverages and more. But how do businesses make the D2C model work as the online space can be distracting and highly competitive? The key lies in understanding the consumer and your target market in greater detail than ever before. By leveraging social listening and customer data insights via Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms, brands are able to develop a powerful and trusted direct to consumer relationship which ensures their brand message resonates with the target audience. What D2C has taught businesses is that building direct relationships with the consumer makes it possible to control brand representation, understand customer expectation and learn behaviors at every stage of the buyer journey. What D2C has taught businesses is that building direct relationships with the consumer makes it possible to control brand representation and learn customer behavior at every stage of the buyer journey. By understanding the consumer, having data to predict behavior, and driving the individual through the sales process - businesses optimize processes and increase the bottom line. But, is D2C the future of business? The opportunities that present through this model certainly prove that D2C may in fact, be the next-normal. Let’s take a look.

Opportunities that come with the Directto-Consumer business model

The benefits of a D2C model and how to make it work for your business There are a multitude of benefits that come by making the switch to D2C. With this tactic you are able to improve margins, develop brand awareness and brand advocacy, gain increased control over your market reputation and even have more control over brand packaging. All of this leads to increased customer loyalty and customer retention. The D2C model allows brands to experiment with innovative distribution models or tactics. This covers everything, from shipping directly to consumers, to creating pop-up shops. This kind of innovation improves brand awareness while boosting lead generation - which in turn, improves the bottom line. Regardless of the D2C model you choose to take on, your success does ultimately depend on data-driven consumer intelligence to ensure you make the best marketing and sales decisions that are personalize for a greater buying experience. With data at hand, you are able to track potential clients, drive them through the sales pipeline, convert them into clients and nurture. This is where Customer Relationship Management platforms such as HubSpot, become a necessity - if you want the benefits of D2C then you will want to invest in a CRM. The HubSpot CRM is a platform noted for its powerful features that enable brands to relate to their customers on a personal level, boost conversations, and improve revenues based on multiple interaction channels. At its core, HubSpot is an inbound marketing and sales software that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers. The platform’s tools can be used to host web and landing pages, create blogs and email sequences, and manage interactions with your leads and customers—all while analyzing the success of campaigns and tracking user behavior. This is ideal for businesses looking to implement a D2C model.

Today’s consumer is more knowledgeable and empowered than ever before. They have the internet at their fingertips and are able to do in-depth research before making a purchase decision. This is why “specialism” has become important and brands need to provide a sense of authenticity when it comes to brand experience. Essentially, consumers want to feel seen and want to feel a part of the brand. And if you want to establish your brand as authentic and specialized, then digital channels are your starting point.

You see, the greatest benefit of D2C is that you are able to understand the “why” behind your target market’s behavior and can use these insights to better your marketing and sales efforts across your business.

By placing data-driven and personalized customer experiences throughout your business marketing and sales processes, you will achieve significant market growth and this is why top brands are turning to a D2C model.

•

Essentially, the new age consumer wants personalization, instant communication and a relationship with the businesses they choose to purchase from. But capturing these opportunities and building these relationships comes down to mastering the customer journey and customer experience. Below, we take a deeper look into the benefits that come with a D2C model and how you can optimize your D2C strategy to increase business growth.

By using CRM platforms to track and monitor consumer behaviour via your D2C related digital touchpoints you are able to:

• • •

Better serve customers and build deeper relationships with them Differentiate your brand from competitors Understand leads as individuals with different needs and expectations Fine tune your service or product development, marketing, sales and service strategies

Selling directly to the consumer and monitoring them via a CRM makes it simple to acquire and analyse data. Today, leading CRMs such as HubSpot make it easy to collect customer experience data at every meaningful digital touchpoint and use this to gain actionable insights to close sales. All of the above builds consumer trust by meeting them where they are at in the buying process. This is important because we live in an age where customer expectation is greater than ever - and brands need to provide a seamless and personalized service experience to ensure customer retention and greater

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sales. When brands worked with distribution companies (or any middleman) this is the information they were sorely lacking and now with D2C, they are able to get to know the consumer and create an experience that the consumer wants. This leads to increased sales and brand loyalty.

Unlocking the next normal: direct relationships with customers

Some Noteworthy D2C Stats: •

The D2C market has been growing rapidly, with double-digit rates for several years. It is projected to maintain a further 19.2% growth in 2021. (Goodrebels.com)

•

Armed with data, businesses can place customers at the center of their brand which allows for more effective communication via digital channels. There are a variety of ways that businesses are using this kind of customer-centric insight to sell more and forge long-lasting direct to consumer relationships.

51% of consumers believe it is important to receive a personalized experience through a brand’s various digital channels. (Scalefast)

•

Some of these tactics include:

More than 80% of end consumers are expected to make at least one purchase through a D2C brand within the next 5 years. (Direct-to-Consumer Purchase Intent Index)

•

US D2C ecommerce sales, both digitally native and established brands, grew 45.5% in 2020, generating $111.54 billion and making up 14.0% of total ecommerce sales. (emarketer.com)

•

D2C is expected to grow each year through 2023, with D2C ecommerce sales expected to reach $174.98 billion at that time. (emarketer.com)

Identifying new opportunities: By using a CRM and social listening tools, brands are able to identify needs and create new service or product initiatives to increase customer lifecycle value. Better problem-feature solutions to suit their target markets needs: Segmenting the customer experience across a variety of channels helps the brand identify individual customer activities as they progress through the pipeline. This eliminates any possible friction between brand and client. Whether including video tutorials, chatbots or content-rich e-books, brands will understand what each customer needs at each stage of the buyer’s journey.

With the above statistics in mind, brands are going to have to build relevant, personalised, and connected experiences that are designed to meet the wants and needs of a new generation of shoppers - and this is done through D2C.

Personalization for increased sales and customer retention: With data, brands are able to optimize every interaction and deliver the right brand message to consumers. And by understanding which message suits which lead, businesses are able to personalize conversations to create a positive experience for consumers.

see it as vital to receive a personalised experience through the brand’s various digital channels.

For many brands, D2C presents an opportunity to take greater control over their brand, from the first engagement to the moment a product is purchased and beyond. By using datadriven insights, brands are able to ensure the personal touch that consumers expect in this day and age. This tactic cuts out the middleman, reduces costs and builds brand loyalty beyond the purchase stage. With everything that is going on in the world, with businesses having to adjust to the new normal at a rapid rate, it is safe to say that direct relationships with customers will be the future of business.

51% of consumers

Digital Growth -June. 2021

Business Growth Strategies: Humanising the Flywheel Digital Growth - June. 2021

By: Toni Becker

e live in the digital age and with the age of the internet comes instant communication and customer expectations. Today’s customer is knowledgeable and skeptical while having greater expectations than before - the greatest expectation being that businesses care about them on a personal level. Customer Relationship Management and Inbound Marketing powerhouse HubSpot understood that companies need to rework the way they engage with the modern-day consumer. They knew that when companies align their success with their customers, they create delight, loyalty and respect from the people who matter most. And when this methodology is implemented correctly, companies grow better.

By understanding the growing needs of the modern consumer, HubSpot created a customer-centric model that has changed the way companies do business.

Introducing the Flywheel

To show you what the Flywheel is capable of, let’s first explain how it works.

Invented by James Watt, the flywheel is a simple wheel that is energy efficient. The amount of energy it stores is dependent on how fast it spins and the friction it encounters. HubSpot adapted the model of the Flywheel which explains the momentum your brand gains when you align your entire business around delivering an unbeatable customer experience.

The energy your Flywheel contains to keep it moving depends on 3 elements:

Other models, such as the customer funnel, are based on customer outcome and nothing more. Essentially, these models end at customer acquisition - wasting all the energy you spent acquiring that customer.

How it Works • • •

How fast it spins How much friction it faces How big it is

The most successful businesses will adjust their marketing and sales strategies to address all 3 of the above elements. With an inbound marketing strategy combined with frictionless selling processes, customer service and customer nurturing are all forces that can be added to the flywheel. Essentially, you need to focus on customer experience, which means your customers will recommend your business, which means you gain more customers. Friction in the Flywheel can be caused by lack of communication between teams and customers, misalignment between employees and customers and misalignment between marketing, sales and service teams. The more you increase your Flywheel speed and decrease areas of friction, the better you will grow your business.

However, one more element can be added to the Flywheel to ensure even greater success and that is focusing on employees within your business - not just the customer.

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Expanding the 1. Employer Branding Flywheel for Business Growth

Employer branding refers to the perception held by future and current employees of your business. From a marketing and all-round business perspective, it is important that you establish your business as reputable. By doing so, you are able to generate long-term growth and greater success.

The current Flywheel focuses on the customer experience, however, employees need to feel motivated and in sync with a company’s goals in order to fuel the customer experience. In today’s corporate climate, it is important that business values align with employee values. This means that effort needs to be placed on individuals within the company and focus needs to be placed on employee experience as well as customer experience. While the Flywheel is valid for most businesses in that it highlights the importance of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service as a driver of business growth, we believe that there is a missing component within the Flywheel and that is “People.”

Just like the modern-day consumer, potential employees are more knowledgeable and skeptical than ever before. Future employees want to ensure that a business is able to meet their expectations and values. What Employer Branding Consists of: • • • •

Attracting candidates through unique value propositions and well-strategized brand awareness Retaining employees and building long-term loyalty Creating a genuine and healthy company culture with current employees, including benefits Making sure past employees leave with a positive attitude and where possible, provide testimonials for your organization

There are many digital marketing tactics and digital channels you can use to build on the above. For example: Social media provides a great way to educate potential candidates. Through these platforms you can share blogs specifically crafted for employer branding purposes, images of current employees, employee testimonials and build interest around your company culture. By having a positive and trusting company culture, your employees become invested in growing your business, thereby improving the customer experience (see Flywheel) and increasing your bottom line. Once your marketing department has set up a strong Employer Branding strategy, it is time to focus on recruitment.

2. Digital Recruitment Not yet convinced? Take the following statistics into account: • • • •

Motivated and happy employees stay at their job four times longer Motivated and happy employees are 12% more productive Motivated and happy employees spend twice as much time on their tasks Motivated and happy employees experience 65% more energy than unhappy employees

As per the above, it is clear to see that motivated and happy employees lead to productivity, dedication and greater employee retention. With the above in mind, your employees are a key component to Flywheel success and it is vital you hire individuals who fit your business identity and are dedicated to contributing to the growth of your business. Below, we take a look at 4 steps you can take to expand your Flywheel and grow your business internally.

As a digital society, businesses are open to recruiting staff from all over the world and expanding businesses has never been easier. And with this in mind, digital recruitment has become a highly sought-after and proven HR strategy. Digital recruitment is not as simple as posting job vacancies on online job boards and social media. Of course, these platforms play a role in the process, but digital recruitment requires a host of strategies and online tools that span the full recruitment process. Digital Recruitment Consists Of: • • • •

Digital job board advertising (this includes platforms such as Indeed and LinkedIn) Posting on career-based websites Using online assessment tools Social recruiting

Essentially, your HR department needs technology to discover, attract, engage, analyze and select candidates to fill employee roles. Once your HR team has set up the recruitment process, they need to focus on onboarding.

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3. Digital Onboarding As stated previously, virtual or digital recruiting is becoming the norm for businesses and companies need to create a smooth onboarding process to ensure success. Traditional onboarding gives your new employees an overview of your business, values, company goals, and mission. Virtual onboarding eliminates the face-to-face factor, and offers new challenges that need to be overcome. Companies are now using HR and onboarding automation platforms to ensure consistent and repeatable processes across different teams, departments and locations. A benefit of this is that it reduces the administrative overhead and miscommunication that can often occur when trying to plan and coordinate multiple stakeholders, and processes in a remote setting. Digital Recruitment Consists Of: • • • • •

Pre-boarding strategy Structured socialization and personal connection Virtual meeting tools Alignment with company values Employee feedback

Onboarding processes require technology and personal connection and with a strong strategy in place, you are sure to retain employees and create an aligned work environment. Once you have your onboarding process in place, it is time to focus on training systems to help new employees integrate with your company and processes.

4. Training Systems Every employee contributes to the overall success of a business, but some business owners do not invest in this. Employees with limited scopes can quickly feel like a cog in the machine and those who may manage large teams can quickly become complacent. This adds huge friction to the Flywheel and results in business losses that can go unnoticed. So, how can this be amended? Training can help employees learn and grow while giving them insight into how their job specs fit in the company structure, mission and goals. As a result, they will become more motivated, productive and excited about their job. Training Systems Consist of: • • • •

Video tutorials Online courses Personalized workshops Online webinars

Through the digital hiring and onboarding process, you will have hired employees that want to develop a career through your business. They want to advance and become essential employees and by offering training, you help them realize their individual goals. Upskilling employees through educational videos, online courses and workshops help them learn about new aspects of business, give them the tools to perform better and provide greater managerial skills down the line. This is why businesses need to invest in training and development.

The Wrap Up The above steps contribute to the size and speed of your Flywheel, while reducing elements of friction within your organization. By adding the “people” element to your Flywheel, you improve all elements of the business while ensuring complete customer satisfaction.

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Digital Growth - June. 2021

Everything You Need to Know About the Digitalization of HR By: Shannon Correia

igitalization continues to affect all parts of business, including HR. To explain what this means in simple terms: the tasks carried out by this department have been transformed using digital technology. It saves a business two valuable resources, namely time and money. Here’s what you need to know.

It’s all about ways to bring digital tools and technology into the HR department. It can and should affect every aspect for ultimate efficiency, including every stage in the recruitment cycle. By bringing automation into the equation, you can improve the HR function within your business. When this occurs, you make better hiring decisions and manage your employees better, which ultimately helps your business to grow and thrive in a people-centric manner over the long term. Let’s take a closer look at how your business can digitalize HR in terms of the recruitment process and why it matters.

Finding and reaching your talent pool One of the first ways technology can improve the recruitment process is through its ability to source new hires. Digital platforms make it easier for you to reach a wider audience and, importantly, a targeted audience. You can ensure your job ad is presented to candidates that match your criteria, meaning you’ll receive a higher number of qualified candidates. These platforms record insights into the performance of the job ads,

allowing HR managers to access data to help further improve the process. Automation also allows you to manage these candidates as they make their way down the pipeline. For this, many businesses opt to use applicant tracking systems or customer relationship management (CRM) systems. With this, you can communicate with your candidates, draw data analysis and manage your talent pool database.

Screening the candidates Technology can assist with and improve the ability to screen candidates proficiently. This replaces the need to manually scan each CV. You can also put an application process in place which introduces candidates to your business in an engaging manner. Content and specific workflows can take them through stages that pose qualitative and quantitative questions to them, which further helps you narrow down the potential new hires based on interest levels shown. All in all, this digital technology helps you sort and manage your candidates. This cuts out the need for HR managers to sift through tedious and repetitive tasks.

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Once you build up a database of talent, you can refer back to this pool for future vacancies. This can save you from the hassle of advertising and sourcing new hires, or at least allow for your previous efforts to carry more longevity. Once in the system, AI can assess, rank and shortlist suitable candidates.

Selecting the right candidate Following on from before, digital technology can help you to select the right candidate, without the influence of bias. By using automated systems, you can gather a lot more data for insights that will help you in the decision-making process. The interviewing stage of the recruitment process has also been digitized, with many job interviews taking place online through videos, for both remote and non-remote positions. It works to the benefit of the employer, who can record the interview and refer back to it when making the selection. With all of this technology at the helm, the ideal is to present candidates with personalized feedback and ensure that the community of talent your business is building remains intact. Now that it’s clear how digitalization can affect the hiring process, let’s circle back to the systems that can make this possible - CRM. By investing in this technology solution, you can customize a system that suits your business needs. With this in place, you can make use of all of the benefits of bringing technology to your HR department as mentioned above, and link it with an array of other helpful tools as well. In essence, digitizing HR means you can automate processes and set up recruitment workflows for candidates to follow. Managers will benefit from having improved understanding and relationships with candidates, as well as have the necessary data to make predictions about roles, performances and expectations. Once the right candidates are hired, the digitalization of HR continues with systematic onboarding systems to welcome them.

Is the Future of HR in CRM? If you’re wondering what the future has in store for human resources, then you need to cast your eyes to customer relationship management. This technology is transforming this business function and making it better for businesses, managers, candidates, and new hires. Here’s how and why you need to jump on this trend. Recruiting was once a reactive process. Businesses would embark on the recruiting process when a vacancy became available. Today, this process is becoming more predictive, by building talent pools and communities. Networking is thus extended and candidates are able to have a more interactive role with businesses. HR is focused on building relationships with people who may become or are candidates. This is especially important with businesses working to create virtual workforces and ones that make diversity a focal point. In fact, many businesses have been hiring people remotely, meaning they rely on advanced technology to manage the process. CRMs are thus a great way to ensure you have a digita- first workforce in all regards. With this approach, you’re creating fans of your brand in a professional sense that admire and advocate for your business, whether they are hired at the time or not. It can grow the influence of your business to international top talent, and help to retain your employees once they’ve been hired. This is where ‘employer branding’ comes into play. It refers to the reputation and branding of your business as an employer. Having a professional system in place can further improve the employee (and general) sentiments regarding your business. Managing this process is made possible with customer relationship management (CRM). This technology requires an

investment, though it is a long-term solution - one that delivers returns in a number of ways, and also saves you time and money through improved digitalization. It also puts systems in place that help design the future of your business - having the right people employed can make or break a business, so this is not something that should be overlooked.

How CRM Fits in With HR CRM systems are all about having a central hub in which you can manage a process in its entirety. There are many reasons this works so well with HR. Let’s take a look at some of the main reasons for this: Data: CRMs have the ability to store and organize a multitude of data. This means the HR manager can store all of the information they have on their candidates here. This includes detailed notes, documents, communication, and assessments. With this, you’ll be able to assess your candidates with ease and make more informed decisions. Relationships: CRMs are all about relationship-based systems. When this is applied to recruiting, you are able to build better connections with your candidates. It ties in to the long-term outlook and generates lasting interest in your businesses employment opportunities. Website: You can build websites using optimized templates using the CRM platform. With this, you can create a dedicated careers website, or publish a page dedicated to attracting prospects. Targeting: If you need to hire employees with specific skills, you’ll need to be able to target them specifically. This will cut through unnecessary and unsuited applications. CRM makes targeting easy, so you can attract the right people. Personalization: When developing relationships, you need to take candidates from a point of interest to serious consideration and even excitement at the thought of being a prospect. Personalization fosters this kind of connection. Tracking: With CRMs, you can track the hiring processes and progress thereof. You’ll have the power of robust tracking backing you, which allows you to monitor effectively, as well as manage, message and engage qualified candidates. It is clear to see that there are many benefits and reasons for CRMs being a central feature in the future of HR. Ultimately, these systems allow your HR team to gain a better understanding of the talent pools, and to build better relationships with them through contribution tracking and business marketing. Moreover, improving your workforce with data has many secondary payoffs, from improved systems, to insights, communication and candidate benchmarking. The analytics from CRMs can also help your HR teams make predictions relating to candidates, roles, performances, expectations, and pay. When CRMs are used for HR purposes, they can extend to areas beyond recruitment. An example of this is employee onboarding to welcome new hires as they join the business, and subsequently employee training for ongoing learning. This again helps to improve sentiments and can increase productivity and contributions by the newbies and your HR team. Leaving the best for last, we need to discuss one of the most important abilities of CRMs: automation. By having tasks automated and workflows ready to go, you can save time on routine tasks. For instance, you can auto-reply to certain requests or actions taken and manage the entire hiring process without having to tend to paper trails.

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With this, your HR will have more time on their hands, coming across as professional as can be to candidates. This improves the experience for all involved, and builds good relationships, whether a candidate gets the job or not.

How to Implement HR Transformation for Your Business HR continues to transform for both businesses and individuals. That being said, it is one thing to know about these changes, and another to implement them. In this ‘how to’ article, we’ll be discussing practical ways that you can adapt your processes, which will ultimately help your business to grow and improve. HR transformation is an umbrella term that can include all sorts of changes. Technology has made it easy for a business to utilize applicant tracking systems, for instance, which makes an otherwise administratively-intensive task one that is simplified and automated. There are a number of tools on the market and each business will likely need to use multiple ones for each stage of the recruitment process. HR transformation boils down to technology that affects every level of this department.

Advantages of a New HR System for Recruitment •

Fully Customizable system that runs itself so that you can opt for a system that makes sense to your business, while having the peace of mind that it is automated

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Offer an interactive system to candidates so that you’re able to showcase your culture, team and your values

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Communicate with your candidates so that they’re updated and relationships are formed

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Reduce the manual mistakes that are made during the traditional recruiting process such as bias and delays

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Offer a multi-stage process so that candidates are filtered to find the best fit for that particular role using quantitative and qualitative metrics, while the others form part of an ongoing database of talent

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Have a scoring system that categorizes and finds the best fit for your business based on skills, interest and investment

Other examples include customer relationship management systems, which can hold a database of your business’s talent pool. These platforms traditionally aim to ‘attract, engage and delight’ customers, but businesses are finding value in applying that same ideal to candidates. This ties in to employer branding which marks another way that HR is changing - businesses of today need to consider and market themselves as employers to stand out in the marketplace and attract top talent. Whereas traditional HR introduced people to businesses personally, that same process is happening today via video introductions, for example. The focus has shifted toward developing relationships and building communities of interested individuals in your business. The power is no longer solely held by HR, and so seeking responses and feedback from candidates becomes important. These mark changes to the way HR is being conducted, from attracting talent to narrowing down and making selections, the process is changing and businesses need to be equipped with the tools to implement these changes.

How to Implement HR Transformation Let’s begin with the concept of change, since ideas are what lead to actions. HR is transforming in various ways, with one underlying factor: technology. Technological tools are helping HR departments to speed up the recruitment process and to improve the results thereof. This needs to be communicated to the top-level management of a business. Getting buy-in from the top is the first step in implementing change in your business. Secondly, you’ll need to be committed and invested in transforming your HR. That is because it often involves access to and learning about new systems, tools and processes. This often requires funding and the know-how of which elements would benefit your HR team. This is an inclusive approach and one which requires everyone involved in the process to be acting on one accord. With these aspects in place, you can guide the business with small steps towards a bigger goal. Having a vision for what you want your HR system to be like is crucial. It ensures that you aren’t simply testing out trendy systems without any direction, as this can prove to be futile. Brainstorm with the team to determine exactly what your needs are and then search the market for fitting tools and platforms.

An Overview of Digitizing HR The digitization of HR is the use of technological tools, systems and platforms to fulfill the duties of this department in the most effective way. These automations streamline processes, saving both time and money. It also ensures you’re hiring the right candidates which as we know, can make all the difference when it comes to the success of a business. The HR department is fundamental to any business and so it makes sense for it to lead change, moving toward better systems. CRMs can greatly improve the hiring process and because of its many benefits, is a definite part of the future of HR. Help your business to grow and evolve with the next digital step that’ll improve your business from the inside out. Implementing HR transformation can take many forms. It requires full buy-in from the business and the exact changes will depend on your business’s specific needs. With the help of technologies, you can improve the recruitment process and grow your business with the strongest and best possible team working together.

THE DYSTOPIA

of all companies admit to recruiting the wrong people each year

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of hiring staff say attracting quality candidates is their biggest challenge

The average cost of one bad hire is nearly $15,000!

THE UTOPIA A majority of employers (97%) plan to increase their investments in recruiting technology.

of recruiting professionals say that the best way to improve recruiting performance over the next five years is by investing in new recruiting technology

of employers that use an ATS said that recruitment technology makes finding great talent easier than ever.

Digital Growth - June. 2021

How to Attract International Talent By: Shannon Correia

n today’s globalized and remote-working world, the world is your oyster when it comes to hiring employees. Many businesses are looking beyond their borders when hiring. In this article, we’ll be letting you in on the ways you can draw in the best pool of talent by attracting top candidates and ensuring you are able to retain the ones you select.

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Why Should I Hire International Talent? There are a multitude of reasons why your business would benefit from hiring international talent. Let’s begin with the obvious: you’re able to assess the applications of the best candidates from around the world. With a bigger selection, you are not just limited to your country’s best. It can also pose a number of benefits to your business since exchange rates and employee contracts depend on the country you’re dealing with. For instance, you can hire someone contractually for a period, rather than hiring a permanent staff member. This, along with favorable exchange rates, may save your business on labor expenses. Having international talent working within your company is an asset for your business. Today, employees are seen as influencers in the professional world, since networking remains a top priority. These working relationships broaden your reach around the globe and give you the benefit of having international experience within your team. This is especially helpful to businesses that are expanding into new markets, and require employees who are experienced in that country. This experience pertains to the likes of diverse markets, different languages, laws and regulations - the list goes on. Notably, hiring international talent does not mean you need to pay for relocation costs and require emigration, unless the position calls for it. Businesses are better equipped than ever to have a remote workforce. In cases where you’re asking candidates to move to your country or engage in an exchange for a period of time, you still need to be able to effectively attract them to your business. As it stands, the market for hiring top talent on a global scale is very competitive. Simply put, there is high demand for top candidates, in line with the highest possible standards worldwide. When attracting these potential employees, businesses need to meet their increasingly growing expectations. When considering which country’s to look to, a business might consider the standard of living, the exchange rates and the cultures, as all of this will impact the working relationships that are formed. With a diversified team that brings a range of skills and experience, your business will be adding to their competitive advantage. Thus, your company culture will improve, as will the potential and reach of your business, with all of this culminating in your business being more successful.

Ways to Attract International Candidates We need to consider the hiring process in its totality when attracting candidates from around the world. It needs to be toptier, from the advertising process to the sorting and selecting of candidates, interviews, negotiations, and communication. This will ensure your business is meeting the international standards and expectations. Showcasing professionalism of the highest degree will attract top candidates and also be an indicator for them to enjoy a smooth introduction to your company, and one which is longstanding if they are hired. Once these candidates are hired, you’ll need to have an onboarding system ready to go, since the transition to a new company fosters motivation, loyalty, productivity, trust, and support.

So, where can you find these candidates?

Where to Hire International Talent Networking connections: Networking remains an important skill, especially when expanding your reach on a global scale don’t be afraid to ask for contacts and referrals as this is highly valuable. Partnerships with other businesses or agencies: Working with an established agency or business in a foreign country can be a massive help when it comes to navigating your way in the market. Headhunting: People are invested in sharing their portfolios online - there is nothing stopping your HR from having a look for talent and reaching out to them directly, whether that’s through blogs or social media platforms. Job board advertisements: You can directly advertise on popular job ads in countries and handle the application process traditionally. Advertising on your business website: Your website is a great place to advertise for positions, and it’ll ensure the applicants already have an internist in your business. Previous employees: It may be a good idea to hire previous employees who know the business and have new skills and experience to bring along with them. Now that you know where to find them, you’ll need to consider what motivates them - this is the crux of what will attract them to your business in particular.

Motivating Factors for International Talent Pay: The fact remains - people work to make a living. Offering a salary that makes sense to your international pool will determine the quality and number of candidates you attract. Benefits and perks: When hiring foreigners to work for you, they’ll be expecting some benefits, whether that involves relocation or remote working perks. Business growth potential: Candidates are looking for businesses that align with not only their values, but their vision for the future as well. Having a stable employer with promise of growth is attractive to candidates. Career goals and opportunities: Just as much as candidates seek business growth, they too care about their personal careers and the potential for them to grow and evolve within your business in the long run. Employer branding: This is incredibly important and influential as it refers to the reputation of your business. You’ll need to put work into marketing and public relations for your business to develop this in a positive light, with the aim of attracting the best of the best. Flexible arrangements: When working with international employees, especially remotely, having flexible arrangements, such as offering working hours in their time zone can become an important factor. Right, so now that we know what these candidates need, you’ll need a strategy to tie in all of the elements and spark interest in your business.

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Build Your Proposition: Reviews: Businesses should be mindful of current and past employees reviewing the workplace online, as future candidates will have a look at these for insight when considering which company to work with. Global mindset: Position your business as one that is inclusive and diverse when attracting a global workforce, as this appeals to the values in business that are important to have in today’s markets. Use technology: Global candidates expect the best in business practices and processes, so having automated and digitized systems in place is important. This will also facilitate learning and productivity. For this, consider using a customer relationship management system like HubSpot. The offer: Build your offer of employment in a way that is inclusive of the above, taking into account the needs and desires of your candidates, in a way that is compatible with your business needs. Mentorship: Foreign employees will need support and guidance throughout the hiring process, and will appreciate mentorship through the onboarding processes as well as they learn to adjust. Maintain company culture: Building and maintaining a positive company culture is of great importance, as this sets the tone of the workplace and what it will be like working for your business. This is an aspect to advertise and one which requires candidates that are a good fit. Training: Offer training to help your future employees grow their careers and better their abilities. Attracting international talent to work for your business requires an investment of time and effort. To entice the world’s best candidates to take a vested interest in your company, you’ll need to find them, understand their motivates, and meet their expectations. When you succeed in doing so, there are numerous payoffs for your business, from having a competitive advantage, to having a diverse workforce and the best employees on a global scale.

The Global Workforce A study by Gartner found that 88% of organizations have implemented working from home for employees, regardless of showing coronavirus-related symptoms or not. This point illustrates how businesses have changed and adapted in a variety of ways on an organizational, team-based, and individual level. These changes include shifts in workplace cultures and the way employees relate to one another, as well as the operational processes, physical workspaces, and the way virtual technologies are used. There is an overarching focus on change in the workforce on a global scale, with borders diminishing barriers to talented workers in the market. Mercer’s 2020–2021 Global Talent Trends Report includes four major themes that businesses need to take note of, namely:

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Focus on futures: Work together to ensure people thrive now and in the future.

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Race to re-skill: Transform the workforce for a new world economy.

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Sense with science: See ahead by augmenting Al with human intuition.

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Energize the experience: Inspire and invigorate people by redesigning the work experience.

Digital Growth -June. 2021

Digital Recruitment: Why Screening a Candidate’s Social Media Can Be Misleading By: Shannon Correia

creening a candidate’s social media accounts has become the norm among recruiters, though no consensus has been reached on whether this should be the case or how to go about implementing it ethically. After all, digital persona can be misleading. Here’s what your business needs to consider.

Digital Growth - June. 2021

Screening a Candidate’s Social Media Social media is used frequently by billions of people around the world. These platforms are used to create, share and communicate online in engaging, interactive and far-reaching spaces. Content shared on social media is considered published material with immediacy and a sense of permanency (with digital traces beyond deletion). In all likelihood, your candidates will have accounts of their own. These profiles are tempting for recruiters to screen for a couple of reasons. They illustrate two main things to a business: a glimpse into who you are as a person and what you’re passionate about, as well as a representation of the kind of persona that will be associated with your brand. There are legal and ethical issues associated with the screening of social profiles. Legally, these accounts can reveal information about a candidate that would otherwise be unknown and influence a decision and create an unfair advantage or disadvantage - for instance, you’d have to prove that your inclusion or exclusion of the candidate is not based on race or disability. This leads us to the second issue; the one of ethics. When screening candidates, you’ll need to conduct the searches accurately and fairly using a formal process. The same procedure needs to be followed, and this can be difficult when some candidates will have public profiles, while others keep their accounts private. Once this can of worms is opened, there is essentially no going back, and you could easily stumble across information that aids unconscious biases. If the candidate does have something that the business isn’t keen on featured on their profile, the business cannot ask them to change, hide, or remove it. The fact is, there are all sorts of information that you can find on these profiles. These are the common factors that recruiters look for when screening social media accounts:

• • • • •

Illegal activity Provocative behavior Discriminatory or defamatory remarks Extremities Inebriation

Having any of the above or anything that toes the line of what is deemed as appropriate behaviour could rule you out as a candidate, or lead to unfavourable perceptions associated with your application.” to “Having any of the above or anything that toes the line of what is deemed as appropriate behavior could rule you out as a candidate, or lead to unfavorable perceptions associated with your application. The fact remains, however, that social media screening is common practice, and all public and user-generated content that is public is often reviewed during background checks. It can be an indication as to whether or not someone is a good fit for your brand - for instance, a candidate applying for a role at a vegan brand would likely benefit from sharing a vegan lifestyle. Having a glimpse into personal lives, however, can easily be seen as an invasion of privacy. After all, the home-life of a candidate could have nothing to do with their ability to perform

their job well. There are, of course, instances where the online reputation of an individual is necessary as it’ll be closely linked to the brand, or in cases where these platforms showcase the creative skills of the candidate. Many businesses understand that social media is an intrinsic yet complex part of our daily lives. That is why they do not screen their candidates on social media. This is seen as a way to incorporate diversity and inclusivity in the business. It goes back to the principle of not judging a book by its cover and having an open and accepting policy towards candidates, where passion and skill reign supreme.

Reasons Social Media Screening Can be Misleading Context: Posts may be taken out of context, or simply represent a viewpoint that is controversial. Cancel culture: Society is moving away from ‘cancel culture,’ where people are annexed after making a mistake.. Relevant: The content shared should be assessed with its relevance and appropriateness for the person. In other words, noting it was shared for a purpose which may never draw reflections of your brand.

Digital Recruitment: Social Media for Business Social media for hiring: Many businesses are including social media as a recruitment platform. It is especially important on professional sites like LinkedIn, where you can assess someone’s public working history. Social media for employer branding: Employer branding is all the rage today, as employers are having to boost their own social media presence as employers, since candidates are screening them too. This should be a reflection of your company culture and used as platforms for connecting and networking with others. Social media screening: If your business would like to screen candidates’ social media profiles as part of your selection processes, it is recommended that you are transparent about (ask for social media links and handles) and explain why it is important. Social media screening is often used during candidate selections as it can reveal a lot of information about the person. It is important to consider that this can be a misleading and unfair practice. This is why formal processes need to be used to ensure that biases do not influence recruitment decisions. Brands today also need to screen themselves to ensure that their own social media posts and digital presence are up to scratch, as more and more people are screening the brands they work for.

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The Importance of Company Culture and Employer Branding By: Shannon Correia

ulture refers to the ideas, norms, and behaviors among a group of people. It is a powerful and intangible force that sets the energy and collective functioning of your brand behind the scenes in workplaces. To encourage strong work ethics and build a company that employees are proud to work for, you need to develop your company’s culture actively. Here’s how. 27

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Why Company Culture Matters

Reasons for Employer Branding

There are many examples of bad company culture being exposed that turn customers away from brands. You don’t need to listen to a tell-all video from former employees to understand that the way your business operates behind closed doors matters. In fact, company culture affects all aspects of your business, from how people are recruited, to how you send off employees once their time with your company comes to an end. A strong company culture that is distinct and positive is an important part of a business’s success.

Strengthen Your Brand Branding is not merely a public relations mechanism that concerns the consumer. Businesses are increasingly transparent, so what your brand stands for needs to permeate throughout the business, including the way it’s run internally. Employees can easily review their employer online, which can influence future candidates as well as your consumers.

It’s all about creating a positive space where your workers can thrive and find job satisfaction. Now, that’s not always an easy feat, but the company culture can influence this to a great extent. By valuing people in your company, they will find value in their contributions, which will ultimately improve their productivity and perceptions of the business. By being known as a business that is great to work for, you’re setting many benefits in motion. For one, you’ll be attracting top talent, as people look for employment where they will be happy. This provides you with an industry advantage. More so, it also means that your workforce will be encouraged to remain loyal to your company. Retaining your employees is important as having high staff turnovers can cost businesses a great deal in recruiting, onboarding, and training. When your staff is collectively satisfied, they will be motivated to perform at their best. This means the workflows and processes will be improved since a strong company culture often consists of teamwork and open communication. This translates to your business having a competitive advantage in the industry and seeing an increase in sales. Let’s be clear that company culture requires time, money, and effort to build. It can be changed over time, but investment in it is needed, and leadership is required to achieve a positive and thriving workplace culture since culture is learned. Based on the above, it is clear that it holds value.

What is Employer Branding? The fact is, you have a brand as an employer, whether you invest in it or not. The same principle applies to those who use social media and those who don’t - someone will have tagged your business, but you’ll have no direct influence or control over what is shared. That goes hand in hand with the fact that businesses today understand that the people who work for you can make or break your business. They are the ones who take care of your customers and ensure your business is operating at its best (or not). Fuse these two together, and you get employer branding. From an employee’s point of view, it comes down to accountability in the workplace. Thus your business’s brand as an employer can indeed hold the key to your business’s success (since it’ll attract quality candidates and customer loyalty), identity (through your reputation and perception), and positioning (in the marketplace).

Attract Top Candidates Times have changed - people care about businesses, and it goes beyond the ones you support as a consumer. Nowadays, they want to make meaningful contributions and dedicate their time and energy to deserving employers. This is what attracts people to your business and can improve the candidates you draw in when advertising vacancies. This can also decrease your cost-per-hire rates. Retain Employees Attracting new employees is one thing; keeping them is another. With the hiring process being a lengthy endeavor and training costing a company, the idea is to keep employee turnover rates to a minimum. The goal is to build experience and invest in those who work for you with training that’ll pay off over time. When your employer branding is solid, you’ll have people who are happy to be working for you and advocate for your business as ambassadors in a professional sense. Manage Your Reputation How you operate and who you are as a business have undue influence over your reputation. This is why you’ve got to have a strong company culture, as a bad experience from within your business can be just as bad as one experienced externally by a customer. You can improve your reputation by managing the perceptions of your business through employer branding. This extends to the views held by employees who leave your business - bridges should not be burned. Believing in the power of Employer Branding is one thing; investing in it is another. There is no exact way to implement it or to measure it. Instead, the results are intangible - and yet, it can improve your business invariably in more ways than one. Like your company culture, it is built over time. A strong employer brand is not only about how your employees view and experience your business, but it also creates a competitive advantage within the industry. Therefore, businesses should include this in their corporate branding to ensure that there is a holistic strategy in place. How to Build Your Employer Brand When developing your Employer Brand, you’ll need to assess your business as it stands and tackle any grievances and employee issues. This includes job security, management styles, and the company culture. It’s about building your brand value proposition, from how you treat your employees to the opportunities you offer them. Business values need to be applied throughout the business. Next, devise a plan on how you’d like your brand to be and detail the steps required to achieve it. This will need to be implemented throughout the business, with all employees involved and responsible for deliverables. The uncontrollable factors are the perceptions held by your previous employees, and what you build will affect the ones to come. With these, it’s all about managing and responding as best you can, for instance, responding to reviews online and becoming the type of business with candidates knocking on the door. Once you’ve developed the foundations from within, it’s time to market the message. You’ll need to create brand awareness

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and increase its visibility. There are many aspects you need to work on for this, from having a well-designed website to assessing your competitors to build your commutative advantage and having professional and effective hiring and onboarding processes in place. This can be completed and managed by an agency with experience in the field since marketing your business in this sense is very different from marketing to your customers. Public relations become a lot more prevalent as we’re dealing with reputation management. Employer branding speaks to who your business is behind closed doors in a world where those doors are transparent. It is multi-faceted and requires an investment of time and effort, yet it has the power and ability to pay off in several ways. Employees seek strong relationships with their employers, believing they are making a valuable contribution and can enjoy their time in the workplace within a positive working environment. There’s no doubt about it, the behaviors, attitudes, and values that go on behind the scenes of your brand have intrinsic effects on your business’s success and the perceptions of your brand. By building a positive company culture, you’ll be on your way to having strong employer branding and high rates of employee satisfaction that your customers can see and feel

Digital Growth - June. 2021

Employee Onboarding: Making it Easy and Facing Challenges By: Shannon Correia

n short, onboarding is an induction process for training, assessing, and integrating new employees in the workplace. By using tools for this process, you can streamline and automate it, which saves you time. It requires an investment, but it is built to carry your business forward in the long run. 30

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You’ll have less paperwork on your hands, individual training sessions each time you hire someone new, clarity on your policies, and an easy way to send reminders and track progress. Modifications to the system are easy to make when need be, as are reviewing and information the new hires. The automation works by having set workflows in place, centralized filing, and the ability to build an easily accessible training materials library. A digitalized onboarding system is the next aspect of your business that should be digital. It will save you in costs when compared to manual onboarding, from the sourcing of talent to managing new hires, and getting them to reach productivity levels quicker. The reason onboarding is so important for new employees is that it lays the foundation for information regarding compliance, clarification, connections, and company culture. These are the benefits of an onboarding system:

• • • • • •

Improved performance Increased employee retention Increased productivity levels Improved quality Ability to contribute quicker Less support and manual tasks required

Learning Management Systems Digitized systems for onboarding are closely linked to Learning Management Systems (LMS), which automate the process of employee learning. With this, employees log in to the platform and have access to all of the information they need to perform their roles. It makes a relatively repetitive process more efficient this way and is a great help to the HR department. LMSs deliver the necessary information to employees in welldesigned packages. The way an LMS looks and the depth of its capabilities will depend on the software you use. They can be customized to suit the various roles within your company, as well as the different learning styles of the employees. LMSs can include personalized training plans, practical examples, necessary quizzes, and relevant mentors. New hires can take aptitude tests and assessments using these systems too. With all of these results stored and analyzed, you can ensure your HR department is hiring the best talent. Once they have been selected, you can ensure that everyone who joins the company receives a consistent introduction to your business - that means all of the branding and understanding is consistent. Use these systems to share your values and offer often much-needed support to new hires. It can also extend beyond the onboarding process to learning in general, where ongoing training is encouraged, along with workplaces seminars, virtual classrooms, and the like. Successful LMSs have robust reporting capabilities, offer awards and certifications, and live support.

What is the HubSpot Setup and Onboarding System? Onboarding is not just for new hires. If you’re making use of new business software, such as Hubspot CRM, you’ll have the resources to set up the platform and achieve your business’s highest potential. HubSpot Setup and Onboarding is designed to help new users to understand the business’s CRM needs and to immerse themselves into the company. It includes the technical setup and access to necessary training. Thousands of businesses use HubSpot as their central operating platform, making use of its many capabilities that are designed to improve your business’s relationship with customers. When making the switch to this system, it is important to have onboarding so that you are set up correctly and able to utilize it to its maximum potential.

HubSpot offers a range of onboarding systems that covers all of its primary services, including marketing, sales, and services. They also have customer onboarding which “Retain and delight more customers with these customer onboarding best practices.” Employee onboarding is a critical part of welcoming new hires into your organization. That being said, there are various challenges that can prevent this process from being implemented smoothly. Here’s a look at how your business can overcome the major challenges your business may face when introducing new employees to the workforce. Employee Onboarding: What is it and Why Does it Matter? Employee onboarding is the process that a business follows to introduce new hires to the workplace. It is designed to share all of the necessary information required to step into their new role. When this process is smooth, it can bring higher levels of engagement, productivity, and growth. When new employees feel comfortable in their new roles, it can benefit the managers, the employees, the HR department - pretty much everyone involved. This process can be facilitated and improved in various ways. Many companies fall short due to various challenges or do not take it seriously enough, thinking a quick welcome is enough. The fact is, onboarding requires time and effort. With this, you’ll have a recipe for success, creating a stronger workforce. Make it Memorable Challenge: Many onboarding processes are quite simply unremarkable. By making your onboarding process memorable, you’ll be able to develop stronger connections with your new employees, resulting in a more effective system and better results all around. If your process is easy to follow and resonates with the new employees, they will be more excited and prepared for their new role. Doses of Information Challenge: Bombarding new employees with a lot of information. Onboarding requires knowledge sharing that covers a range of topics. Your new employees will need to learn about everything that pertains to their role and department, as well as the various systems and policies that you have in place. It’s a lot to digest, so by providing this knowledge in organized doses, they will feel less overwhelmed and be able to retain the information better. All Systems Go Challenge: Onboarding processes can be traditional or digital, but either way, its design will impact the way it works. Traditional onboarding requires more time and individual training for each new hire. Businesses have begun to improve the system by using tools like learning management systems, or as a part of their customer relationship management system. This can improve the flow, save you time by having an online platform where all employees can refer to access the content and track their progress. There are many other benefits, including the surety that all new employees are on the same page about your business’s culture, values, and vision. Make it Personal Challenge: Omitting to provide support for personal transitions related to joining a new business. There are various personal transitions one may go through when joining a new business - this could be relocating to a new city, or working from home for the first time. HR managers will be aware of these changes from the interview process and can help to make the new hires more comfortable by taking this into consideration. Another way to make things personal is to include role-specific onboarding material, as this will help 31

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the new employee to adjust and begin contributing to their department quicker and better. Introducing the Company Culture Challenge: Company culture may not be clearly defined, and this can cause new hires to struggle to fit into the working environment. Company culture is an important part of onboarding as it shows new hires what your values and processes are like. This needs to be communicated and understood so that all employees feel valued and included in a workplace, and that they can navigate their way around the company hierarchy. Building a Future at the Organization Challenge: The onboarding process has an influence on employee retention rates. Successfully overcoming probation periods at a new company can be significantly improved with an effective onboarding system in place. It also sets the tone for the relationship between an employee and the business, which will have an effect on their attitude and loyalty to the business. The onboarding process should excite new hires and allow them to envision a career-building future within the organization. Laying Down the Foundation Challenge: Assumptions about new hires are made regarding their skills and abilities. While the interview process is thorough and showcases a candidate’s skills and abilities, it may require time to settle in and adjust before they can be properly applied by the candidate within your business. The manager should be clear on what the new candidate is capable of and be willing to provide training and support if need be. Provide Clarity Challenge: A lack of clarity regarding a new role and the business’s expectations. Your onboarding process should consist of a helpful knowledge base for new employees. Videos, checklists, FAQs, case studies, and so on are great ways to share content in a clear and concise way. Be sure to communicate all of the necessary information relating to a new role, as well as what you expect of your new employees so that there are no grey areas. Follow Throughs Challenge: Implementing an onboarding process without tracking its results. It’s important to monitor the progression of new employees as they make their way through the onboarding process. Request and listen to feedback that can help you improve the system you have in place. There are various ways to do this, with surveys and data collection being the most commonly used methods. Employee onboarding is an important part of building a strong workforce. By tackling the commonly faced challenges, you can make the process easier and better for everyone involved. Businesses should be investing in onboarding, to save time with a reliable system that is customized to your needs on an ongoing basis. When entering into something new, whether it’s a workplace or a system, you’ll want to get yourself off to the best possible start.

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Onboarding for HubSpot CRM If you›re considering using HubSpot as the CRM platform for your business, it›s important to understand that this process is vital. Without the platform being set up correctly, you may never achieve your business› true potential. The Setup and Onboarding process covers a combination of three main areas of work, namely: • • •

Business immersion and understanding of your company›s needs concerning HubSpot Technical setup and implementation Remote or onsite training

Why is this important? The decision to use HubSpot as your business›s CRM is a sound one and will provide you with all of the associated benefits of operating from a centralized platform. The capabilities of this software are extensive, and in order to make the most out of it, you›ll want to know how to use it properly. We can assist you with all of the setting up, whether that›s related to helpful integrations or your website design, for instance, as well as the onboarding process to ensure all departments within your business are able to utilize the software effectively. Without the technical setup, your business may not be able to use some of the core features of the platform, nor access some of the deep-data that HubSpot can extract from your website traffic. Of course, every company is different and has different needs - even companies who look like very similar businesses from the outside, actually have very different internal processes that need highly customized implementation within HubSpot. It’s important to work with key stakeholders within your organization to understand which features are most relevant to your business and how these need to be set up for optimal use. Finally, once the technical setup is complete, it›s important that your team is fully trained on how to use the platform. 33

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The Role of Technology and Automation in HR By: Mandy Owens

rtificial Intelligence (AI) technology is ubiquitous today, and whether you are aware of it or not, it has an immense impact on our everyday lives already. Many organizations have adopted technology to help people do their jobs more efficiently and it’s generally making their lives and jobs a whole lot easier. As such, technology and automation play a big role today in digitalizing HR and the workforce; reducing human bias, increasing efficiency in candidate assessment, improving the employee experience, improving compliance, increasing adoption of metrics, and improving workplace learning.

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Technology and automation enables HR departments to improve and accelerate the candidate and employee experience by automating repetitive, low value tasks during the recruitment process. This frees up time for HR teams to focus on the more strategic, creative work that they need to get done like mentoring, training and gathering feedback. Rather than painstakingly administering and analysing every aspect of the recruitment, application and hiring process, AI automates an intelligent workflow that guides candidates seamlessly through the process through a set of business and lead scoring rules. The data that are collected during the process is analyzed and presented to HR in the form of valuable insights about the candidates which can be used to aid decision-making during the candidate and employee lifecycle. Capitalizing on these insights improves candidate and employee engagement and retention for years to come. Let’s explore some ways technology streamlines the recruitment, application, onboarding and continuous learning processes that HR is ultimately responsible for.

Automated Smart Digital Forms HR is all about creating exceptional experiences for current and prospective employees on a personal level. When it comes to completing application forms, smart digital forms automate repetitive, tedious tasks with auto-fill and recommendation functionality. AI is able to retrieve and transfer relevant information from a candidate’s resume onto a smart digital form to help candidates complete applications more efficiently. The recorded information can also be analyzed for good fit roles and automatically be assessed according to a set of business rules that scores the candidate as suitable or not. Suitable applications will automatically go through to the next phase of the recruitment process, while unsuitable candidates will be flagged for automatic communication informing them of their failure to make it to the next round. This is particularly useful when HR is presented with hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes and applications to sift through.

Predictive Analytics for Employee Referrals AI helps HR teams track which employees refer the most successful candidates and analyzes performance data from successful candidates and high performing employees for insights into what characteristics to look out for in future prospects.

Employee Experience Optimization AI gives HR teams insight into employee experience and how to optimize it. Data collected directly from employees is analyzed by AI and presented to HR in the form of reports indicating areas of dissatisfaction or satisfaction, or high engagement versus little engagement, and so on. HR teams are thus empowered to take action and deliver experiences that employees find most satisfactory.

employee is individualized based on job role, existing skill sets, development plan and future goals, and proactively addresses any skills gaps that exist.

Analyzing Transactional Workforce Data Using AI for repetitive administrative tasks not only accelerates these processes but also provides insight into employee performance and engagement. For example, the analysis of transactional data from employees who use digital platforms to schedule their shifts, time off and everyday work tasks can predict employee potential, fatigue, flight risk and even overall engagement. This enables HR and management to be more proactive in improving employee experience, performance and retention.

Conclusion: The relationship between humans and AI technology is redefining the way we work - making it more streamlined, personalized and ultimately productive. Automated systems allow for a more intuitive, personalized, simple HR experience for candidates and employees. The trends and applications of AI in the HR and recruiting industry are countless, and HR teams who do not make the necessary changes to digitalize HR processes risk losing employees in this rapidly changing digital economy.

AI proves its worth in transforming HR efficiency and performance 17% of organizations use AI-based solutions in their HR function and another 30% will do so in 2022, according to the Gartner 2019 Artificial Intelligence Survey. HR leaders cite cost savings, more accurate data-based decision making and improved employee experience as the top reasons to deploy AI. Two-thirds of early AI adopters have one to three active AI projects, with plans to double the number of projects by the end of 2022. Many use cases already show proven results, with improvements reported as significant by: • •

Learning and Career Development

•

Learning Management Systems (LMS) enable agile and adaptable learning modules crafted around the individual roles and talents of employees, with automatic recommendations for relevant content they would find interesting or valuable.

•

62% of those that have deployed AI to improve data-based decision making 57% of those wanting to improve employee experience 56% of those trying to further automate repetitive or manual tasks 51% of those hoping to capture cost savings

Through data and analytics the learning journey of each 35

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How Technology Can Eliminate Hiring Bias By: Mandy Owens

nconscious bias continues to plague HR recruitment processes, right through from sourcing and shortlisting to interviewing and hiring. The greatest challenge facing HR professionals in this regard is that bias is often so deeply ingrained in human consciousness, that it is impossible to identify or eliminate.

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According to a study conducted by McKinsey, hiring bias can negatively affect the profitability of an organization. The study shows that gender-diverse companies are 25% more likely to outperform those who aren’t gender diverse, likewise, ethnically diverse companies are 36% more likely to outperform those who aren’t ethnically diverse. With this information we can safely say that the business case for workplace diversity is high, but how do we solve the challenge of unconscious bias? One solution to eliminate unconscious bias in the recruitment process is to use AI technology to automate and drive the process without human interference.

AI Can Help Eliminate Unconscious Human Bias AI platforms and analytical tools can be designed in such a way as to be completely unbiased, but crucially, they must be continuously audited for bias, as Amazon learned in 2015 with their automated recruitment tool. Amazon’s problems started when they trained their machine learning algorithms to look for recruitment prospects by recognizing terms that were present on the resumes of past successful job applicants - who turned out to be predominantly male. According to a Reuters report: “In effect, Amazon’s system taught itself that male candidates were preferable. It penalized resumes that included the word ‘women’s,’ as in ‘women’s chess club captain.’ And it downgraded graduates of two allwomen’s colleges”. Luckily, a movement among AI practitioners today is creating a set of AI design principles that ensure fairness in analysis and make it easier to identify and remove bias.

Automating the HR Funnel Can Increase Hiring Fairness Due to the popularity and success of social sourcing platforms like LinkedIn, the number of applications for every open role has increased significantly. So significantly that it is humanly impossible to scan every single one manually. This means that large pools of talent are essentially being ignored because of human inefficiency. An automated HR funnel uses AI to intelligently scan and score every single application according to a set of business rules and algorithms resulting in a much more diverse pipeline of candidates moving on to the next round of the recruitment process.

4 Unconscious Hiring Bias Statistics You Should Know Various studies by prominent research groups show how prevalent unconscious hiring bias is in organizations: 1. Objective Hiring Training Study Proves Men Still Preferred A Yale University study found that both male and female scientists who had taken a training course on how to hire objectively failed to hire objectively. The results found they still preferred to hire men over women, viewed them as more skilled, and were willing to offer about $4000 more per year in salary. https://www.princeton.edu/news/2000/11/28/blindorchestra-auditions-better-women-study-finds

2. White Sounding Names Get More Interview Requests A 2003 study by UChicago and MIT tested the difference a name had on job interview opportunities. The researchers submitted 5000 identical resumes to jobs in the Chicago and Boston area. They used random names that were stereotypically white or African American. The applicants with the white-sounding names received an astounding 50% more job interview requests. https://uh.edu/~adkugler/Bertrand&Mullainathan.pdf

3. CEOs Are Disproportionately Taller In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Blink, it reveals that most CEOs are over 6 feet tall. He found that 58% of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are over 6 feet tall. https://www.gladwellbooks.com/titles/malcolmgladwell/blink/9780316172325/

4. Gender Bias A study done by Princeton and Harvard researchers sought to test if there is a gender bias toward men. They found that when symphonies started to hold blind auditions for musicians, the results of the auditions changed dramatically. Female musicians were immediately 50% more likely to make it to the next round of the audition process. https://www.princeton.edu/news/2000/11/28/blindorchestra-auditions-better-women-study-finds

Curbing Unconscious Bias Ultimately, our unconscious bias is inescapable, however, it is possible to identify and correct bias in AI. If we take critical steps to address the concerns that are being raised, we can truly harness technology to significantly reduce the impact of bias on recruitment processes and diversify the workplace. While new technologies provide rich insights to help guide data-driven decision making, underpinning new tech with regular diversity training is key to helping hiring managers recognize and reduce their bias blind spots.

DIGITAL GROWTH June 2021 | ISSUE 8