How to Strengthen Your Employer Brand with Social Responsibility

According to a recent survey by Cone Communications, over half of all employees consider corporate social responsibility (CSR) an important factor when considering a new job. This percentage includes employees across all age groups, genders and backgrounds.

The survey also indicates that social responsibility is an increasingly important factor for today’s employees, alongside factors such as salary and culture.

Increase your appeal to top talent by incorporating social responsibility into your employer brand. Here’s how.

Mission statement

Does your mission statement reflect a broader social purpose to your business objectives?

Research by Deloitte shows that employers who incorporate a social purpose into their mission statement get 40% more engagement from their employees. Cover social responsibility in your mission statement by touching on how your company strives to make a positive impact in the world.

Company values

For another opportunity to incorporate social responsibility into your brand and gain added appeal as an employer, revisit your company values.

Here, you can show audiences how your organisation goes about conducting business in an ethical way, with a nod to socially responsible behaviours. Is your company supportive to its staff? Does your company take special care in its relationships with stakeholders and community?

Use your company values to reflect the ways in which your company is a great place to work.

Employee development and welfare

It’s not enough just to take care of your employees. Give your employer brand an added appeal by sharing and showcasing the ways in which your company benefits more than just the bank balances of its team.

Use social media to share real stories of employees whose work lives have been positively impacted by benefits, physical or mental health support, career development training and opportunities.

Community impact

Research by Employee Volunteering shows that today’s workforce want their employers to give back to the community, and they want employers who will support them to give back in the same way.

By offering employees paid time off to undertake volunteer work, you can encourage positive feelings towards your company and a develop a socially responsible brand. Don’t forget to share these stories of your employee’s involvement in community support through social media and video marketing.

Tie these community support stories back to your company’s mission and value statements to create a socially responsible brand that appeals to new employees.

Environment

Employees and jobs candidates are increasingly looking for employers who incorporate green, sustainable practices into their business model. This might be policy that preferences public transport over car transport, cycle-to-work incentives, and offices fitted with energy efficient appliances.

Again, share and promote your company’s social and environmental responsibilities by displaying office policy regarding recycling and sustainability codes of practice. This will encourage an environmentally sound culture among existing and future employees.

Want more strategies on attracting and retaining talent? See how our unique approach to recruitment can help your business. 

Are You Being Headhunted? 4 Easy Steps to Considering a Career Change

Approach

Whether you’ve received a call from a headhunter or you’re simply preparing for the future, you’ve come to the right page.

Leading construction companies will often target talented individuals for new roles instead of putting out job ads or recruiting en masse.

In this blog, we walk you through what to do when you get headhunted.

Step 1: Be prepared

To maximise your chances of being targeted by headhunters, you’ll need online profiles that make you visible to great employers.

If you haven’t already, give your LinkedIn profile a refresh, complete with recommendations and endorsements. You’ll also want to create a profile on a leading construction jobs platform where employers often go to source new talent.

Once you’ve got your pubic profiles ready, showcasing your skills and experience, you could receive a call from a headhunter at any time. If you get a call during work hours, arrange to have your discreet chat at a better time. This will show your professionalism and tact.

Step 2: Don’t jump the gun

Receiving a call from a headhunter is not the same thing as being offered a job.

The headhunter will let you know that an employer is interested in you for a position, and will ask you whether you’re also interested in being considered.

If you answer yes, then you will progress to an interview stage. You will then be considered against one or two other individuals.

When the call comes, express your interest in the role, but don’t sell yourself too hard at the beginning. Doing so could imply desperation or dissatisfaction with your current role.

Step 3: Consider carefully

The headhunter will describe the role to you over the phone and then follow up with an email which provides the details in writing.

During your chat, and after considering the role on offer, ask as many questions as possible, including details around salary, benefits, company culture and opportunities for career development.

Remember to always consider the entire package on offer, not just the salary price tag.

Step 4: Respond respectfully

The headhunter will indicate a timeframe for your response. Show your professionalism and reaffirm your interest by responding within the time frame given.

Regardless of whether your answer is yes or no, a polite and timely response will work in your favour. That headhunter will consider you and put you forward for future employment opportunities.

Learn more about how we can help connect you to top opportunities within the construction and engineering industry. 

National Decline in Housing Projects Hints at Construction Sector Downturn, ABS Report

A nation-wide downturn in construction sector commencements suggests a slowdown in the construction industry, the latest ABS data shows.

The decline in building construction follows on from never-before-seen levels of apartment construction in Australia’s two largest states, and the downturn could see the industry return to 2014 levels of activity.

The ABS data shows that the housing market has taken a downturn in Sydney and Melbourne, having the dual effect of lowering housing prices and decreasing jobs in the sector.

The construction industryincluding residential building, infrastructure and commercialis one of Australia’s biggest economic drivers, second only to financial services.

In the year to September 2018, building construction contributed nearly $31 billion to the economy, comprising nearly 2% of the national GDP.

During the industry’s peak period of activity, from 2014 to 2018, up to 20,000 Australian dwellings were approved for construction each month, totalling an increase of 5,000 dwellings to the historical average. The bulk of the approved dwellings were apartments, which boomed during this period.

Developers have turned away from housing and apartment construction since the housing markets in Sydney and Melbourne slowed last year. The ABS data shows that approvals for new residential developments has fallen by 9% in the year up to September 2018.

In addition, construction-stage residential commencements fell by 6%, taking the biggest plunge in half a decade. This translates to a decline in residential commencements of nearly 6%, leading to 3000 less dwellings commenced for the season.

The nationwide downturn in the housing construction sector is led by Victoria, as the state accounts for 90% of the slowdown. Here, apartment and unit construction commencements have fallen by 28% for the season, in contrast to a 5% fall in housing commencements. Meanwhile, unit approvals in Victoria have dropped by 24%.

New South Wales saw a slightly less drastic downturn in activity.

It has been suggested that the role of the construction sector in relation to the strength of the Victorian economy could cause unit prices to drop significantly.

Across the country, the construction industry has had a major role in incremental job increases over the past few years. In Victoria, the construction industry has contributed 1 in 5 of the new full-time jobs added to the state.

ABS jobs data shows that Victorian construction jobs decreased by 6% in the final months of 2018, occurring simultaneously to the downturn in the Melbourne housing market.

The ABS construction and employment data indicates that a slowdown in the creation of new jobs could signal deceased migration to the state of Victoria in the coming years.

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