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This year’sGlassdoor Employer Branding Summit, Sept. 25, 2015 in San Francisco, California, is going to be a full day ofemployer branding,employee engagementandcandidate experiencebest practices fromtrueexperts who live and breathe this stuff.

Need a little more convincing? Here are five reasons why you should live stream this year’s #GDSummit right from your desktop, tablet, or mobile device:

1. We’ve got the biggest names in branding. Kicking off the day will be Spencer Rascoff, CEO ofZillow. He’s got a 99% approval rating on Glassdoor and plans to share Zillow’s employer branding and talent acquisition best practices. You won’t want to miss Spencer!

The rest of the speaker lineup includes employer branding gurus like Stacy Zapar, Celinda Appelby (Oracle), Jennifer Newbill (Dell),Richard Mosley (Universum),and JT O’Donnell, industry analysts Josh Bersin, William Tincup, and Madeline Laurano, and other leaders fromSalesforce,Edelman,Enterprise Holdings,Glassdoor,and Intacct Corporation.

2. We don’t “do” boring. The Glassdoor Employer Branding Summit is your chance to enjoy action-packed 30 minute sessions from highly engaged speakers who are the best at what they do. Frankly, who wouldn’t want employer branding insights from superstars at Zillow, Dell and Salesforce?

3. You’ll gain actionable tips you can implement right away. Your time is precious, so we don’t want to waste it. Register to watch theEmployer Branding Summitfor access to speaker decks, and video sessions after the event, with plenty of opportunities take notes and even screenshot actionable to-do lists while you the event live.

We plan to cover a lot of ground quickly in each session so you won’t find yourself watching the clock, waiting for each session to end. Whether you’re tuning in from office or home, this will likely be the most productive day you’ve spent in a long time.

4. You can pop in and out of the live stream throughout the day.We have the entire Summit agenda on our registration page –check it out! Feel free to either set up camp and watch the entire day (which we highly recommend!) or note the top speakers you’d like to hear from in your calendar.

5. You’ll get access to instant replays (and more!).All live stream registrants will receive online videos of all sessions directly following the event, so you can refer back and leverage these insights for months to come! Feel free to also share the sessions with teammates and spread the knowledge to the rest of your company. Encourage them to register for the event at www.gdsummit.com.

Be sure to register to live stream this year’s Glassdoor Employer Branding Summit to save your spot!

Note:Can't attend live due to the time difference? No problem! Be sure to still register to receive the recordings in your inbox following the event.

The post 5 Reasons Why You Should Live Stream #GDSummit appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

Over 900,000 organisations have a presence on Glassdoor, but only an elite few are named Best Places to Work each year. The companies who do make the cut have mastered the art and science of creating an outstanding company culture that attracts and retains top talent.

But what exactly are their secrets? How do they manage to hire the best, keep them engaged and retain them for the long haul? That's exactly what Glassdoor's 2019 Best Places to Work - Live from London event aimed to uncover. Through a series of presentations and panel discussions, winners of the Best Places to Work in 2019 shared their culture and recruiting secrets.

Didn't make it? Don't worry. Ahead, we'll preview some of the top takeaways from the event - for more content, register to receive the full recordings here!

How Information Transparency Is Transforming Labour Markets

In this session, Dr. David Halpern, Behavioural Scientist and CEO of The Behavioural Insights Team discussed how the increased availability of information is changing the way people work as well as how people feel about work. Just as consumers turn to Yelp before they go to a restaurant, or look at a car's safety ratings before purchasing it, jobseekers are turning to sites like Glassdoor to conduct research before making a commitment to work there.

Halpern's team also conducted some interesting research into what exactly makes people happy at work. Contrary to what you might think, salary isn't the most important factor in workplace happiness - even more important is being satisfied with your manager and having clear career opportunities. Traditionally, gauging metrics like these were difficult for firms to come by - but with sites like Glassdoor offering a real-time look into your employee satisfaction, leaders have visibility into how their employees feel, what the organisation is doing well and what needs to change.

[Related:Bridging the Trust Gap: 4 Ways to Build Transparency as a Leader]

Winner Keynote: Anglian Water

The number oneorganisation on Glassdoor's list of Best Places to Work in the UK for 2019 wasn't Google or Facebook - it was Anglian Water, a water and wastewater utility company that supply water and water recycling services to more than six million customers. So how did this utility company earn a spot on the Best Places to Work list? According to Susannah Clements, Director of Human Resources at Anglian Water, it all comes down to mission. Anglian regularly communicate their message of sustainability and customer care to their candidates, as well as express the impact that their 4,500+ employees are able to have on the lives of others. Another key to their success, Clements believes, is their strong management team helmed by their Chief Executive.

One of the key ways that Anglian broadcast their message is through Glassdoor. Clements suggests that employers using Glassdoor embrace a three-part strategy:

• Don't Ignore: With 6 million+ users in the UK, candidates are already going to Glassdoor. Best to meet them where they are versus brushing it off.
• Be Brave: Share who you are as anorganisation, and encourage employees to leave reviews.
  
• Respond: Whether positive or negative, employees want to feel that their feedback is welcome. Acknowledge the good, and usethe constructivecriticism to improve your culture.
  

[Related:]

Happy Employees Are Good for Business -and We Can Prove It

Nick Marks, CEO, founder, statistician and author, has spent his career studying happiness. Through his work, he's learnt a great deal about what makes people happy and why happiness is imperative for organisations. In his research, Marks found that happy employees stayed at firms twice as long as unhappy employees, and that a half-point increase in happiness at a team level led to a 17 percent reduction in staff turnover the following quarter. Given how expensive it can be to hire and train new employees, it's safe to say that employee happiness affects a company's bottom line.

In order to drive employee happiness, Marks recommends setting up two feedback loops: one driven by the team with frequent manager check-ins, and one for the company overall, dedicated to gathering and analysing long-term data and making strategic recommendations for improving the company culture.

The Glassdoor Solution

Glassdoor Senior Customer Success Manager Lia Albers took the stage to talk about the Glassdoor solution. Using Glassdoor products, organisations are able to achieve three main objectives: telling their company story, driving brand visibility and attracting engaged, high-quality jobseekers.

One thing that makes Glassdoor different than other job sites: Glassdoor candidates are informed candidates. Using the information available on the site, they are highly engaged and well-researched, with the right expectations. And they won't just apply to any job - they apply to the jobs that are a good fit. Using Glassdoor's product offerings - sponsored job ads, enhanced profiles and brand advertising -you're able to reach these highly desirable candidates at scale.

Simple Ways to Change Your Company's Culture for the Better

Most toxic workplaces have at least one thing in common: badmouthing, or backbiting. Although gossip about others might make you feel like you're developing a closer bond with your colleague, in reality, it is detrimental to your organisation, says Glenn Rolfson, CEO, founder, statistician and author. In organisations where badmouthing is common, employees feel unsafe and unnecessarily stressed.

To combat it, Rolfson recommends gathering your team (or even the whole firm) to define badmouthing, discuss whether people believe it occurs and sign a pledge not to engage in it at work. It sounds simple, but Rolfson has seen it make a significant difference firsthand, creating safer work environments, minimising absenteeism and even increasing employee satisfaction.

Panel: Siemens, Rolls Royce, GlaxoSmithKline

Siemens, Rolls Royce and GlaxoSmithKline might be vastly different organisations, but they're all united in their commitment to a great employee experience. To learn how they engage their employee base, author Perry Timms sat down to chat with representatives from each firm. A few key takeaways:

• Transparency Is the Future: Simon Roberts, Head of Talent Acquisition at Siemens, shared that one of the key reasons they've embraced Glassdoor is to give candidates a window into theorganisation. They've also embraced transparency in their job descriptions, getting more clear on the responsibilities and requirements.
  
• Get Creative: Daniel Perkins, Global Employer Brand Manager at Rolls Royce, shared that one way they've been attracting candidates - especially technical candidates - is by holding competitions like a robot race and advertising them across channels.
  
• Measure Early and Often: Glassdoor isn't just for recruiters and HR personnel. Deborah Frutos, Senior Marketing Director for Global Recruitment at GSK, spends every Friday reading and responding to the latest Glassdoor reviews. She also presents quarterly reports on Glassdoor metrics toexecutives,and compares them to other employers in their space. Doing this, Frutos believes, is crucial to measuring employee satisfaction and ultimately, retaining staff.

[Related:Employee Engagement Checklist]

Winner Keynote: Bain & Company

It's no coincidence that Bain & Company have been named to Glassdoor's Best Places to Work list over and over again. When your product is your people, making your employees happy is the key to your success, said Erika Serow, Chief Marketing Officer at Bain & Co. As a result, the company is positively obsessed with employee satisfaction and retention.

A few ways they've managed to engage and retain employees:

• Model Behaviour: There's a saying at Bain - "ABaineenever lets anotherBaineefail." Everyone, from CEOs to managers to entry-level employees, is expected to live by thismotto,so that it is pervasive throughout the culture.
  
• Training: Training at Bain is the single largest line item at Bain - that's how seriously they take it! Every 18 months, employees go to a global training program to uplevel their skills and learn from their colleagues around the world.
  
• Evolve: Bain have stayed on the cutting-edge of employee experience by listening to their employees and adapting accordingly throughout the years. A couple of changes they've made specifically as a result of employee feedback are creating more part-time roles and becoming carbon neutral.
  

The information above is only a brief overview of all of the great learnings that were shared at Best Places to Work Live - to experience the sessions in their entirety, register now for on-demand access to video recordings. And of course, don't forget to keep an eye out for the next event so you can join us in person!

Learn More & Register:

Best Places to Work Live On-Demand Recordings

The post Here's What You Missed at Glassdoor's Best Places to Work Live Event appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

Thank you to the thousands of employers who joined us for our first ever live Glassdoor Employer Branding Summit. If you couldn’t be there in person, don’t worry! I’ve got you covered – here are my top takeaways about employer branding from the day’s event.

To give you a preview of the live event – we had paparazzi in full effect with our very own green carpet and music blasting as you walked in. Guests mingled as they helped themselves to coffee and a morning snack and then quickly grabbed a seat and we were live streaming by 8:55am PT.

So in case you tuned in and out to each session, here are my top takeaways from each!

Robert Hohman from Glassdoor – Welcome Intro

Glassdoor’s very own CEO Robert Hohman took the stage to kick things off and intro us into the big bright world that is employer branding today. According to CEB Research, employers suffer a 50% deficit from a bad brand. And branding is not just for the rich and famous. If you aren’t a recognised brand name, you need to focus on your brand even more. We haven’t met a company yet that doesn’t have a unique value – the key is to find out what that is and tell that story!

Lars Schmidt from Amplify Talent – Keynote Presentation

Has anyone else anticipated the “ubering” and “tinderising” of recruiting? According to SHRM sources – 50% of the labour market will be Gen Y by next year. This is a social generation. And social media is NOT a strategy; it’s a tool. Smart organisations are using social to give looks inside their organisations and building communities of engaged audiences. Social media levels the playing field – you don’t have to have to have a huge budget to be social. Oftentimes, in recruitment, we tend to be too rigid and not forward thinking. Just remember that talent draws talent and continuous training is always encouraged.

Josh Bersin from Bersin by Deloitte – Simply Irresistible: Are You?

Did you know that only 8% of employers have an active programme to help them deal with all the noise we are exposed to daily? This is why you’ll see work/life balance as a common theme – people are overwhelmed! People don’t leave due to bad managers anymore; they leave if a job isn’t designed well. Studies show that employees on smaller teams have more fun and are more engaged. So be clear and transparent about goals and don’t under-staff jobs! 60% of those employed are now raising families. Life is complicated enough without work being complicated, too.

Pro Tip: Recognition goes a long way! Good brands also factor in diversity and provide employees with clear paths for growth.

Bryan Chaney from IBM – 3 Secrets to Employer Brand Storytelling

Bryan kicked off his session with some 5-hour energy and literally had people standing up in their seats! Coming in hot, his session was about how to figure out what you want to say when you craft your employer brand and what you don’t. In today’s recruitment market, information is out there whether you want it to be or not. The key is to know what your audience identifies with and realise that you are going have to think like them as you develop and refine your employer brand story. A good place to start is to look at your career site to see where the traffic is coming from. See where candidates are getting their information and use those specific channels to tell your story. Then figure out how to drive people to that information, and not just your career page! A multi-channel strategy is critical to your success.

Jennifer Tharp from AT&T – Content Is King, Distribution is Queen: Content Marketing for Recruitment

Your audience is anywhere that they see a job description. When looking at AT&T’s candidate traffic, Glassdoor’s traffic was more than double all other social properties combined. The same content isn’t going to matter to every person coming to research your company. Context is how you put it all together.

What do you do with the new way candidates consume information? Distribution! One example is a campaign that AT&T did around veteran spouses. Now when you Google “military jobs,” AT&T jobs will come up before jobs at the actual navy. Getting a message out there that doesn’t exist will draw more people into your brand. Target your message to the right audience. Employer branding is not just fluff. Apply a business strategy behind it to make sure that your work pays off. Distribution affects the overall strategy.

Pro Tip: Resist the urge to just link to the “About Us” section of your website. Add things that put real context to the jobs and opportunities that you are creating. Then automate with hashtags and other items – there are easy ways to do this without someone having to do this constantly. AT&T has one person auditing content …. “One”! Align the right content with the right audience – it’s the recipe for success!

Will Staney from Glassdoor – Announced the 2014 Talent Warriors Winnners!

We sifted through 500 nominations and whittled the list down to the top 10 recruiters of the year, or “Talent Warriors” as we like to call them. Check out the winners here!

Arie Ball & Anthony Scarpino from Sodexo – If Seuss Was Alive in Two Thousand and Five

The Seuss was not created by “I” because I cannot tell a lie. The same applies to your brand! Sodexo has a poet on their team, and they get together to help have conversations between hiring managers and candidates. Make your employer brand story fun and engaging and different to stand out from the pack! It’s not what content works best; it’s how you present it! This showed through and through during their presentation at the summit.

Jen Powell from Deloitte – Infinite Possibilities, Limited Budget: Optimising Your Branding Resources

With so many suggestions, how do you know what to say yes to? Like any consumer company studying why consumers are buying products, Deloitte studied what candidates like when applying to work for them. Of 3,000 candidate responses, they came up with 30 persona categories to target with their brand. Firstly from the survey, they learned that candidates are happy to share what they think! This validated some strategies that Deloitte already knew were affective, and also uncovered a few surprises. One key theme found was that employees really are your brand. What employees are saying about you is what candidates will think of you, so building brand ambassadors is critical to your success. One of the biggest surprises from the survey, was that when asking where candidates went to research companies, they answered that they were NOT going to Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. Instead, it’s key as you develop your employer brand to know what sources candidates are researching when they decide to apply to your business.

Stacy Zapar from Zappos – Getting Your Brand Out of the Box (2:00-2:30pm PT)

People want to peek inside the company to see if they relate to the people and if they really want to work there. You want to shine the light on what’s already there. One way to do this is to pick a hashtag and encourage employees to share their story. They will see other employees do it and share organically! Check out our #100HappyDaysAtWork campaign as this could be a great place to start.

Shannon Smedsted from CEB – Using Video to Share Your Company’s Story and Attract Talent

Craft “the fit” into your story. While at Geico, their employer brand video was the 4^th most viewed on YouTube. It’s a great and affordable way to get your message out there. Choose talent wisely for your videos and listen to feedback. Getting feedback from recruiters on what candidates say will help you tailor and drive your company’s message home. Lastly, have fun! That culture will come through on your video.

Alison Hadden from Glassdoor – Well My Employer Brand Sucks. Now What?

Jeff Bezos, the CEO at Amazon says that: “Your brand is what people say about you when you aren’t in the room.” Candidates experience buyer’s remorse when the company message is determined by the stakeholders or HR department at a company and not the employees. If you’re doing a good job of differentiating yourself with your employer brand, it will show up in your applicant quality and accepted offers. Be sure you are measuring in these two areas to ensure ongoing success!

The post Top Takeaways From Our Employer Branding Summit appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having widespread effects on people's mental health, with stress on the rise. A survey has found that it's contributing to a spike in burnout, and costing employers.

About a quarter of workers are experiencing burnout as a result of the pandemic, while another 19% are feeling burnout for other reasons, the study by Eagle Hill Consulting found.

Burnout is officially recognised by the World Health Organization as an "occupational phenomenon." The WHO defines it as "a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed."

After more than a decade of work and research in this space, I'm not surprised to see the numbers ticking up during this pandemic. It's not just a result of the stress of this time, but also a natural response to changes that can take place when people not used to working from home suddenly only work from home.

Related: How to Encourage Mental Health During Uncertain Work Conditions

Autonomy can make people happier, and for some there was a sense of novelty to working from home at first. But over time, for some it can get tougher to work without the beat of the team in an office. It also takes self-management skills to find ways to balance all your work tasks from home, and many people have never been trained in self-management skills.

Also, with our work and personal lives blending together across each day, there's no chance to leave work "at the office." I've experienced this myself. At first, I got some energy from finding new ways to connect with clients and employees from home while also managing my home life. But soon, I found myself working 12-hour days and much of the weekend.

Burnout costs employers a great deal. A study a few years ago, when burnout levels in the workforce were lower, estimated U.S. businesses were spending an additional $125 billion to $190 billion in healthcare spending alone for the "psychological and physical problems of burned-out employees," the Harvard Business Review reported. "The true cost to business can be far greater, thanks to low productivity across organisations, high turnover, and the loss of the most capable talent."

Google even asked its employees to take off May 22 to address work-from-home related burnout. But many businesses can't afford to do something like this -- especially now, as the pandemic takes a massive toll on corporate profits and the workforce.

Fortunately, there are better ways. More than a decade of work and research in this space has shown me that businesses can help employees counteract burnout without giving up productivity.

Helping peers help each other

The most powerful way to avoid burnout is to help employees help each other. This is best done through peer coaching.

Research has found that when people are going through a stressful time, peers having similar experiences can be each other's best asset. They understand each other's challenges and can go through the process together, reducing each other's stress.

When peers have carefully designed conversations, they can relieve all the feelings associated with burnout -- and feel more positive, engaged, and optimistic. These conversations can be centered around a wide variety of subjects: processing mental and emotional stress, developing new ideas to help yourself and your business increase productivity; exploring the drivers that help you find purpose in your work, and much more.

But here's the key: peers should avoid trying to come up with answers to each other's problems. Instead, they should help each other find their own answers.

Working with businesses across the world to get peer coaching programs going, I've seen the results. A survey by my company, Imperative, found that people who engage in peer coaching are 65% more likely to feel fulfilled; 67% more likely to report being a top performer; 73% more likely to report feeling a sense of belonging; and 50% more likely to expect to stay in their job for more than 5 years.

The American Medical Association reported that peer coaching is an effective tool in combating physician burnout. And HBR reported that peer coaching helps reduce the loneliness people can feel in their work, a common cause of burnout.

Keep Reading: How to Manage Teams When Working Remotely

Zoom happy hours may have been fun for a few weeks, but that wore off. And workers need a long-term solution -- which is why peer coaching should become a regular, weekly occurrence, a standard part of company culture. After all, meetings and real connections with colleagues are not the same.

All signs point to burnout becoming an even bigger problem than it already is. The loss of life and the economic effects of COVID-19 aren't going to disappear anytime soon. Stress, anxiety, and loneliness are likely to rise. Before even more workers find themselves struggling with this, businesses would do well to empower their staff with the tools and resources to help each other build resilience -- by being there for each other in the most compassionate, promising way possible.

Aaron Hurst is CEO and co-founder of Imperative and author of The Purpose Economy.

The post Burnout is on the rise. Here's what all employers can do without sacrificing productivity. appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

The stigma of mental illness never made much sense to Ben Congleton, CEO of live-chat software maker Olark.

He’d grown up with kids whose lives improved after they received treatment for their illnesses. He knows one in five US adults experiences mental illness in a given year (in the UK, it’s one in four). He’s always understood mental health is as important as physical health.

So he was shocked when his views on mental health went viral in a tweet last summer – and revealed just how taboo the topic is, especially in the workplace.

Last June, Olark staffer Madalyn Parker emailed her team to let them know she was “taking today and tomorrow to focus on my mental health.” Congleton replied to Parker privately, thanking her for not only taking the days but for being open about it: “You are an example to us all, and help cut through the stigma so we can all bring our whole selves to work.”

Parker tweeted the exchange with Congleton’s permission, and it garnered tens of thousands of retweets, likes, and responses.

“Madalyn and I received lots of notes of support, but what surprised and saddened me was how many people commented that this is rare,” Congleton says. “So many people told me they would fear judgment, or even that they would be fired. It was an eye-opener for me about this broad societal challenge that we all need to overcome.” Congleton published a brief note on Medium in response to the attention, encouraging employers to express gratitude to their teams and reflect on their organisations’ values.

Below, he shares with Glassdoor three steps managers can take to engender a culture of openness, promote mental health, and support team members.

“I wish there were some magic words to say, but it doesn’t happen overnight,” Congleton says. “It’s about consciously and constantly creating an environment of trust, which takes work – but it’s worth it in so many ways.”

Create a safe psychological space.

Olark’s structure is one that inherently requires trust and flexibility; managers can’t hover over desks because the team is fully remote, with staffers across three continents. So if staffers hit the gym for two hours in the middle of the day and get their work done in the evening, that’s just fine by Olark management.

Congleton understands that flex scheduling – or other Olark perks like unlimited time off – may not be possible for every organisation or every position, establishing values of underlying trust is what’s key. “You can focus on output and outcomes, measuring not the employee’s exact hours but their impact on the business,” he explains.

When your team feels that they’re being judged for their work and appreciated for a job well done, “incredible things happen,” Congleton says. “Once you have that strong cultural framework in place, people feel trusted and supported so they’re willing to be open.” That’s why Olark’s frank discussions about mental health challenges happened “without being super deliberate,” as Congleton puts it.

As an added bonus, Congleton finds the culture of trust breeds higher performance. “People are more willing to take risks and to stretch themselves, and we’ve found they perform even better for you. When people are happier, their lives are better and their work reflects it. It’s a win-win that just makes sense. ”

[Related: Employee Engagement Checklist and Calendar]

Model the openness you want to see in your staffers.

As a leader, you set the tone for acceptable and expected behaviour — so if you want your team to feel free to share, open up a bit yourself. That doesn’t mean you need to reveal every detail of your personal life. A friend of Congleton’s, for example, “started every management meeting with a little game: ‘If you really knew me you would know…’ and he’d talk about something going on with him that was new, or something hanging over his head. Childcare got messed up, traffic was frustrating, whatever. And then they’d go around the room.”

The game inspired Congleton for two key reasons: “It normalises that behaviour of sharing what you’re bringing to the job in that moment, which is huge. And it’s done in a tactical way: You’re not putting someone on the spot, just allowing them to open up just a little bit in a manner that makes them feel comfortable.”

Modelling behaviour extends to self-care, too. “Depending on the culture in an organisation, people might be concerned that taking a few days off — even after a super-busy time – is implied weakness,” Congleton explains. “That’s a great opportunity to demonstrate it as a leader: ‘Hey, team, that last sprint took it all out of me. I’m going to take an extra day to reflect and recharge, and I recommend you do too.’ That speaks volumes.”

[Related: Customisable Employee Engagement Kit]

Proactively share resources, and seek expert help when needed.

Just like physical health, mental health is complex. Avail yourself of resources like Congleton’s favourite: Open Sourcing Mental Illness, which focuses on changing stigma within the tech community and also offers guidelines and research that are applicable across sectors. If you find a great article extolling the benefits of taking a mental health day, fully unplugging while on holiday, etc., email it to your team with a quick note about why you think it’s important.

And if a staffer is going through mental health issues, tap internal resources like HR for assistance. “Serious mental health challenges are serious health challenges, period,” Congleton notes. “Your typical manager is not going to be an expert in mental health, and that’s OK.”

These three steps aren’t necessarily linear, and they can’t be treated like a simple checklist, Congleton explains.

“Prioritising trust, gratitude, and caring about a staffer’s whole self is not a one-and-done endeavor,” he says. “We’re talking about changing work culture and ingrained societal stigma. That progress happens only with more dialogue and more action.”

Learn More & Download

Culture Codes of Best Places to Work

How to build a thriving company wellness programme.

The post 3 Ways Managers Can Empower Team Members With Mental Health Struggles appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

Employee voice. There are various definitions of the term, but at its broadest, it is any way through which employees express how they feel about an organisation.

Employee voice can be collected through avenues such as an employee engagement survey. It can take place within formal structures like staff forums, consultation committees and pay bargaining. It arises through the humble suggestion scheme. It is what is said about your organisation in the canteen or, to borrow a cliché, around the water cooler.

Employee voice also manifests itself through grievances, absence from work, employment claims, and in one of my own former workplaces, graffiti on the walls. Employee voice can also be silence, or even simply, quitting.

Of course today, employee voice is also what is said about you on social media, on sites like Glassdoor. This makes some employers uncomfortable, but the simple hard truth of the social world is this: your employees are there, and they are talking.

Old style employee voice

A few decades ago, employee voice was, here in the UK, largely about the collective. Trade Union membership was high, and the employee voice often spoke through only this route. Direct communication just wasn't typical in some organisations - but things have changed. No longer do trade unions and traditional, formal methods dominate. Other forms of voice have replaced them. For a time, the annual employee engagement survey was the popular choice, but this no longer cuts it in our real-time world.

Social media is fundamentally changing how people communicate and work, and this also includes how and where employees have their say.

The rise and rise of social media

Human beings are social creatures: we like to be heard and we like to talk to others. Social media is the way that many of us now choose to do just these things. More than 500 million tweets sent every day. There are over 300 million LinkedIn members, and more than two billion users around the globe. One million links are shared on Facebook every 20 minutes - and these channels will only continue to grow.

We live in an open and increasingly transparent world in which new norms often appear. Who would have thought for example, just a few years ago, that we would put our whole CV online for anyone to read? The line between work and home is also increasingly blurred, a change largely driven by technology.

Many people also share their thoughts and every detail of their lives on multiple social media platforms. From a cute cat photo to what sort of day they have had in the office, and everything in between, people are sharing their lives online.

As an employer, there's a natural temptation to regulate what is said online, but employers have never really been able to control what their employees say - and that shouldn't change now. Social media is just a new challenge. Some advice will tell you to monitor what employees are saying, but I would suggest against this.

The choice for employers

Social media cannot be controlled, but it can be embraced. Organisations can choose to take the benefits over worrying about the risks. Social media can be a place to listen to and engage with your employees, if you let it. Strong employee voice is, after all, recognised as one of the key enablers of high employee engagement.

Social media is changing employee voice, perhaps forever. Assuming, of course, you choose to hear it. The conversation on social media is happening anyway - you might as well be a part of it. And, the employee voice is speaking anyway, so you might as well listen to it and use it to better your organization.

The post How the "Employee Voice" Is Changing appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

At Glassdoor, we know that a company is only as good as its people — that’s why we’re passionate about helping employers recruit candidates who are the perfect fit for their organisation. And while we carry out this task every day with our products and services, there’s one day a year where we really go all out to help hundreds of employers live and in person: Glassdoor Recruit.

With guests from some of the biggest and most exciting brands in the UK and, of course, internal Glassdoor experts sharing insights and advice, Recruit 2018 was a conference to remember. Wondering what exactly you missed out on? Read on to learn more, or watch the entire event here if you prefer.

Cutting Through the Noise

Whether you’re an employer searching for engaged candidates, or a job seeker searching for your dream role, the blaring noise surrounding the job market can be deafening. Matt Alder, industry expert, author of Exceptional Talent and host of the Recruiting Future podcast, served as the event’s MC and discussed tactics for not just finding the right people, but most importantly, cutting through the noise and convincing quality candidates that you’re better than competitors in one of the tightest labour markets the UK has ever seen.

● Be Real: Alder refers to recruiters and TA professionals as “professional persuaders”, but that doesn’t mean spinning sales pitches that fall flat with candidates because they seem canned or don’t ring true. Or worse, doing a bait and switch on a great new hire, who will only end up leaving your company prematurely because the reality of the job and company culture doesn’t match what was sold to them. The solution? Authenticity - and not trying to hide your company’s imperfections, but rather owning and addressing them, especially when they’re mentioned in a Glassdoor review. Alder says the best way to present this authenticity is through story-telling.

● Engage Candidates Through Stories: We all love a good story, especially those that are relatable and unearth some truth. Alder recommends using the art of storytelling as a powerful recruiting tool to build real emotional connections with candidates. And the best part? You don’t need to go far to find a rich source of inspiration for these tales. By harnessing your employees’ own experiences, you’ll quickly (and inexpensively) build a body of compelling content.

[Related: 5 Strategies for Building Company Culture with Content]

Inside Barclays: Driving Innovation Through Change

Barclays may be one of the oldest banks in the UK (325 years old, in fact), but this banking giant isn’t afraid of embracing change to stay competitive. Here are a couple of key takeaways from Sarah-Jane Walker, Global HR Director of Customer Experience at Barclays, who delivered the keynote speech:

● Dynamic Working: Believe it or not, when Barclays approached Walker more than eight years ago with a hot offer to join one of the UK’s leading banks, she didn’t instantly jump at the chance; it took her three weeks to accept. Walker said it was the possibility of being an autonomous ‘dynamic worker’ that hooked her. This flexible working scheme meant that she could do school runs for her daughter, and also keep up as a keen netballer and dedicated volunteer to the elderly in her community. The assumption is that dynamic working is great just for parents, but Walker noted that it’s also an attractive perk for millennials and people like herself who have outside hobbies and interests. One of Barclay’s key recruiting strategies, dynamic working is embraced by 59 percent of their current employees.

“It shouldn’t matter where you work, it’s about output,” Walker said. The proof is in the pudding: employees at Barclays who work dynamically are the most engaged (79 percent report feeling a strong sense of belonging to the organisation). What’s more, 87 percent of employees working dynamically at Barclays recommend the bank as a good place to work.

● Glassdoor Feedback is a Gift: Since Barclays first decided to build their employer profile on Glassdoor in 2016, their company page has received nearly 6 million job seeker page views. And in the past year alone, they’ve experienced a tremendous 80 percent growth in applications and 51 percent growth in job seeker page views.

The feedback found on Glassdoor has also proved to be an “awesome source of data” Barclays uses to direct their recruiting and retention strategies. “Feedback is definitely a gift,” said Walker, who added that Barclays combines Glassdoor reviews and exit survey results to determine where their organisation needs to focus their recruiting and retention strategies, such as dynamic working and career development initiatives.

“Glassdoor offers free and extremely valuable insights,” Walker said. “If you’re smart, you’ll listen to it.”

[Related: How to Respond to Reviews Template]

Hiring Better: How to Do It

In a lively panel discussion, Glassdoor’s Director of Sales, Lauren Wright, sat down with industry leaders from Auto Trader UK, Hatch Analytics and OnlineMediaExperts to address critical issues facing recruiting today, effective solutions and tips for forging new paths in talent acquisition practices. Here are a few key takeaways:

● Glassdoor Candidates Really Are Quality Candidates: One of the biggest advantages of Glassdoor compared to other job platforms is that candidates spend a lot more time on Glassdoor, becoming truly informed about potential employers and creating golden opportunities for brand exposure, noted Dominic Sumners, Managing Director of OnlineMediaExperts. “Candidates love Glassdoor, but clients (employers) have to catch-up with candidates and realise that Glassdoor is a fantastic tool,” he said.

“It’s worth investing in Glassdoor because people who come through the site are quality hires,” said Jane Fitzmaurice, Employer Brand Manager at Auto Trader UK. Ninety percent of her candidates reference Glassdoor in interviews and therefore already have a really good idea of who Auto Trader UK is – the good and the bad – before they meet in person. “We aren’t perfect and candidates know this already,” said Fitzmaurice, adding that Glassdoor takes a lot of the leg work out of the recruitment process before candidates even arrive at the interview.

● Using Glassdoor to Attract, Hire & Retain the Best: Did you know that Glassdoor sees 5.8 million monthly visits in the UK and the number one reason people come to the site is to search for jobs? And these job seekers are markedly different: they’re well-researched, engaged and apply thoughtfully, making them twice as likely to be hired and more likely to stay. Lia Albers, Senior Customer Success Manager at Glassdoor, described how Glassdoor is a key resource throughout the entire candidate journey, from attraction to hire and retention. She also explained Glassdoor’s array of solutions designed for companies of all sizes and shapes to gain that competitive edge by: 1) increasing brand awareness, 2) targeting the right job seekers and 3) getting jobs in front of informed candidates at scale. After the session talks, Recruit attendees had a chance to visit Glassdoor’s Demo Zone to learn more about the different tools.

[Related: ]

● Hiring for Humanity: Finally, the afternoon closed with a dynamic, thought-provoking talk from Monica Parker, founder of Hatch Analytics, who describes herself on LinkedIn as a “speaker, author, behavioural nerd & status quo challenger, inspiring and guiding businesses through change.” Job seekers are like consumers, she noted, with a new level of power and transparency at their fingertips that’s radically changing the way we work, look for jobs and hire.
According to Parker, job seekers are looking for the following four elements when searching for that perfect job that will get them out of bed in the morning:
Community:More than ever before, people are looking for a sense of community and connection in the workplace, and they want to read evidence of this in Glassdoor reviews. In fact, 89 percent of employees report that their relationships with colleagues are the primary contributors to engagement at work.
Control:Employers have to be willing to give up control, and trust employees to work dynamically. People want to feel a sense of control over their day to day lives, have flexibility and autonomy, Parker noted. And it’s a win-win for employees and employers. Companies that gave their teams greater autonomy grew four times faster than those that did not, according to a groundbreaking study by Cornell University.
Cause:Try to get to know your candidates and employees on a human level, and what causes inspire or drive them, said Parker. Tap into that and it’s what will keep them engaged and around longer.
Curiosity: Be on the search for the curious candidate, said Parker, noting that people who are curious are scientifically proven to learn faster.

The Bottom Line

With world-class speakers and unparalleled insights, Glassdoor Recruit is the can’t-miss talent acquisition event of the year. Receive the recordings from this year, and make sure to sign up when we announce next year’s event!

Recruit Video Recordings

The post Here's What You Missed at Glassdoor Recruit 2018 appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

Our first-ever recruiting focused conference focused on how to win with informed candidates – the people you want to join your company. We learned that informed candidates boost morale, drive innovation, increase productivity, and significantly contribute to your overall business success.

Download the recordings to revisit your favourite sessions – or tune in to any you missed the first time around!

In the conference’s mainstage talks and breakout labs, we heard all about how attracting talent has evolved – and how the rules of recruiting have changed for good. In short:

1. People have choices when it comes to deciding where to work.

2. They want a job that fits their life, and they need inside information about their potential employer before they commit.

3. Informed candidates win when they self select for the right job posted on Glassdoor.

4. Recruiters win by hiring these informed candidates because they save time and money while boosting retention and morale.

Our new infographic illustrates why everyone wins with Glassdoor.

Want to learn more about recruiting best practices and how to hire informed candidates? Subscribe to our blog.

The post The Glassdoor Recruit Recordings are Live! appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

You’ve heard of applicant tracking systems. But what about recruitment chatbots? Or de-biasing software? As the hiring process becomes increasingly digitised, companies are scrambling to provide a whole new array of tools for HR professionals to help streamline hiring.

In fact, 75% of large companies already use an applicant tracking system, according to Capterra, and that number is only growing. Google, which receives an average of 3 million job applications yearly, and Amazon, which once fielded 20,000 applications in a single day, use a whole suite of tools, including AI and advanced recruiting softwares, to narrow down their massive applicant pool and sift out top talent.

AI and chatbots aren’t out to replace recruiters and hiring managers – rather they’re designed to make their lives easier. “It’s really in the context of how does it help the recruiter do his or her job – more efficiently, more productively, more satisfyingly,” says Gerry Crispin, recruiting expert and co-founder of CareerXroads, a peer-to-peer community of talent acquisition leaders. “It’s only in that context that efforts to digitise become important,” he points out.

Ready to become a magnet for top talent? Then check out these 5 technologies that help recruiters and hiring managers attract – and retain – the best candidates.

Recruitment chatbots

According to a study by talents solutions company Allegis, more than half of candidates are comfortable interacting with AI for initial questions in the application process. Moreover, it revealed that 66% of candidates are also comfortable interacting with chatbots and AI to schedule and prepare for interviews.

Chatbots are now being used for scheduling, preliminary questioning and more, and can often provide a level of transparency that sometimes surpasses even hiring managers. “It’s starting to add value to the experience of the candidate in terms of their ability to make better decisions in the future,” says Crispin. But Crispin also points out that chatbots must be used in the right way, so as not to supplant all human contact during the hiring process. “It’s going to have to satisfy the candidate, as well as the recruiter, as well as the employer, as well as the hiring manager,” he says. Usage of chatbots, Crispin stresses, should be weighed against the question: “Does it help the candidate make better decisions?”

[Related:Labour Trends: 5 Disruptions Impacting Jobs in 2018]

De-biasing software

As companies increasingly come to terms with the benefits and necessity of cultivating a diverse workforce, the obvious place to turn is the hiring process. A number of software companies are recognising this as well, and as a result are pioneering “de-biasing softwares” that make the hiring process as objective as possible. “You can’t easily put job candidates behind a curtain, but you can do a version of that with software,”writes Gardinier More, a senior editor at Harvard Business Review. “The software allows hiring managers to strip age, gender, educational and socioeconomic background, and other information out of résumés so they can focus on talent only.”

Video interviewing

With a large volume of candidates sending in applications from distant locations, video interviewing is a great way to get a preliminary feel for what candidates have to offer. Much more sophisticated than a simple two-way video call, many softwares record candidates’ answers to certain questions, giving them one shot and a limited amount of time, making it easy for hiring managers to sift through responses, and determine who they’re ready to talk to in person. Some companies even provide more, like HireVue, which integrates industrial-organisational psychology into its assessments and interview analyses, or ConveyIQ, which also offers email, text messaging and interview scheduling, among other features.

[Related:Secrets of Best Places to Interview]

Glassdoor

Glassdoor’s Employer Pages provide a unique suite of recruiting tools, based on its unique access to data on scores of employee and interviewee experiences and feedback. For example, Glassdoor’s interview ratings give hiring managers a powerful sense of what’s going well in their hiring process, and what’s going poorly and needs to change. Bad reviews from both interviewees and current or former employees may detract future candidates from applying, so engagement with your company’s Glassdoor Employer Centre – and honest attempts to incorporate the feedback received – are critical to boosting your company’s desirability for top talent. The Employer Centre also gives you access to invaluable analytics concerning your brand, such as reputation keywords (also known as word clouds), or employee perception of your CEO.

Targeted job advertisem*nts

Only with today’s level of technology is targeting job ads on the granular level of region or interest. This means ads might be shown to candidates only if they’ve visited your company homepage before. Job ads can also be targeted – even through relatively simple mechanisms like Facebook – to candidates in specific geographical locations. These advances can save wasted ad revenue and optimise the hiring pool. Services like Appcast and JobThread have seized on this, providing algorithmic targeting services to attract top talent.

Learn More & Download

60 HR & Recruiting Statistics for 2018

The post 5 Hot Technologies to Adopt to Attract Top Candidates appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

The evidence is clear: organisations with LGBT diversity beat competitors. Diversity is also a strong selling point for job seekers, with two-thirds reporting that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers. (1)

The LGBT charity, Stonewall, recently announced the UK’s 2018 top 100 employers for LGBT equality. The list is compiled from submissions to the Workplace Equality Index, a benchmarking tool for employers to assess their achievements and progress on LGBT equality. Representing the public, private and third sectors, 434 organisations submitted entries to the 2018 Index.

And for the first time, the Index also rated how British organisations promote trans equality in the workplace. A recent report by Stonewall revealed half of trans people hide their identity at work for fear of discrimination.

Ruth Hunt, Chief Executive at Stonewall, said, "Creating a workplace environment that accepts everyone isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes good business sense. When staff feel comfortable, happy and understood they will, of course, perform much better than if they’re having to hide who they are, or if they’re scared to go to work for fear of abuse.”

The top 10 employers for LGBT workplace equality are:

1. National Assembly for Wales

What They Do: The National Assembly for Wales is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people, makes laws for Wales, and holds the Welsh Government to account.

Inclusivity Details:Claiming the top spot on Stonewall’s list, the National Assembly for Wales is a trailblazer for LGBT equality, especially for trans equality. It introduced a raft of measures for trans and non-binary employees such as offering the gender-neutral Mx title, as well as gender neutral toilets and shower facilities.

Senior leaders promote LGBT equality throughout the organisation and LGBT network, OUT-NAW, which provides coaching and mentoring for members and allies. The Assembly collaborates with Welsh organisations and LGBT youth groups to foster LGBT equality and share best practice. They sponsor and support LGBT community groups and events by hosting on their premises for free.

What Employees Say:“Great pension plan and other benefits, lots of holiday, hours can be flexible, great career job that you can get into young, decent canteen, great mix of relaxed and busy, lots of great friendly people working there.” - Former Senior Research Officer

2. Pinsent Masons

What They Do: A full-service law firm. “Our biased view is that legal services at all times should underpin the clients' needs and business objectives. We are dedicated to tipping the scales in your favour. Making sure you win - whether that's in Court or in your marketplace.”

Inclusivity Details:"Over the last few years we've been working hard to make sure our firm promotes and encourages trans and non-binary gender equality, and have taken steps such as rolling out training for HR and front of house staff, introducing an option for employees and clients to use the gender-neutral Mx title, as well as setting up a working group to consider changes we can make to our facilities and work spaces to be more inclusive of all gender identities. It's something that will continue to be a focus for our LGBT and Allies network throughout 2018." - Kate Fergusson, Head of Responsible Business at Pinsent Masons

What Employees Say:“Good work-life balance, and opportunities for training. The partners respect each employee, no matter how junior, as a person, and are open to listening to feedback. Strong company values.” - Current Employee

3. Gentoo Group

What They Do: Gentoo is a housing association that owns and manages more than 29,000 homes in Sunderland.

Inclusivity Details:“We’ve been successfully engaging our LGBT customers to help make improvements to the services we deliver and to improve inclusivity – as at Gentoo we believe that inclusive communities are stronger. We've also been named as one of Stonewall’s Top Trans Inclusive Employers, by going above and beyond other organisations to ensure trans and non-binary colleagues feel included in the workplace. Some of our positive trans inclusive work has included establishing a coffee morning and meeting place for trans customers and journey mapping with customers to help them to improve their services. Gentoo has also developed a set of trans inclusion guiding principles to accompany their policies and have started training/conversations with staff about why trans inclusion matters.” - Lucy Malarkey, Deputy Director at Gentoo

What Employees Say:“We had a good holiday scheme, good flexi and great staff to work with and ask for assistance.” - Former contractor

4. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service

What They Do: “We work 24 hours a day to keep Cheshire safe from fires and other emergencies.”

Inclusivity Details:CFRS has robust policies that engage all staff in LGBT inclusion. LGBT youth ambassadors support LGBT and diversity training for team leaders and staff working with young people. They address the safety risks faced by LGBT people in the community, especially those who live alone, those aged over 65 and young people.

What Employees Say:“Serving the local community feels fantastic. During the best of times, you felt like you were making a difference and doing something worthwhile. I saved a couple of lives, one on the telephone and one on a community engagement day.” - Former Administrative Manager

5. Lloyds Banking Group

What They Do:“Lloyds Banking Group is the UK’s largest financial services group with over 30 million customers, and a presence in nearly every community.”

Inclusivity Details:Lloyds launched a new colleague volunteering programme, forming official partnerships with various LGBT charities, volunteering over 1,000 hours and raising £30,000 for them throughout the year. They also support Bi Awareness Day and Transgender Day of Visibility, with new training tools, social media campaigns and by flying the bisexual flag and transgender flags at 35 of their key sites.

What Employees Say:“Progressive bank with a real passion for colleagues and changing the lives of UK citizens for the better. Great business model and a real understanding of pivoting digital technology into the business.” - Current Executive Director

6. Baker McKenzie

What They Do: Multinational law firm that offers “clients and talent both the uncompromising commitment to excellence expected of a top firm and a distinctive way of thinking, working and behaving — as a passionately global and genuinely collaborative firm.”

Inclusivity Details:Staff involvement in diversity issues is encouraged through focus groups and activities such as an Allies network. The firm also supports LGBT community groups, including The Albert Kennedy Trust and The London Gay Men's Chorus.

Chair of Baker McKenzie's Global LGBT initiative and London IT/Commercial partner, Harry Small, was awarded Stonewall's highly prestigious Global Senior Champion Award for promoting LGBT workplace equality.

What Employees Say: “Baker McKenzie prides itself on diversity while also maintaining a very strong market share in all of its sectors.” - Current Brand Ambassador

7. Berwin Leighton Paisner

What They Do: “We are an award-winning, international law firm. Clients, including over 50 Global Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies, rely on our expertise in 70 legal disciplines and have worked with us in 130 countries.”

Inclusivity Details:BLP’s Inclusivity strategy has five areas of focus: Culture, Family, Gender Representation, Lesbian Gay, Bisexual & Transgender and Social Inclusion & Ethnicity. In just two years, BLP has leaped 218 places on Stonewall’s list.

What Employees Say:“BLP is a very inclusive, diverse place to work where the staff is friendly and welcoming. There are also lots of fun activities to get involved in. I would highly recommend this employer.” - Former Employee

8. Citi

What They Do: “Citi’s mission is to serve as a trusted partner to our clients by responsibly providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress. Our core activities are safeguarding assets, lending money, making payments and accessing the capital markets on behalf of our clients.”

Inclusivity Details:In the UK, Citi is a founding member of the Stonewall Global Diversity Champions Group and also of the Inside and Out Banking Recruitment Event. They also sponsor the London Pride Parade and its Gala dinner. In the US, Citi was one of the first financial institutions to sign the Amicus brief for marriage equality.

Stonewall also recognised Clare Eastburn, global head of operational regulatory change and co-chair for Citi Pride London, as their Bi Role Model of the Year. Eastburn said, “Everyone needs role models in life, but I think we all have a responsibility to make our workplaces and our communities more accepting so that everyone can thrive. I’m lucky to work at an organisation as supportive as Citi, where inclusion is such an important part of our culture and where we are continually striving to do more.”

What Employees Say: “Good Work-Life Balance. Excellent team work and fantastic culture.” - Current Employee

9. Newcastle City Council

What They Do: Newcastle City Council is a local authority for the metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England.

Inclusivity Details:“This is our highest position to date and we are honoured to be ranked as one of the top 10 most LGBT friendly organisations in the country. We have clearly demonstrated that equality is at the heart of our values and I am so proud of our staff who have worked tirelessly to make a real difference to people’s lives. We will be doing our best to improve our ranking even further in the future.” - Newcastle City Council Leader, Nick Forbes

What Employees Say: “Flexible, work life balance, working environment, looking after staff.” - Current Policy and Communication Business Partner

10. Victim Support

What They Do: Victim Support is an independent charity for victims and witnesses of crime in England and Wales.

Inclusivity Details:“Within the past 12 months we have provided staff training to promote awareness of LGBT issues and enhanced our policy and practice to support victims of hate crime among a range of other measures. We also continue to have a LGBT network to give advice and support, and address any issues facing our staff and volunteers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans.”- Lucy Hastings, Director and LGBT senior champion at Victim Support

What Employees Say:“Staff and volunteers work together and will help in any way they can.Great training opportunities and great satisfaction in helping people.” - Current Employee

(1) Glassdoor site survey, June 2014

The post UK's Top 10 LGBT-Inclusive Workplaces appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

Upon entering Harrods, the world’s largest and most famous department store, visitors are instantly transported to an enchanting land of luxury, where everything one could dream of can be had (for a price, of course). Even alligators, tigers and camels could be bought as household pets until 2014. Former American President Ronald Reagan once rang up to buy a baby elephant as a party mascot.

Steeped in history, grandeur and legend, it’s no wonder that Harrods, established in 1894 as a single roomed grocery shop, has been crowned Britain’s top retailer with over 100,000 daily visitors. Its exceptional customer service and spectacular range of the finest goods, displayed over seven floors and 330 departments, remains universally unrivalled.

But behind the dazzling façade, there’s a powerhouse of people making the magic happen every day. Research has proven that happy employees equal happy customers and happy investors – a formula that Harrods has obviously mastered. For the third time, the British institution has been voted one of the UK’s Best Places to Work 2018. Winners were determined based solely on feedback from employees — arguably the best judges of what makes a company an amazing place to work.

You might be wondering: what are Harrods’ secrets for recruiting and retaining the brightest stars responsible for making it the greatest store in the world? To find out, we caught up with their HR Operations Director, Abi Weeks.

Glassdoor: What does it mean to you to have employees and colleagues rave about working at Harrods?

Abi Weeks: We are very proud to be recognised as one of the Best Places to Work in the UK, particularly as we are the highest-ranking retailer to appear on the list. We are delighted to be at the forefront of our industry in providing varied and fulfilled careers in retail to our employees.

Part of what makes Harrods such a special business to be a part of is the variety of roles we are able to offer, all under one roof.

[Related: Get in the Running for Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work]

Glassdoor: What are some of your best practices when it comes to recruiting the best talent?

Abi Weeks: Harrods have a dedicated in-house recruitment team, comprising a skilled team of experts who specialise in retail across all levels, from Sales Associates and Boutique Managers to Store Directors. Existing employees are encouraged and incentivised to recommend a friend, or to become part of our ‘Talent Spotting’ team, reporting back on exceptional service wherever they receive it.

Our team also place importance on identifying future talent, and we run various future talent programmes such as School Leavers, offering students fast-tracked, educative and immersive opportunities. We want people to recognise retail as an industry where school-leavers can build long-lasting, varied and fulfilled careers, and this programme allows us to cultivate talent from an early stage.

Glassdoor: What do you look for in informed candidates? What makes someone a perfect fit to work at Harrods?

Abi Weeks: At Harrods, we are looking for candidates who want to build a career with us, so we are always thrilled to hear about candidates’ long-term career goals. I’m always impressed by candidates who showcase their commitment to being the best at what they do, whichever area of the business this lies in. Every single employee can improve the way our company works, whether on the shop floor or by providing essential support from other areas of the business. We also look for a customer-focused approach. There are many different types of customers at Harrods, but only one type of customer service: exceptional.

[Related: How to Recruit the Informed Candidate at Scale]

Glassdoor: Recruiting is only one part of the equation. How do you retain talent once they are employees at Harrods?

Abi Weeks: At Harrods, we are dedicated to making sure our employees have the opportunity to build a career and not just a job. We encourage employees to apply for other roles within the business, and commit resources to helping staff grow and engage their skill-sets; holding a Careers Week biannually and offering training and accredited educational opportunities through a dedicated learning and development team. We also run secondment schemes throughout the year. The purpose of these secondments is not only to allow the participant a taste of working in another area of the business, but to allow them to develop new skills and gain experience which may enable them to change the direction of their career should they choose to do so. For instance, a member of the retail team might be given the opportunity to experience working within the marketing team or with Harrods.com.

Glassdoor: What have you done this year to foster employee trust and engagement at Harrods?

Abi Weeks: Every year Harrods HR team challenges itself to improve our employees’ experience of working for Harrods. We recently reviewed our benefits package for our teams and now have thousands of offers from gym discounts to healthcare plans available to every employee to really help them feel the benefit of working for Harrods in their daily lives.

We also update staff on the wider business strategy and development at regular all-company Town Halls. For example, we recently showcased some of the new product which will be unveiled when the first stage of ‘The Taste Revolution!’, a redevelopment and restoration of the store’s famous Food Hall, with an engaging talk from the store’s Director of Food & Restaurants. This engagement and feedback process allows us to ensure employees feel part of the success of the store.

[Related: ]

Glassdoor: Your employees love working here as we see the strong rating on Glassdoor. How do you make this a great place to work day in and day out?

Abi Weeks: From day one of their career journey at Harrods, we are dedicated to making sure our employees have the opportunity to build a meaningful career here. We believe that a good work environment is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on employees’ personal, as well as their professional lives.,

There are a number of things we do, for example, we make sure that a Director attends every Welcome (induction) for new employees and talks about their role and Harrods culture, as well as answering any questions new joiners might have about what it’s like to work for Harrods - the aim of this is to inspire new joiners to maximise their potential.

We deliver a range of programmes through our Health & Wellbeing department – such as stress management, counselling services, podiatry, Physiotherapy, as well as the support of an onsite team of doctor, nurse, and occupational health advisers.

We know how to have fun. This year we hosted two summer events, where we hired out two theme parks for our employees and their families – all of whom had a great time.

Glassdoor: How do you work with your management teams to make sure employees have great leadership?

Abi Weeks: We feel it’s important for our retail teams to have a clear sense of direction. At Harrods, we have set a clear ‘north star’, a collaborative ambition for everyone to connect to and aspire to achieve. This is to deliver exceptional results by providing an exceptional experience for the Harrods customer every day. We refer to this as ‘#BeExceptional’ and it's great to hear the teams challenging themselves and each other on how they bring this ethos to their daily roles.

Harrods has a strong cultural DNA. We pride ourselves on our culture of service excellence and the exceptional experience we provide our customers every day. The leadership team needs to live and breathe these values and build loyalty and commitment from their teams and a sense of pride in our iconic brand. Our Directors, like all employees, are custodians of the Harrods heritage and it’s an important part of all of our roles.

We work hard as a leadership team to ensure our Directors are as accessible as possible, that’s not always easy but we try to create as many forums as possible to enable this to happen. From daily floor-walks to quarterly all-business updates, senior Directors from across Harrods are involved in all aspects of the business, and meet with employees on a daily basis. This visibility and on-going engagement are particularly important, not only to ensure that the highest standards are being maintained for customers, but also to show employees that everyone is working towards the same objectives and taking pride in the work that we are doing as an organisation.

[Related: 5 Traits of Best Places to Work Winners]

Glassdoor: What are some of the coolest or most unique perks and benefits you offer?

Abi Weeks: All Harrods staff are enrolled in our Harrods Rewards Card scheme, on top of an attractive discount and business clothing allowance to be used in store. We also recently reviewed our benefits package for our teams and now have a range of over 6,500 offers from gym discounts to healthcare plans available to every Harrods and Concession employee to really help them feel the benefit of working for Harrods in their daily lives.

Recognition of achievements is extremely important at Harrods. We believe that if you recognise and praise the behaviours that you want to see, then it will inspire other employees to go above and beyond. We hold regular ‘oscars-style’ Abi Weeksards ceremonies to recognise members of staff across different areas of the business for exceptional service and top salespeople as well as for our the longest-serving employees.

Learn More & Download

Employee Engagement Checklist & Calendar

Everything you need to create an employee engagement programme – guaranteed not only to improve employee productivity and retention but also your bottom line.

The post How to Recruit Like the Best Store in the World appeared first on UK | Glassdoor for Employers.

A narrative has taken hold over the past few years that asserts that the future of work will be dominated by robots, AI programmes and other technological marvels that strip humans entirely away from the workplace. Despite all the hubbub being raised over certain new technologies, however, the future of work is increasingly going to be dominated by remote working, which is quickly taking hold around the globe thanks to the productive results it delivers to business owners.

Here’s why the future of work is remote, and why so many companies around the world are rushing to let their employees work from wherever works best for them.

Remote Employees Are Simply More Productive

The biggest driver of the pivot to a remote workforce that’s currently underway in our market is that remote employees simply produce better results than their traditional counterparts. While many critics of remote working used to assert that letting employees work from home would drain them of their productive spirit, the past few years have produced conclusive evidence that employees who spend a bulk of their working hours outside of the office are vastly happier and more productive.

Recent research from Gallup, for instance, notes that those workers who spend about three to four days of the week working offsite are substantially more engaged in their jobs than traditional counterparts who are stuck behind desks all day. The logic behind this productivity boost is actually quite easy to understand; by giving workers more control over their personal lives and permitting them to schedule their work-life balance accordingly, companies are making them happier and more fulfilled as they enable Average Joes to become workplace superstars.

[Related:Flexible Working: Your Big Talent Opportunity]

The IoT Is Merging Workspaces and Living Spaces

As Jacob Morgan recently posited in his book The Future Of Work, the IoT is driving companies everywhere to produce products and services which cater directly to consumers while they’re still enjoying the comforts of the home. Smart thermostats, AI home assistants and interconnected electric systems have made the modern household a “smart home,” which is why it’s so easy for most workers to plug directly into their workspace while they’re sitting in their kitchens.

Morgan accurately noted that companies everywhere simply have an easier time of finding talent that’s willing to work from home right now than ever before; the big data revolution and the rise of the ubiquitous IoT effectively created the gig economy we’re all so familiar with these days. Now, if a small business or a major corporation needs to rely on a select expert, they turn to the web and start searching for an independent freelancer who can get them the information they need at an affordable price.

The Era of Convenience Has Arrived

Thanks to the fact that more and more people are working remotely, consumers everywhere can say hello to a new era of convenience. With freelance workers and remote employees able to more precisely adjust their scheduling, customers will be able to find an expert on demand at any time of the day. While most businesses close their doors at 5 pm or shortly thereafter, the remote workforce is effectively always available.There will be some challenges to this, naturally; work-related stress may go upwards, for instance, and employees who are working from home will need strict discipline to master work-life balance as the lines between the home and office get blurry.

Nonetheless, the benefits of the remote workforce mean that in the near future, we’ll likely see more leaders in a wide variety of industries embracing the concept, especially as automating technologies and cheaper software makes it easier for employees to accomplish great things from far away.Before remote working is universally accepted, however, business owners and everyday workers will need to come together to forge a new work style that accommodates the needs of a distributed workforce.

[Related:How to Compete with Big Companies for Top Talent]

Implementing a Remote Work Policy

Organisations looking to implement a remote work policy for their company should start with a few basic steps. First and foremost, make sure your workers are equipped with the three things they need to succeed: adequate technology, disciplinary excellence and clear instructions.

Make sure your workers have a laptop, tablet or desktop that can help them tackle their tasks, and consider investing in a company-wide software sponsorship program that lets them install important software directly to their personal devices so that they can use them for business, too.

Next, it’s imperative that you stress disciplinary excellence; workers at home don’t have a manager peering over their shoulder, so they have to act as their own boss and maintain a strict schedule to get things done. Don’t try to dictate every aspect of their lives — remote work is effective because it offers workers flexibility, after all. Nonetheless, be sure that you’re requesting regular status updates, and that you have a system in place to measure productivity.

Finally, never let your workers wander alone — make sure they have clear instructions and achievable milestones that guide them as they work from the comfort of their home. This is perhaps the most important step for you, as it’s where you’ll be demonstrating your leadership by giving concise, yet clear, instructions which can be carried out even if you’re not present to immediately answer questions.

Do this while placing faith in your remote workers, and your business will soon be a thriving, cutting-edge organisation.

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