No Reason to Delay
II
Part
Chapter
consists of groups of questions. For each question, the scan tests the degree of importance respondents attach to a particular subject (objectives, values, ambitions of the organisation) and how they assess their own attitude to the subject. The types of employee discerned by the essay can be identified in this manner. Loyalty Loyalty grows to an important degree because employees are proud of their employer, its mission and its products/ services, in part because of the perspective that is given them inside the company and the dynamics within which this develops. The management of an organisation can, to a certain extent, influence this loyalty by acting clearly and consistently, and by communicating. The goal of the communication is to ensure that employees experience developments within the organisation—such as changes in the organisation strategy or even the job descriptions for positions—less as a violation of their psychological contract by making sure they are not confronted by unexpected matters. These expectations are managed through communication by management and the Human Resources department. So communication plays an important role in producing committed, fascinated, inspired and driven employees. A New Definition of Labour-Market Communication All this makes it expedient to take a critical look at the most commonly used definitions of labour-market communication and to fine tune them. Total Identity defines labour-market communication as: ‘A strategic management instrument that is based on the belief that people are an organisation’s critical factor for success. The communication’s goal is to position the organisation as an employer on the external and internal labour market in order to recruit and retain good quality people using all available means of communication.’ With this definition we indicate that labour-market communication is a continual process of harmonisation in which the corporate business model and the business strategy dictate what the communication about the organisation should say. This definition also shows that labour-market communication is a form of marketing communication and corporate communication. The ‘selling’ of the organisation as a potential employer and the exchange of messages between groups or persons that are a part of the internal and external field of stakeholders is, after all, an important part of this. A mix of the four types of employees seems to be essential to realising a certain degree of continuity. If, for example, if only driven employees worked at an organisation, an exodus could ensue as soon as these employees started to have doubts about the organisation’s integrity during crises.
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What does this mean with respect to labour-market communication? It is becoming increasingly important for organisations
to profile themselves on the labour market from the perspective of their identity, their ambition. This can partly be pursued by positioning the organisation in a distinctive manner on the labour market (presenting an employer brand). Yet, because of the relatively large supply of employers and the critical attitude of job-seekers, a strategy of enticement is not enough. People looking for work do not take the first offer they get. They carefully consider whether they can commit themselves to a certain organisation. Discerning job-seekers will ask themselves the extent to which an organisation’s values—which are expressed in its culture, mission and vision—and its ambition correspond to their own personal values and ambitions. Large companies generally work with generic claims and reinforce these claims by using an onslaught of media. Organisations would be wise not always to participate in this media deluge, but to seek a common cause with potential employees by linking an original recruitment strategy to a distinctive claim in the market that fits seamlessly with the identity of the organisation in question. With the mentality scan, the employer can ascertain what type of people it now employs and whether it wants to look for the same type of employee. By knowing what type of employee it is looking for, it can adapt its communication to them. This enables it to increase its chances of drawing the attention of the right people to its job openings and perhaps even arouse their interest. In short, knowing what type of employee currently works in an organisation gives it a significant advantage in its communication with the external and internal labour market. The strength of a good employer brand lies in the implicit or perhaps even explicit communication of the organisation’s ambition and values. The diagram illustrates an organisation that has different core values to which individuals within the organisation (should) adhere. These values are the foundation of the organisation’s identity. Through knowledge of what values have priority within the organisation, contact can be sought with people who hold the same values. What an organisation wishes to say about itself does not by definition have to correspond with what someone wants to hear about a potential employer. The organisation should not try to sell itself, but should make it clear that it provides a platform/network where the fascinated, driven, inspired or committed employee can work. This means that an organisation must design its external and internal labour-market communication outside in instead of inside out. Experiencing Identity People have become more critical about the messages they hear every day and therefore about what organisations say about themselves. That is why it is important for organisations to substantiate their claims by giving potential employees the opportunity not only to see the organisation, but also to experience it. This distinction