谷歌收购人工智能客服公司Onward
据VentureBeat报道，谷歌于10月2日收购了一家人工智能客服公司Onward，收购金额未公开。该公司的高层Remi-CassART和PrAMod TaMaiaAh以及其他一些员工将加入谷歌。Onward至今已在两轮投资中筹集了12万美元的资金。该团队在公司网站上发布的信息中写道，“我们从允许计算机参与自然的、人性化的对话开始。很高兴能把我们的技术带给谷歌。”
Onward的企业聊天平台利用自然语言处理系统从客户的消息中提取有意义的内容，还能利用诸如位置、登录状态和历史活动的记录，对客户提出的问题作出个性化且符合语境的回答。通过集成Zendesk、Help Scout、Salesforce、Hub.、Shopify、Spree和Solitus等客服软件，Onward的客服机器人可以自动跟踪会话、添加线索，并跟踪出货和订单。在其面向业务的软件首次亮相之前，它启动了一个虚拟助理Agent Q，能够根据命令提供产品推荐。Agent Q依赖于人工代理和数据聚合系统，从整个网络获取消费者评论和价格。
谷歌在几个月前发布了Contact Center AI，是一个可机器学习的虚拟电话客服。复杂的自然语言处理系统使它能提供解决常见问题的方法。如果虚拟客服不能解决呼叫者的问题，它会转到人工客服。在各类虚拟客服如Contact Center AI、eBay的ShopBot等的推动下，到2024年，全球聊天机器人市场有望超过13.4亿美元。
原文链接：谷歌收购人工智能客服公司Onward
硅谷
2018年10月06日
硅谷
HR如何通过数字化转型重塑自我?数字转型是各行各业当先面临的迫切问题，HR深入其中，成为必须的一部分。
为更好的传递观点，我们使用AI翻译了下面的文章与您分享。英文原文可以访问HRTechChina.com 了解更多
作者：
Jason Averbook
根据人力资源思想领袖Jason Averbook的说法，围绕数字人力资源转型的组织内部存在大量混淆，他解释说，许多公司正在努力实施真正有意义的数字化转型，从而推动可持续的竞争性业务优势。
人力资源有两种数字化转型，Averbook表示，在实践中它实际上意味着“仍然存在一大堆混乱”。
“在数字化人力资源转型方面，有一个'大T'和'小T'，”Averbook说，他是咨询公司LeapGen的首席执行官。
“'大T'是关于我们如何将自己重组为人力资源部门，以便在数字世界中工作，而'小T'则是关于我们如何实际采用数字优先心态为员工提供能力。”
Averbook是最近一系列 关于数字化转型和未来工作的ServiceNow活动的一部分 ，他说组织在人力资源数字化转型的“小T”方面通常更为成功，但在成功时却不太成功。重塑HR以在数字世界中成功地工作。
“人们花费数百万，数百万美元将自己重组为不同类型的卓越中心和不同类型的服务中心 - 只是意识到，当他们自己进行重组时，这已经过时了。要去，“Averbook说。
“总的来说，我会说我们处于数字化思维模式的早期采用阶段，我甚至不打算将其称为数字化人力资源转型。
“谈到人们的服务，这个'数字优先思维'空间只会在未来一到五年内爆发。”
“总的来说，我会说我们处于数字化思维模式的早期采用者阶段”
Averbook表示，人力资源数字化转型的变化步伐将会加快，预计未来五年内人们对人力资源技术领域所知的所有事情将在未来五年内发生重大变化。
他给出了员工和经理自助系统的例子，并解释说，不是通过桌面计算机登录系统工作，而是转向SMS聊天，Skype，Chatter或员工可以使用的其他平台和应用程序，无论他们身在何处。
“当我们考虑员工服务体验时，人力资源技术的世界将从专注于交易的领域转变为必须专注于经验而人力资源是静脉注射（IV）饲料的领域，以便为组织提供任何能力。
“所以，如果我想向一名旨在增加参与度的员工提供一些内容，那么它将会经历那个IV，”他说。
“在过去，我们在建立从组织到员工的沟通渠道方面做得很差。
“展望未来，为了提供任何数字化能力，我们将不得不以非常，非常顺利的方式铺平这条道路，以满足员工的需求，并以对他们来说非常自然的方式。”
Averbook解释说，在员工体验方面，战略与执行之间也存在巨大差距。
“人们想出这个想法，他们将创造这种员工体验，但他们不知道如何到达那里，”他说。
“因此，战略与执行之间不仅存在差距，更多的是”鸿沟“，人力资源面临的挑战是将重点放在员工和经理身上，而不是集中在组织之外。
“如果他们能够让员工和管理人员知道人力资源部门正在提供能够使工作场所和员工队伍变得更好的事实，那么人力资源部门将获得的数据将比他们今天获得的数据好10倍，”他说。说过。
“因此，当人力资源开始与我讨论员工的经历时，他们真正谈论的是人们如何获得人力资源的支持或服务或答案”
ServiceNow的人力资源产品销售负责人Mark Souter解释说，员工和经理都希望人力资源能够以快速和可预测的方式获得正确的答案。
“人力资源部正在寻求将客户服务经验的学习应用到内部员工服务体验中，但他们正在使用尚未为此构建的系统来实现这一目标，”他说。
“市场中的核心HCM在人力资源数据，参考记录和关键人力资源基础知识方面做得很好。”
然而，这样的系统并没有满足大多数员工的服务需求，Souter表示这推动了市场对于参与系统以及HCM产生的记录系统的需求。
他解释说，经理和员工正在寻找合适的支持，人员，设备或系统，以快速，可预测的方式获得他们的查询答案。
“当人们谈论员工的经历时，往往被定义为相当迟钝或差劲，或以多方面的方式，”苏特说。
“因此，当人力资源开始与我谈论员工的经历时，他们真正谈论的是人们如何从人力资源部获得支持或服务或答案。”
Souter补充说，这个过程历来以非结构化的方式进行，多个系统包括内部网，对于特定人员的角色以及其他HR和HCM系统具有有限的上下文相关性，导致员工和经理的脱节，有时令人沮丧的体验。
人力资源团队也一直专注于高价值的活动，如人才管理，学习和发展，以及劳动力分析和规划，苏特表示，虽然这些非常重要 - 人力资源部门“可能错过了一步”围绕人们如何以对他们有意义的方式获得问题答案的方向。
“为什么他们在组织之外的经历不是作为消费者反映在内部？”他问道。
“我们之所以这样做，是因为我们一直在与他们讨论HCM系统和参考记录，以及与他们接触并围绕该参考记录建立经验的方式。”
以上由AI翻译，仅供参考！
英文请访问:
Jason Averbook on how can HR reinvent itself through digital transformation
There is a significant amount of confusion within organisations around digital HR transformation, according to HR thought leader Jason Averbook, who explained that many companies are struggling with the implementation of real and meaningful digital transformation which drives sustainable, competitive business advantage.
There are two kinds of digital transformation for HR and Averbook said there is a “still a boatload of confusion” as to what it actually means in practice.
“When it comes to digital HR transformation, there is a ‘big T’ and a ‘little T’,” said Averbook, who serves as CEO of consulting firm LeapGen.
“The ‘big T’ is about how we reorganise ourselves as an HR function to work in a digital world, while the ‘little T’ is about how we actually take a digital-first mentality to deliver capabilities to the workforce.”
Averbook, who was speaking as part of a recent series of ServiceNow events on digital transformation and the future of work, said that organisations are generally more successful when it comes to the “little T” of digital transformation for HR, but less successful when it comes to reinventing HR to successfully work in a digital world.
“People are spending millions and millions and millions of dollars reorganising themselves into different kinds of centres of excellence and different kinds of service centres – only to realise that by the time they’ve reorganised themselves, this is already dated from where they’re trying to get to,” said Averbook.
“Overall, I would say that we’re in the early adopter phase of a digital-first mindset, and I’m not even going to call it digital HR transformation.
“When it comes to people services, this ‘digital-first mindset’ space is only going to explode in the next one to five years.”
“Overall, I would say that we’re in the early adopter phase of a digital-first mindset”
Averbook said the pace of change in digital transformation for HR is only going to pick up and predicted that everything known about the world of HR technology for the past 20 to 30 years is going to change significantly in the next five years.
He gave the example of employee and manager self-service systems and explained that rather than logging into systems via desktop computers to work, this would shift to SMS chat, Skype, Chatter or other platforms and apps employees can use regardless of where they are located.
“When we think about the employee service experience, the world of HR technology is going to change from one that’s just focused on transactions to one that has to focus on experience and HR being an intravenous (IV) feed to deliver any capability into the organisation.
“So, if I want to deliver some content to an employee which is designed to increase engagement, then it’s going to go through that IV,” he said.
“In the past, we have done a poor job in building that line of communication from the organisation to the employee.
“Moving forward, in order to deliver any digital capability, we’re going to have to pave that road in a way that’s very, very smooth, that meets employees where they are and in a way that is very natural to them.”
Averbook explained that there is also a significant gap between strategy and execution when it comes to the employee experience.
“People come up with this idea that they’re going to create this employee experience but they have no idea how to get there,” he said.
“So, there is not just a gap between strategy and execution, but more of a ‘chasm’ and a challenge for HR in this is focusing inwards on employees and managers, rather than focusing outside of the organisation.
“If they can get employees and managers to buy into the fact that HR is delivering capabilities to make the workplace and workforce better, the data HR will get out of that is going to be 10 times better than the data they get today,” he said.
“So when HR starts talking to me about the employee experience, what they’re really talking about is how are people getting the support or service or answers from HR”
Mark Souter, HR product sales lead for ServiceNow, explained that both employees and managers are looking to HR to get the right answer in a way that is both quick and predictable.
“HR is looking to apply learnings from the customer service experience to the internal employee service experience, but they’re doing it in ways using systems which haven’t been built for this,” he said.
“Core HCMs in the marketplace do a great job with HR data, records of reference and key HR fundamentals.”
However, most employee service needs are not met by such systems, and Souter said this is driving a need in the market for both a system of engagement as well as a system of record produced by an HCM.
Managers and employees are looking for the right support, person, device or system to get the answer to their query in a quick and predictable way, he explained.
“When people talk about the employee experience, it is often defined either fairly obtusely or poorly, or in a multifaceted way,” said Souter.
“So when HR starts talking to me about the employee experience, what they’re really talking about is how are people getting the support or service or answers from HR.”
Souter added that this process has historically been approached in a very unstructured way, with multiple systems including intranets with limited contextual relevance for a specific person’s role as well as other HR and HCM systems, resulting in a disjointed and sometimes frustrating experience for employees and managers.
HR teams have also been focusing heavily on higher-value activities such as talent management, learning and development, as well as workforce analysis and planning, according to Souter, who observed that while these are very important – HR has “probably missed a step” around the orientation of how people get answers to questions in a way that is meaningful to them.
“Why isn’t their experience outside the organisation as a consumer reflected inside?” he asked.
“The reason for this is that we’ve that, is that we’ve been talking to them about HCM systems and records of reference, versus ways to engage them and build that experience around that record of reference.”
YC 路演企业服务项目 Leena 人工智能的HR助理这个项目我们之前报道过，点击这里就好了
不多说
http://www.hrtechchina.com/22861.html
Leena AI
假如你在一家大公司工作，当你想了解休假、医保等问题时，你会发邮件或打电话联系HR，等待答复，而Leena AI通过构建HR智能聊天助手实时回答员工的提问来改变这种状况。它是目前唯一一款由人工智能平台驱动的HR虚拟助理，经12,000家企业上千万的会话数据训练而成，拥有出色的自然语言处理能力。
https://www.leena.ai/
YC 路演企业服务项目介绍：Names & Faces 展示员工信息，特点，提供部门协同
这是一个有趣的小项目，需要依存于各个大的平台~ 作为一个小而美的应用和工具还是非常有意思的！
Names & Faces
服务于大中企业的人力资源管理工具，通过手机APP集中展示公司的员工信息，帮助员工彼此认识，加深相互了解。随着公司的发展壮大，员工数量越来越多，不同部门间的员工互不认识非常普遍。Names & Faces与公司人力资源管理系统的终端相连，提取并展示公司员工的姓名、长相、背景、部门及职位信息，便于员工彼此认识，提高不同部门的协同工作效率。
这个公司明确写道：
Names＆Faces不是一个新的人力资源工具，它不是一个新的沟通工具，它不是一个新的社交网络 - 世界知道我们不需要另外一个。这是最简单，最快速，最直观的方式来了解您的员工，获得他们适合的位置，并在您需要时与他们取得联系。
Names & Faces is not a new HR tool, it’s not a new communication tool, and it’s not a new social network — the world knows we don’t need another one of those. It’s the simplest, fastest and most intuitive way to get to know your people, get context for where they fit in and get in touch when you need to.
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联合利华如何开发新的EVP和雇主品牌以下由AI翻译，仅为传递信息。文后附录英文版本，供参考。不喜勿入。
联合利华是一家销售快速消费品的全球性公司，其目的是使可持续生活变得平凡。您将认可Ax / Lynx，Ben＆Jerry's，Dermalogica，Dollar Shave Club，Dove，Hellmann's，Knorr，Lipton和Magnum等消费品牌。但雇主品牌呢？
Anuradha Razdan是联合利华的人力资源，家庭护理副总裁兼全球人才吸引和雇主品牌负责人。
在这次采访中，她向我们介绍了公司的文化和目的，以及他们最近如何开发和推出新的雇主价值主张（EVP）。
请听下面的剧集，继续阅读摘要并确保订阅 雇主品牌播客。
收听 Apple Podcast， Stitcher Radio， Google Play 或 SoundCloud。
您如何描述联合利华的文化？
当我加入联合利华时，令人惊讶的是，我对公司了解不多。只是它是我们校园里最有抱负的雇主。每个人都希望成为公司的一部分，当然我知道一些消费者品牌，但不了解业务的复杂性。任何通过联合利华面试程序完成任务的人都会被选中，面试过程本身就是成功的。
为什么我留下来是另一回事。首先，这是一个关心有所作为的企业。当然，我们希望创造成果和利润，但我们也想创造一个更美好的世界，我们希望我们的员工和利益相关者参与这一旅程。源于联合利华所拥有的遗产的价值观和职业道德，这使我们有了更大的目标，它会破坏你。这是一种文化，让你想进来，每天都发挥最大的作用。20年后，我经历了如此多的经历和角色，但却没有疲倦和无聊的感觉，这让我一直在努力。
可持续发展如何成为业务战略的一部分？
联合利华的独特之处在于，商业战略的核心是可持续性。我们建立品牌的方式以及我们在整个业务中制定流程的方式都是可持续的设计。我们在未来四五年内制定了明确的路线图和目标。这是我们所做的一切的核心，每一个加入联合利华的人都参与其中，感觉被这种感觉所吸引，并为此感到自豪。
您面临哪些人才挑战？
今天，我们作为雇主的吸引力处于历史最高水平，因为我们通过校园调查，全世界的大学评分来衡量它。我们是我们雇用的40多个市场中的首选雇主。
但即使我们提高了吸引力的标准，我们的人才环境也会受到干扰，就像我们的客户和渠道被打乱一样。人才画布不再是同质的，我们业务的不同部分的人才需求是不同的，因此没有一个适合所有人。因此，我们需要能够塑造并提供一个在看似悖论的世界中取得成功的人才战略。一方面，随着技术寻求取代人，你就拥有了多余的人才。同样，在你想要提高技能的领域，无论是数字营销还是精准营销，你都有人才短缺 - 这些都是我们为未来培养技能所需要的，但却存在差距。在同一时间存在着太少而不够的二分法。
告诉我们您的雇主品牌战略？
雇主品牌战略来自我们的人才挑战; 在一个日益中断的世界中需要具有吸引力。没有一个雇主品牌活动或消息。当然，除此之外还有核心执行副总裁; 你不可能拥有一个全球雇主品牌，而是依靠它。每一次雇主品牌之争，每一次人才挑战都会在市场上赢得，而这正是真实时刻所在。这是我们雇主品牌战略的核心。
同样地，它正在逐渐远离你想要赢得所有胜利的地方，以赢得重要的地方。从一致的方法到差异化的方法，取决于您想要雇用的特定微细分市场。
它不再是关于公司传达的自上而下的活动和吸引力。这不再是事实的唯一来源。人才无处不在，你周围有关于你无法控制的谈话。因此，雇主品牌战略必须与真实的员工体验非常一致。因此，它不是一个从外到内的，而是一个由内而外的雇主品牌战略。
你是如何开发新的EVP的？
联合利华是一家打造优秀品牌的公司; 我们的雇主品牌必须反映这一点。就像我们制作任何产品品牌一样，我们接触了这个雇主品牌的发展。我们完成了一项详尽的研究，涵盖了300个内部和外部的声音，我们对竞争对手和我们认为有抱负的其他雇主品牌进行了基准测试。我们通过内部，外部，营销领导者，我们不同的目标受众对人才进行了广泛的测试和验证，并且在此过程中，我们了解到，对于雇主品牌产生影响，它必须是可信的，相关的，差异化的和有抱负的。
什么是新的EVP？
联合利华是一家真正关心有所作为的企业，这是我们雇主品牌和执行副总裁的核心。当你加入联合利华时，它不仅仅是一份工作; 你正在加入一个运动，以创造一个更好的企业，一个更美好的世界，一个更好的你。你不仅仅是你的职位，因为你通过自己的工作在世界上创造了更大的影响力。
我们价值主张的核心是我们建立领导者......我们为联合利华培养领导者，联合利华领导人继续成为世界其他地方的领导者。
什么支柱支撑着EVP？
目的力量 - 可持续发展是我们所做一切的核心。目标的力量是我们员工经验的核心，我们通过将您的目标付诸行动，您可以说您有权对世界和我们的业务产生积极影响。这不仅仅是一份工作; 这是一个通过做一些你热爱的事情来改变自己的机会。
成为催化剂 - 你可以成为世界变革的催化剂，你可以释放你的好奇心，你可以扰乱过程，你可以用你的开拓精神来实现目标。
卓越的不同 - 就像我们的产品品牌都不同，但他们在一个联合利华的保护伞下聚集在一起。作为个体，我们都是不同的; 我们可以把真正的自我带到工作中。在联合利华，我们可以结合差异来实现更大的目标。
超越 - 这不仅仅是一个公司，这是一个你可以超越的地方，体验的质量，互动的质量，当你提供更多，你得到更多。
这四大支柱使EVP成为独一无二的联合利华，特别是目的动力。
你如何沟通和激活这个？
我们很容易想出一个声明，一些我们都很兴奋的话。但最终，它必须被翻译，并且必须帮助我们赢得在我们赢得雇主品牌战斗的各个市场中的最佳人才。接下来发生的事情是我们将部署一些全球和本地渠道; 数字化，面对面，以更广泛地覆盖我们的员工价值主张。
我们还创建了一个旨在提升品牌知名度的英雄活动，它被称为“你不仅仅是你的职位”，而且它带出了目标力量这一整体概念，这对我们来说是一个品牌。我们相信这会产生大量的对话，并成为员工倡导的工具。
最后，我们不是建立雇主品牌的人。这是我们的员工，它是我们在50多个市场的雇主品牌经理，他们将与我们一起制定策略和本地激活想法，以实现这一目标。
你能与我们分享哪些艰苦的教训？
人们可以将公司的吸引力，雇主品牌视为理所当然，直到它消失为止。我是一个企业的一部分，总是享有非常有吸引力的地位，并获得最优秀的人才。我们听到了业务中的对话，“这种努力真的值得，我们为什么要把这么多的预算和资源投入雇主品牌？”。
而这就是你真正处于悬崖边缘的地方，这是一个真正值得关注的地方。在那个时候的那个行业中，我们踩下脚踏板，在最初几年没有发生任何事情，因为很明显，雇主品牌的力量不会在一两年内消失。但是慢慢地，我们开始看到人才质量的影响，这些影响会导致面试，接受其他报价的人数以及将其他竞争对手列为梦想雇主的人数。我们看到排名开始下降，比任何排名更重要的是你雇用的人才质量。
这不是立刻出现的东西，但幸运的是，对我们来说，其中一些指标给了我们一个真正的震撼，我们重置并回来了一声巨响。那是一个真正的谦卑时刻，这是一个我不会忘记的真正教训。
您如何衡量雇主品牌的投资回报率？
雇主品牌的投资回报大于通过指标和衡量工具看到的投资回报。这是最大的无形影响。
我怎么知道这个？如果您想衡量一项计划的影响，您必须考虑以下三点：
走廊里的谈话是什么？
什么是外部媒体说这个？
指标有哪些？
我们会考虑一些指标，例如申请人数量和接受报价的数量等。一个非常有趣的衡量标准是雇主品牌指数，它倾听社交媒体和在线发生的对话，从而对雇主的成功有一个综合的看法。品牌是，这是我们可以追踪的东西。
您对雇主品牌经理的三大建议是什么？
如果你感受到真正的激情，并且如果你感觉到它在你的骨头里，那么只能扮演这个角色。因为雇主品牌是一件你不能再做的事情，所以你不仅要感受到真正的热情。有一个明确的理由，说明为什么雇主品牌对您的业务有意义，并坚持这一点，无论内部的挑战或问题是什么。
向您所在行业的营销人员学习。使用相同的技术并围绕雇主品牌建立科学，这不仅仅是蓬松和创造性的东西。
您为员工和业务负责人注册的权利越多，您的工作就越容易，因为您创建的级联影响远大于您必须投入的努力。
查看联合利华职业网站。
以下为英文内容 ： https://linkhumans.com/unilever/
Unilever is a global company selling fast-moving consumer goods, whose purpose it is to make sustainable living commonplace. You will recognize consumer brands such as Axe/Lynx, Ben & Jerry’s, Dermalogica, Dollar Shave Club, Dove, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Lipton, and Magnum. But what about the employer brand?
Anuradha Razdan is Vice President HR, Home Care and Head of Global Talent Attraction and Employer Brand at Unilever. In this interview, she talks us through the culture and purpose of the company, and about how they recently developed and launched a new employer value proposition (EVP).
Have a listen to the episode below, keep reading for a summary and be sure to subscribe to the Employer Branding Podcast.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Play or SoundCloud.
How would you describe the culture at Unilever?
When I joined Unilever, surprisingly, I didn’t know much about the company. Only that it was the most aspirational employer that came to hire at our campus. It was the company that everyone wanted to be a part of, sure I knew some of the consumer brands but not the intricacies of the business. Anyone who made it through the Unilever interview process felt so thoroughly selected, the interview process was a success in itself.
Why I’ve stayed on is another matter. First and foremost, this is a business that cares about making a difference. Of course, we want to create results and profits, but we also want to create a better world, and we want our employees and stakeholders to be part of this journey. The values and professional ethics that stem from the legacy that Unilever has, and that has kept us with the larger purpose, it spoils you. It’s a culture that makes you want to come in and give your best every day. 20 years down the line, I’ve been through so many experiences and roles, and yet there has been no sense of fatigue & boredom, and that has kept me going.
How is sustainability part of the business strategy?
What is unique with Unilever is that the business strategy has sustainability at its heart. The way we build our brands and the way we craft processes across the business are all sustainable by design. We have a clear roadmap and goals that we have set across the next four or five years. It’s at the heart of everything we do, and everyone who is a part of Unilever is enrolled in this, feels bought into this and feels proud of this.
What talent challenges are you faced with?
Today our attractiveness as an employer is at an all-time high, as we measure it through campus surveys, university scores across the world. We’re the #1 employer of choice in more than 40 markets where we hire.
But even as we raise the bar on our attractiveness, our talent context is being disrupted, just like our customers and channels are being disrupted. The talent canvas is no longer homogenous, and the talent needs in different parts of our business are different, and therefore there is no one-size-fits-all. Hence, there is a need for us to be able to shape and deliver a talent strategy that can be successful in a world of seeming paradoxes. On the one hand, you have surplus talent as technology seeks to replace people. Equally, you have talent shortages in areas where you want to ramp up skills, whether it’s digital or precision marketing – these are where we need to build skills for the future, but yet there are gaps. There is a dichotomy of too little and not enough at the same time.
Tell us about your employer brand strategy?
The employer brand strategy draws from our talent challenges; the need to be attractive in a world that is increasingly disrupted. There is no one employer brand campaign or message. Of course, there is a core EVP but other than that; you can’t have one global employer brand and rest on that. Every employer brand battle, every talent challenge is won in the market, that’s where the moment of truth is. That’s at the heart of our employer brand strategy.
Equally, it’s moving away from a view where you want to win everywhere to winning where it matters. From a consistent approach to a differentiated approach depending on what the specific micro-segments you want to hire are.
It’s no longer about one top-down campaign and attractiveness that is communicated by the company. That is no longer the single source of truth. Talent is everywhere, and there are conversations about you, around you that you don’t control. Therefore the employer brand strategy has to be something which is very consistent with the real employee experience. And thus it’s not an outside-in, but an inside-out employer brand strategy.
How did you develop the new EVP?
Unilever is a company that builds excellent brands; our employer brand has to be a reflection of this. We approached this employer brand development just like we craft any of our product brands. We completed an exhaustive piece of research, covering 300 internal and external voices, we benchmarked our competitors, and other employer brands we think are aspirational. And we extensively tested and validated this with talent internally, externally, marketing leaders, our different target audiences, and in that process, we learned that for an employer brand to make an impact, it has to be credible, relevant, differentiating and aspirational.
What is the new EVP?
Unilever is a business that genuinely cares about making a difference, and this is at the core of our employer brand and EVP. When you join Unilever, it is not just a job; you are joining a movement to create a better business, a better world, and a better you. You are more than your job title because you create a much bigger impact in the world through the work that you do.
At the heart of our value proposition is that we build leaders… we develop leaders for Unilever, and Unilever leaders go on to be leaders elsewhere in the world.
What pillars underpin the EVP?
Purpose Power – sustainability is at the core of everything we do. The power of purpose is at the heart of our employee experience, where we say that you are empowered to make a positive impact on the world and our business, by bringing your purpose into action. This is more than a job; this is an opportunity to make a difference by doing something you’re passionate about.
Be the Catalyst – you can be a catalyst for change in the world, you can unleash your curiosity, you can disrupt processes, you can use your pioneering spirit to make things happen.
Brilliantly Different Together – like our product brands are all different, and yet they come together under one Unilever umbrella. As individuals, we are all different and yet; we can bring our real selves to work. In Unilever, we can combine our differences to achieve greater things.
Go Beyond – this is not just a company, this a place where you can go beyond, with the quality of experiences, the quality of interactions and when you give more, and you get more.
These four pillars make the EVP uniquely Unilever, especially Purpose Power.
How do you communicate and activate this?
It’s very easy to come up with a statement, a few words which we all get excited about. But at the end of the day, it has to be translated and has to help us win the best talent in the various markets where we win the employer brand battles. What’s happening next is that we will deploy a number of global and local channels; digital, face-to-face to give a wider reach to our employee value proposition.
We also created a hero campaign which is designed to boost brand awareness, it’s called “You’re more than your job title,” and it brings out this whole notion of purpose power which is so core to us as a brand. And we believe this will generate a lot of conversations and serve as a vehicle for employee advocacy.
Finally, we’re not the people who build the employer brand. It’s our employees, it’s our employer brand managers in over 50 markets, and they will work with us to tailor strategies and local activation ideas to bring this to life.
What hard lessons can you share with us?
One can take attractiveness of a company, of an employer brand for granted until it goes away. I was part of a business which always enjoyed the position of being very attractive and getting the best of the best talent. We heard conversations in the business along the lines of “is this effort really worth it, why should we put so much budget and resource into employer brand?”.
And that is the point where you’re really at the edge of the cliff, and that’s a real watch out. In that business at that point in time, we took our foot off the pedal, and nothing happened in the first few years because obviously, the power of an employer brand is not something that fades in a year or two. But slowly and slowly we started seeing the impact in the quality of talent that would turn up for interviews, in the number of people who would accept other offers and who would list other competitors as dream employers. We saw rankings beginning to dip, and more important than any ranking is the quality of talent that you hire.
This is not something that shows up immediately, but luckily for us, some of these indicators gave us a real jolt, and we reset and came back with a bang. That was a real moment of humility, and it’s a real lesson I will not forget.
How do you measure ROI on employer brand?
The return on investment of an employer brand is bigger than what one might see through metrics and measurement tools. It’s the intangible impact which is the biggest.
How would I know this? If you want to measure the impact of an initiative you have to look at three things:
What are the conversations in the hallways?
What is the external press saying about this?
What are the metrics saying?
We look at metrics such as the volume of applicants and how many accept offers etc. One very interesting measurement is the Employer Brand Index which listens to social media and conversations taking place online, to come to a compositive view of what the success of the employer brand is, and this is something we can track over time.
What are your top 3 tips to employer brand managers?
Only take this role on if you feel real passion and if you feel it in your bones. Because employer brand is a thing you cannot do as one more thing, it’s not just a job you have to feel true passion for this. Have a clear rationale as to why employer brand makes sense to your business and stick to that no matter what the challenges or questions might be internally.
Learn from the marketers in your business. Use the same techniques and build a science around employer brand, it’s not just a thing that’s fluffy and creative.
The more you enroll employees and business leaders to take ownership of this, the easier your work becomes because then you create a cascading impact which is far greater than the effort you have to put in.
Check out the Unilever Career site.
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