Get Wise About Work ??

• Find out how a huge tech company hacked their recruitment strategy ????
• The perils of a free gym membership as part of your package ??
• Future-proof your employer brand with our three biggest tips ??
• A peek behind the doors of Soho House with our latest film! ??

Why?

Because people trust people.

No one embodies your brand, values, and mission more than your employees, which is why they are (or should be) an integral part of your marketing strategy. With 84% of individuals now trusting peer recommendations vs 15% trusting job endorsements, there has never been a better time to invest in your people.

How do we know?

Last year, Cisco trained all 84,000 of their employees to become ‘talent influencers’ by using their personal LinkedIn pages as a recruitment tool. More importantly, they trained them well. And it reduced their time-to-hire by 5 days.?

The key is getting it right, and that’s where the real challenge is.

Anyone who has ever run any kind of learning and development programme will tell you: ‘it takes a village’.?

The planning, dedicated effort, and time investment required to create and maintain an initiative (let alone a successful one) is immense.

→ Handpicking your advocates: selection is the cornerstone of every programme, and it’s vital to get this one right. Whilst it’s incredibly tempting to choose the individuals you 'know' would be a great fit for championing your brand, no one likes forced fun. Open the door to everyone; instead of recruiting, set up an application portal and let them come to you.?

→ The fear factor: the last thing you want is your people walking on eggshells, so terrified of saying the wrong thing that it puts them off posting altogether. Educate your people on any company social media policies and create a Dos and Don’ts resource for them to refer to.

→ "Why am I doing this?": if your employees don’t understand the purpose of the programme, they’ll struggle to engage. Be transparent with them about what you're hoping to achieve and the impact they can have, right from the get-go.?

These are just a few considerations to keep in mind when diving into your next programme, or reinvigorating the one you’re currently running.?

But if you’re still not sure what went wrong or you’d like a leg-up overcoming these hurdles, you know where we are.?

There have been 42,000 redundancies in the tech industry this year. While disruption in the market can leave room for new leaders to emerge, you need to act fast to attract top talent (before someone else snaps them up) and keep your employer brand healthy to retain your current talent.?

Here’s why abandoning your culture is an employer branding recipe for disaster:?

→ Talent becomes hesitant: witnessing how a company treats its workforce during a crisis can be make or break. The top performers you’re looking to attract are acutely aware of the job market, and they'll be far less likely to take a chance on an employer with a reputation for sacrificing culture in the interest of short-term gains.

→ The employer branding echo chamber: in today’s digital world, news travels fast. Especially bad news. Your brand will be first in the firing line for disgruntled employees, and you know what they say about reputations: a lifetime to make, a second to break.

→ Loss of identity: your company culture sets you apart from competitors and helps define who you are and what you offer. Abandoning it can have a knock-on effect for a whole host of things: a loss of competitive edge, a lack of pride and belonging, and a non-existent USP.

→ Get to the bottom of what motivates your people (both present and future)

→ Consider what you offer your employees, that makes you stand out from the crowd

→ Build trust and be real with what’s on the table for new talent

Remember, the goal isn’t just to navigate the current challenges, but to look ahead and set the stage for a successful future through your talent strategy.

We all love a work perk. Lacing up those discounted trainers and setting your subsidised smartwatch to a 5km target feels better than any endorphin rush.

It’s only human to want a little booster, especially if you work hard at what you do. Sometimes, the salary doesn’t quite seem incentive enough. It’s the perks you get which go a long way.

But is your unlimited holiday and free gym membership doing more harm than good?

Check out Creative Strategist Tom Gonzalez-Carvajal 's article for his perk-y opinion.

What’s the first thing you think of when someone says ‘spicy margarita’? If you said ‘Soho House', you’re our kinda person.

Since its Greek Street opening in 1995, Soho House has brought creatives together across the globe. Having aced their consumer brand, they needed a hero film to bring the story to life for their employer brand.

Enter Wiser.?

Over 250 photographs, a handful of 4am wake-up calls, and a bespoke composed score later, we created a warm welcome for talent considering Soho House as the future home of their career. Our hero film showcases the values at the heart of their employer brand: collaboration, kindness, simplicity, and passion. Over 20 cast members helped us bring the high-energy atmosphere inside the Houses to life.?

Using motion tracking, we moved our story between spaces, places, front of house and back of house with ease, consistently keeping talent front and centre, giving each employee the space to take centre stage and showcase their craft.?

Check out the finished product (and the finer details of this unreal project) here.

Between busting moves with 80s breakdancers, sipping champagne with Austin Powers and jumping on the mic for an impromptu rendition of Robbie Williams’ ‘Angels’ (we’re looking at you, Tommy Martin ) we wrapped the financial year by celebrating our top performers at the Wiser Awards.?

Our eighth of the annual event, hosted in the stunning rooftop venue at the National Theatre — hello, panoramic views of the London skyline — was ‘Throwback Thursday’ themed, allowing us to reflect on another incredible year at Wiser and toast to the wins.

Values aren’t just a buzzword at Wiser. Employer Branding is our bread and butter, and above all, we recognise the importance of values and purpose to bring teams together and provide a sense of direction and identity. During Wiser Awards, we spotlight five purple people who have lived and breathed our values Be Real, Back Yourself, Take Ownership, Make Moves and Expect More to the fullest that year. Congratulations to Elsa Tkue , Erin Marks , Glen Scott , Meg Ackroyd and Katie Parshall for bagging the trophies.

We've got a mega year lined up at Wiser HQ — stay tuned!