Even with the best of intentions, virtue signalling can undo your employer’s brand-building efforts. Jumping on board “trending” causes with little to no thought can have a detrimental effect on your talent acquisition activities in the long run. Here, Careersix discusses the importance of approaching employer branding in recruitment like a marathon, not a sprint.
What is virtue signalling, and why doesn’t it work?
If you Google “virtue signalling”, the search engine’s definition via Oxford Languages is as follows:
“The public expression of opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or social conscience or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue.”
In other words, it’s the act of chiming in on topical issues with a view to garnering favour. As a species, most of us are guilty of this as individuals at some point. But brands have also jumped on the bandwagon to leverage social movements and popular sentiments to paint their businesses in a better light. However, consumer brands and employers are increasingly becoming unstuck as the wider general public becomes wise to this practice.
Whether you call it “virtue signalling”, “woke-washing”, or “moral marketing”, people have quite simply had enough. Most of us can quickly spot a brand’s clumsy attempt to piggyback a trending issue to make themselves more marketable to consumers, employees and potential candidates. At best, it can be construed as misguided. At worst, it can come across as tone deaf and hypocritical if the talk isn’t backed up by actions.
How many brands have publicly pledged their allegiance to genuinely important causes, such as Pride and BLM, but privately failed to back up their social media badges with tangible actions to support the LGBTQIA+ or Black communities in any way, shape or form? Plenty, we’re sure. But if you’re going to enter the conversation, we can’t stress enough how important it is to engage with your employees effectively to enter these arenas credibly.
Why you should take your time to build your employer brand authentically.
With the perils of virtue signalling firmly in mind, it’s crucial to remember that employer branding is a marathon, not a sprint. When it comes to talent acquisition, bear in mind that building a positive and appealing employer brand takes sustained, authentic effort and commitment. That’s over an extended period rather than a quick, poorly conceived campaign to capture the zeitgeist and run the risk of alienating the very talent you’re targeting.
A marathon is a long, challenging endurance race. In the context of an employer brand strategy, the “marathon mentality” revolves around the notion that building an effective employer brand can’t necessarily be accomplished quickly or easily. It takes effort, dedication, and consistency over time. Where many brands slip up is that they adopt a “sprint mentality” instead. They attempt isolated, short-term initiatives and sporadic actions that have the potential to fall flat or do more harm than good to the overall employer brand in the long run.
Oliver Yonchev is an entrepreneur, speaker and CEO of Flight Story, which he founded with BBC Dragon, Steven Bartlett. He sums up the righteous indignation and posturing prevalent on social media platforms today perfectly:
“The majority of social media users are silent. The majority of feeds are filled with outrage, provocation and attention-seeking. Don’t be fooled into believing your feed reflects the majority’s views.”
Employer branding in recruitment done properly.
When we talk about employer branding being “a marathon, not a sprint” we want to highlight the fact that creating a compelling employer brand is an ongoing process. It takes time and a sustained focus to attract, engage, and retain top talent. It involves consistently aligning organisational values with employee experiences. It also requires effectively communicating your employer’s value proposition and adapting to evolving workforce expectations.
By recognising that building a strong employer brand is a long-term commitment, your organisation can establish a solid foundation for attracting and retaining high-quality talent, enhancing employee satisfaction, and ultimately fostering a positive and productive work environment. Rather than top-down messaging, it’s crucial to engage and educate your workforce on the “why” and “how” of any causes you intend to support if your efforts are to succeed.
Simply shooting from the hip because “it seems like a good idea” can seriously affect your employer brand and wider organisational reputation. As Warren Buffett once famously said:
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Heed those words when creating your employer brand strategy, and you can save yourself a great deal of time, heartache and potential reputational damage. Take the time to plan your CSR campaigns wisely, and you can reap the rewards of attracting a diverse and highly engaged crop of talent. Rushed, tokenistic, half-baked initiatives can quickly tarnish your organisation’s good name, which can take far more time and effort to fix than simply thinking things through properly in the first place.
Got an authentic employer brand that resonates with your audience and looking to turn it into an engaging careers website. Schedule a call with Careersix and see how we walk the walk.
