Experts will brainstorm employer-branding ideas at SCMP-CP conference

Controlling an employer brand is a difficult task in today’s socially networked market, yet there are many ways a company can strengthen its employer brand and transform it into one that strongly influences jobseekers and top talent.

This issue will go under the microscope at the Employer Branding Conference, organised by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and Classified Post (CP), on September 11. The one-day event, part of Classified Post’s 40th anniversary celebrations, will bring together marketing gurus, disruptive thinkers and HR experts for a hard look at the subject of employer branding at The Mira Hong Kong on September 11. They will be joined by HR managers and marketing executives from some of the most successful brands in the city to share ideas, strategies and best practices on how to build highly influential employer brands.

Mike Walsh, CEO of innovation research lab Tomorrow, will demonstrate an action plan for HR leaders in his keynote presentation. “I’m going to explore the model of the 21st-century business, and what it will take to attract, manage and retain the kinds of people that business leaders will need to make that vision a reality,” he says.

Walsh sees tomorrow’s war for talent as not just a simple struggle over supply and demand. He believes that companies will also have to re-imagine their entire philosophy and approach to work in order to attract the future’s most capable talent.

Emma Reynolds, co-founder and CEO of boutique consultancy firm e3 Reloaded, will deliver a presentation-cum-workshop on why HR managers should think like marketers in dealing with candidates. “Every candidate is a potential customer and every customer is a potential candidate. But most companies treat candidates without differentiation, not allowing them to express their creativity nor caring about the candidate experience. Candidates are now rejecting that,” she says.

Jared King, co-founder and managing partner at e3 Reloaded, will provide the conference introduction and moderate its panel discussion. “CEOs and leadership teams spend tons of time and energy preparing for presentations to shareholders, but they don’t put the same thought and passion into the way that they treat candidates and employees,” he says.

Lon Safko, an entrepreneur and best-selling author of The Social Media Bible and The Fusion Marketing Bible, will lead a workshop on the value of fusing traditional, digital and social marketing. He will take participants through a system he developed to help HR managers, brand managers, and marketing and sales executives uncover a whole slew of hidden opportunities.

“It’s about really looking at your traditional marketing efforts, determining what’s working and what’s not, and fusing those tools with the very best and most appropriate social media tools for your company and customers in a way that no one has ever seen before,” he says.