Opinion News: Should HR care about PR?

Have you heard the phrase ‘all press is good press?’ It might not be true. Negative publicity not only damages a company’s brand, but also its ability to recruit talent. According to the latest CareerBuilder survey, 71 percent of workers would not apply to a company experiencing negative press. On the flipside, those ‘feel good’ moments that you promote can not only boost employee morale (rewards, perks) and help people feel productive and comfortable (office redesigns, well-being policies) but they can also have a significant impact on your recruitment plans.

Is it time for HR to figuratively ‘get in bed’ with the PR and marketing teams to ensure that the company profile is tip top? It could be well worth having a strong interest in what’s happening.

The national survey, which was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from May 24 to June 16, 2017, included representative samples of 2,369 full-time employers and 3,462 full-time workers across industries and company sizes in the private sector.

“In today’s 24/7 news cycle and social media world, earning and maintaining a good reputation can be a challenge,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “It’s easier than ever before for job seekers to research potential employers. Employers that value transparency and take a proactive approach to issues or complaints will have a better chance of securing trust and loyalty and maintaining a positive reputation that can strengthen their recruitment and retention strategies.”

Negative press and the bottom line
Bad publicity can have a serious ripple effect across companies. More than a quarter of employers (26 percent) say their company has experienced negative publicity, resulting in a hit to their hiring process. Sixty-one percent of these employers combined report fewer job offers being accepted, fewer candidate referrals from employees and fewer job applications as a result of the negative publicity. Other negative impacts to the business included lower employee morale, higher voluntary employee turnover and a decline in sales.

Bad publicity may turn off candidates from applying – but it rarely deters current workers from leaving their jobs. Less than 1 in 10 workers (6 percent) have left a company because of negative publicity.

Positive press, positive results
While negative news travels faster in our social world, companies should share their positive news to strengthen their company overall. Nearly 4 in 5 employers who have experienced positive press have seen beneficial impacts such as:

Higher morale among employees (42 percent)
Employees were most likely to share positive things about the company on social channels (36 percent)
Boost in sales (36 percent)
More job applications (32 percent)
More job candidate referrals from employees (22 percent)
More job offers being accepted (21 percent)
Lower voluntary employee turnover (19 percent)

Incentive and Motivation offers the latest news in employee benefits, rewards, incentive programmes and recognition. Discover the best employee engagement platform, learn about communicating your incentives or the latest tech in the HR space. Popular posts:

• Understanding motivation and incentives in the workplace
• How to align incentives with your business goals
• The importance of incentives
• Using incentives to win new business
• Creative rewards for employees
• Rewarding employees without cash
• How to reward employees for a job well done
• Rewarding in a global business
• Employee incentive program examples