"One of the areas that could really enhance your brand is your level of commitment to sustainability. At Lavandi Talent, we think this is particularly important in the beauty industry.
SUSTAINABILITY AND YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND
Just like any other form of branding, your employer brand is woven from a range of different elements. Part of its purpose is to demonstrate who you are, what you stand for, and how you operate to prospective and current employees. That means there is a benefit in ensuring a clear view of your goals, including your commitment to sustainability for everyone. In recent years, the beauty industry has very publicly invested in the development of sustainable products and the wider goals of increased social responsibility.
Naturally, your employees and candidates will therefore want to know where you stand. This is part of the ‘why’ of your business, and these goals and commitments are where employees align with your values.
YOUR BRAND, YOUR APPROACH, YOUR WAY
How you go about communicating your commitment to sustainability in your employer brand is going to be the result of several different factors. You may want to consider the following, though:
Speak to your current employees as well as thinking about recruiting new ones. Your existing workforce can tell you how they currently see your brand. Understanding how important your sustainability policy is to them will help you to gauge if your brand is currently expressing your commitment to sustainability fully and accurately.
Don’t be afraid to air your dirty washing. If you are currently not where you want to be, say so and show what you are doing to change that. Rather than it being a negative, showing your intentions towards development could well demonstrate that you are positive about change.
Be clear in your sustainability mission, and include the team in your initiatives. Stating your commitment to sustainability is one thing, but it really comes into sharp focus in your employer branding if you can show how it relates to the workplace.
Is your commitment to sustainability visible on social media and internal communications? Your core values are important, and that means people deserve to know about them. This is particularly true when it comes to potential employees.
It’s important to be aware of just how much sustainability is important to the current and coming generation of workers. The Millennials that make up most of the workplace are very aware when it comes to the subject of corporate responsibility. Survey after survey shows that the beauty industry consumer is statistically highly likely to favour a brand with a commitment to sustainable practice. For those that work within the beauty sphere to hold a different view seems highly unlikely. In fact, with so many brands devoting their efforts to increasing sustainability, there seems no doubt that it matters to employees from the C-suite down. Add into this that the coming Z-gens are even more committed to environmental and social responsibility, and you have a developing scenario where the importance of sustainable practice in the workplace is only going to be elevated.
SUSTAINABILITY IS PART OF THE EMPLOYEE JOURNEY
Sustainability matters to more than the consumer; it is part of the employee journey. In fact, as this article in Forbes is quick to point out, many are now demanding it as part of their search for an employer.
As recruiters specialising in the beauty industry, we at Lavandi Talent can only add that we have personally experienced a monumental shift in attitudes amongst candidates. They want more from their employer, and sustainability is high on that agenda. In a competitive recruitment landscape, a high-impact employer brand really matters, and that brand needs to discuss sustainability in context.
Contact us, and let’s talk about your employer brand and how we can help find the teams that align with your values."
