0203 026 3870
Newsom Consulting
Delivering Leadership Talent
Newsom ConsultingNewsom Consulting
  • Sectors
    • Rail
    • Aviation
    • Highways
    • Power & Utilities
    • Buildings
    • Defence
    • Major Projects
    • Transport Operators
    • International
  • Our Services
    • Executive Search
    • Talent Mapping
    • Leadership Assessment
    • Outplacement
  • Opportunities
  • Testimonials
  • Insights
    • Blogs
    • Reports & Guides
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Contact Us
  • Sectors
    • Rail
    • Aviation
    • Highways
    • Power & Utilities
    • Buildings
    • Defence
    • Major Projects
    • Transport Operators
    • International
  • Our Services
    • Executive Search
    • Talent Mapping
    • Leadership Assessment
    • Outplacement
  • Opportunities
  • Testimonials
  • Insights
    • Blogs
    • Reports & Guides
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Contact Us

3 ways PR can boost your employer brand in the COVID crisis.

PR is an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to promoting your employer brand.

 

And right now it seems that major contractors and consultancies are in a public relations battles with their competitors to come out on top of the coronavirus PR war.

 

Just last week, six of the twenty largest UK contractors have come out and said that they won’t be taking the furlough bonus (for each employee brought back from furlough) in January under the government’s job retention schemes.

 

Taylor Wimpey’s boss has announced that making redundancies is “short sighted”. Skanska’s UK CEO, Gregor Craig has made headlines by saying they wouldn’t make any salary cuts for any staff and that “people remember that you cut their salaries”.  Morgan Sindall have pledged to repay the  £9.3m it claimed from furloughing staff.

 

Companies are making some bold PR claims.

 

It all sounds amazing in a time when job security has been shaken across all sectors, not just transport, infrastructure and the built environment. So, the companies that can prove that they have their employee’s best interests at heart will come out on top when it comes to attracting talent to the business.

 

Redundancies are unfortunately fairly commonplace for many people and businesses at the moment. Which means that the market has been flooded with talent, all particularly wary of how secure a new role will be.

 

So publicising what your company is doing to safeguard roles is vital to ensuring your employer brand is one people can trust.

 

But realistically, most companies are finding it difficult right now and can’t feasibly guarantee that there won’t be any pay cuts or that they won’t be taking the government’s help over the next few months.

 

So aside from the claims that the big contractors are making, what can you publicise to make sure that you are coming out on top of the PR battle with your competitors?

 

1. Contract Wins

 

Big or small, publicising that you have won a major bid or a new contract shows the talent market that you are still open for business and it celebrates the work that your employees are doing.

 

2. Health, Safety & Wellbeing

 

Are you going above and beyond to make sure that employees are working in a safe environment? If so shout it from the rooftops.

 

Pushing staff to return full-time to offices right now before they feel totally comfortable is bad press. Obviously, business does need to get back on track, and for many working remotely isn’t feasible 100% of the time.

 

But if you do have to get staff back in the office or on site, go the extra mile to make it safe.

 

3. Flexible Working

 

If you can offer it. Do.

 

Flexible working has long been a huge selling point for candidates, but now they have had a taste of working from home, it’s going to be hard to convince people to go back. We recently conducted a survey and 86% of people don’t want to return to the office full time.

 

If you are offering someone a job that requires them to be in the office 5 days a week compared with another company that allows them to work from home 2 or 3 days a week, it’s going to be a hard sell to persuade them your role is the better option.

 

Not only this, but by taking away the commuting costs you are effectively giving employees a bonus that hasn’t cost the business a penny.

 

It’s not an easy environment to be promoting your employer brand at the moment, so every little thing that you are doing well should be celebrated. PR can be a hugely valuable tool in making your business stand out from your competitors and to attract the best talent.

 

What ways have you found useful for promoting your employer brand? I’d be interested to hear your ideas so do drop me a line.

By Jim Newsom17th August 2020
Jim Newsom

Author: Jim Newsom

Jim Newsom leads our work in construction and infrastructure having worked in executive search since 1998, recruiting for both public and private sector companies in infrastructure, transport, engineering and construction. Prior to forming Newsom Consulting, Jim spent 11 years working for the one of the UK’s largest independently owned executive recruiters and then two years at a boutique search firm. Jim is a graduate in civil engineering from Liverpool University.

Post navigation

PreviousPrevious post:Everything you need to know about Non-Executive DirectorsNextNext post:Executive Coaching – What is it and Why do it?

Related posts

Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure – The Headlines from February 2021
2nd March 2021
Safety Culture – Is Safety Behaviour Slipping Since Covid?
22nd February 2021
It’s 2021 – How Can We Improve Gender Diversity in Construction and Infrastructure?
15th February 2021
Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure – The Headlines from January 2021
1st February 2021
The Bid Recruitment Dilemma – How and Who Should You Be Recruiting?
25th January 2021
Mergers & Acquisitions in Transport, Infrastructure & Construction – The 2020 Roundup
18th January 2021

To recieve our weekly blogs please fill in your details below:

Recent Posts
  • Movers and Shakers in Transport & Infrastructure – The Headlines from February 2021
    2nd March 2021
  • Safety Culture – Is Safety Behaviour Slipping Since Covid?
    22nd February 2021
  • It’s 2021 – How Can We Improve Gender Diversity in Construction and Infrastructure?
    15th February 2021
Testimonials

Since taking over as the CEO of Crossrail I have put a lot of effort into establishing the right leadership team to complete the project. Newsom Consulting have been a great partner in this work. Together we have worked to assemble a great new team  with the right energy and capability for one of the worlds most complex projects.

Jim and team are a real pleasure to work with; responsive and sensitive to our unique circumstances.

CEO, Crossrail

Over the last few years CAF Rolling Stock UK has worked closely with Jim and Richard of Newsom Consulting to recruit several leadership roles across the business. We have found Newsom to be effective in providing high calibre candidates. We would recommend Newsom for recruiting key leadership roles.

Chief Operating Officer, CAF Rolling Stock UK

Heathrow have partnered with Newsom Consulting to recruit several key leadership roles for our Expansion team. On each search they have been successful in providing an excellent shortlist from which we have appointed a high-calibre candidate. Jim has worked with Heathrow for a number of years and has developed a good understanding of our business, and we have recently appointed Newsom Consulting as an executive search partner for the Expansion programme.

Expansion Programme Director, Heathrow Airport
Newsom Consulting
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Footer Menu

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Newsom Consulting
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.