Learning from layoffs: Employer brand comms in an uncertain job market

Between the rise of return-to-office rollouts and a series of layoffs that shook employee confidence throughout the year, it’s hard to gauge exactly how well things are going for American employees.

According to the most recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover report (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job openings are down and major companies continue to make cuts. This latest report arrives after the agency’s annual benchmark review found there were 818,000 fewer jobs in March of this year than it initially reported.

Rethinking your Employee Value Proposition

According to BLS data, there were over 1.7 million layoffs and job discharges in the American workforce in July ‘24 alone. This uptick is still felt as the specter of layoffs has embedded itself in the psyche of many workers across the country as cuts continue.

Take Paramount for instance, which announced another round of layoffs this week after announcing plans to lay off 15% of its American workforce.

But with fear of layoffs abound for many people, how can employers combat this sentiment and build a robust employer comms program? An employee value proposition (EVP) can help when it’s structured for success with cross-functional activity.

• It begins with recruitment. The timing of your outreach matters. While that’s easy for communicators to figure out, improved coordination with HR and corporate communications can help protect the candidate experience from the beginning.
• Helping marketing position the company as an employer. The touchpoints communicators have with the larger employee base can serve as a major advisor to marketing in terms of creating copy to recruit desirable employees. The same applies to how the company positions itself to current employees — all comms need to run through the filter of mission and values.
• Continual updates are key. Employee value propositions should be tweaked over time to correspond with changes to the business, but should always keep employee experience at their core.

Even in an uncertain economy, there are ways to communicate with employees in an authentic, transparent way. Streamlining this message in an EVP is a great way to get there.

Living wage data and figuring out what employees seek

The 2024 Dayforce Living Wage Index found that 44% of American workers reported not making enough in their paychecks to feel comfortable. The data also explored the living wage gap along gender lines, with men reporting higher rates of living wage earnings than women.

This data is concerning, but it’s also something that employers need to stay on top of. Paired with the trend revealed in the JOLTS data, employers must understand how to tweak their employer branding communications to acknowledge dire labor trends. For instance, if your company exists in an industry that’s particularly hard hit, its job posts should place outsized emphasis on upskilling, while its career pages should spotlight employees who have worked at the company for many years.

In a business climate where layoffs and uncertainty rule the day for the moment, these tweaks to your employer brand messaging position comms as advisors and guides throughout the employee lifecycle. Doing so will help the organization cater to both current and potential employees, helping them navigate whatever waves of change come next.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.