Building

data-driven

talent

personas

Howtoimprove

yourapproachto

attractingand

hiringyoungtalent

Anew

approachto

data-driven

talent

attraction

Analyzingover200,000surveyresponsesfromuniversity

studentsaroundtheworld,Universumuncovers5key

personas—andgivestalentleadersanewtoolintheir

talentattractiontoolbox

Introduction

Introduction

Intheupheavalof2020-2021,onethingremainedrelativelyconstant:thehuntfortoptalentamongtheworld’smostcompetitivetalentbrands.AManPowerstudyfound77-78%ofmid-to-largesizedcompaniesstruggletofillcriticalrolesinsidetheirorganizations.1,2

Thisglobalskillsgapnotonlydrivesupthecostoflabor,italsorobsglobalbusinessesoffuturegrowth.KornFerry’s“FutureofWork”seriesfindsthatby2030,morethan85millionjobsmaygounfilledduetoskills

shortages:“Intechalone,theUScouldloseouton$162billionworthofrevenuesannuallyunlessitfindsmorehigh-techworkers.”3

Midtolarge

companies

strugglemosttofillneededroles

Shareofemployersthatreporthavingdifficultyfillingjobs

2021TalentShortageSurvey-ManpowerGroup

74%

72%

64%

63

%

SMALL10-49

LARGE250+

MICRO<10

MEDIUM50-250

1McKinsey&Company:“Mindthe[skills]gap,”Jan.27,2021.

/featured-insights/coronavirus-leading-through-the-crisis/charting-the-path-to

-the-next-normal/mind-the-skills-gap

2ManPowerGroup:“TheTalentShortage,”Sept.14,2021.

/talent-shortage

3KornFerry“The$8.5TrillionTalentShortage,”2018.

/insights/this-week-in-leadership/talent-crunch-future-of-work

4

Tocontendwiththeseseriouscompetitiveheadwinds,globalemployer

brandsareinanall-outpursuittooptimizetheirexistingtalent

strategies,oftenrelyingonthird-partyresearchtounderstandwhatyoungpeoplelookforinfutureemployers.

Unfortunately,talentleadersfrequentlyrelyonbroad-brushaverages,whichhideimportantinsightsabouttheyoungpeopletheyaremost

interestedinrecruiting.Whileitmaybetruethatjust9%ofworkers

wanttogobacktofull-timetraditionalwork(thisaccordingtoPwC’s

24thannualCEOsurvey),whatdoweknowaboutthat9%?4Arethey

morelikelytobeyoungerworkerswholookforwardtoin-person

mentoringwithmoreexperiencedpeers?Andwhenstudiespointto

youngpeoplewantingtoworkforsociallyconsciouscompanies,how

doesthatcomparewithotheremploymentfactorswhenmakingan

employmentdecision?Howcanemployerspredictwhowillchoosetheircompanyandforwhatreasons?Andisthataffirmativegrouptheoneyourorganizationmostwantstohire?

4PwC:“Hopesandfears2021:Theviewsof32,500workers,”April2,2021.

/gx/en/issues/upskilling/hopes-and-fears.html

5

Talentleadersfrequentlyrely

onbroad-brush

averages,which

hideimportant

insightsabouttheyoungpeopletheyaremostinterestedinrecruiting

AnewanalysisfromUniversumaddshighlygranulardetailtoitsexistingportfoliooftalentinsights.Ratherthanactingonaverages,weaimtogivetalentleadersmorenuancedinsightsaboutthediversityinsidethe

talentgroupstheyaretryingtorecruitandretain.

Universum’sresearchhasalwaysofferedemployer

brandingdatabasedonareaofstudy,geographyandgender.Nowweareaddingapersona-basedanalysistothetalenttoolkit.

Thepersonaresearchisbasedonanannualsurveyof

over200,000universitystudentsaroundtheglobe.Thestudyfocusesonbusiness,engineeringandITstudentsfromthe10largesteconomies,andasksyoungpeoplewhichemployerbrandstheymostadmire,aswellas

whatspecificallytheylookforinafutureemployer.

Universumthenconductedasub-groupanalysisthat

characterizesdistinctpersonaswithineachareaofstudy.

(Seethefivepersonasinthesidebaratright.)

TheFiveTalent

Personas

Go-Getters

Ground-Breakers

Globe-Trotters

Change-MakersBalance-Seekers

7

Insteadoftreatingyoungengineersordatascientistsas

ablock,forexample,Universum’sanalysisdividesthese

job-seekersintofivekeycohorts.(Foramoredetailed

methodology,seepage9.)Theideaistoofferinsightsnotonlyaboutwhatbusinessstudentsorengineersmaysearchforinafutureemployer,buttheuniqueprofilesthatexistwithinthosegroupsandwhatmotivateseachofthem.

Thevalueofthepersonaresearchistwo-fold:

1.Talentaudit:Organizationscanusetheresearchto

understandwhattypesofpeoplearecurrentlyattractedtotheiremployerbrand.Isthemixintentionalorbyaccident?Howdoesitcomparetocompetitors?Doesitrepresenttheidealmixforthatcompany’stalentobjectivesandbusinessgoals?

2.Talentoptimization:Withanauditinhand,talentleaderscanoptimizetheircurrenttalentattractionactivities

toensuretheyarerecruitingtheidealmixofyoungprofessionalsintocriticalroles.

8

Universum’s

Talent

Personas

Universum’snewcareerpersonasgiveemployerbrandingleadersadata-

drivenwaytoevaluateandoptimizetheirtalenttargeting.

Go-Getters

Stronglyperformance-oriented,Go-Gettersareambitiousachievers,hungrytomaketheirmarkinsidesuccessful

companies.Go-Gettersarecomfortabletakingonhighlevelsofresponsibilityandtoughchallenges.Inreturnfortheir

effortsandabilitytomakethingshappen,Go-Gettersexpecthighlevelsofrecognitionandafast-trackcareer.

Top5globalemployerspreferredbyGo-Getters

1

MorganStanley

2

UBS

3

GoldmanSachs

4

J.P.Morgan

5

Ericsson

10

Globe-Trotters

Withastronginternationalorientation,Globe-Trotters

seektobroadentheirhorizonsinsideamultinational

company.Theywantcosmopolitancareersthatprovidetheopportunitytotravelandinteractwithadiverseinternationalcommunityofcolleagues,clientsandcustomers.Globe-

Trottersseechangeaspositiveandstimulating.

Top5globalemployers

preferredbyGlobe-Trotters

LVMH

1

SociétéGénérale

TheBostonConsultingGroup

2

3

4

Bain&Company

5

Mckinsey&Company

11

Ground-Breakers

Ground-Breakersareentrepreneurial;theywanttoworkfordynamicteamsdrivinginnovationinstartupenvironments.Ground-Breakersarelessinterestedinworkingfor

establishedplayers,andmorefocusedonembracingnewtechtobuildexcitingproducts.

Top5globalemployers

preferredbyGround-Breakers

1

ABB

2

3

VolvoCarCorporationAirbusGroup

4

GeneralMotors

5

BASF

12

Change-Makers

Change-Makersarestronglypurpose-oriented.Theyare

altruisticbynatureandseekoutorganizationsthatserve

thecommongood—whetherthroughpublicserviceor

socialenterprise.Change-Makersarestrongsupportersof

diversity,equityandinclusion,andfeelmostengagedwhentheyareservingahigherpurposeorhelpingothers.

Top5globalemployers

preferredbyChange-Makers

Danone

MondelēzInternationalIKEA

Bayer

GrantThornton

1

2

3

4

5

13

Balance-Seekers

Balance-Seekersstriveforwork-lifebalance;

theytendtopreferwell-established,smalltomediumsizedorganisationswithafriendly,familyfeel.They

aimforadecentsalaryandarolethatallowsthemtobalancetheirresponsibilitiesatworkwiththeirwiderinterestsandresponsibilitiesoutsideofwork.

Top5globalemployers

preferredbyBalance-Seekers

Ubisoft

EletronicArts

GrantThornton

1

2

3

IKEA

Mars

4

5

14

Usingtalent

personastobuild

abest-in-class

employerbrand

Thebestemployerbrandsaren’tfocusedongenericpopularity,

butaseriesofoptimizationsand

adjustmentsthatensurethecompany’smessagehitshomewiththekeytargetgroupstheymostwanttoattract.

Whileemployerbrandsaimtobewidelyrecognizable

andpopular,inpracticeemployerbrandingisalsoabouthyper-localizingandpersonalizingtheemployervaluepropositiontoensuretheorganizationisattractingtherightpeopleformission-criticalroles.

Whyshouldcompaniescareaboutwhich“personas”theycurrentlyemployandwhichtheywantto

attract?

16

Genderpreferences:OurresearchshowsthatwomenaremorelikelytobeChange-Makers,Balance-SeekersandGlobe-Trotters.Fororganizationsintentonhiringmorewomeninto

specificroles,understandingthesepersonasisacriticalinsighttofutureattraction.

Geographicpreferences:Profilesvarywidelybygeography;usingaparticularsetofattractiondriversinoneregionmaybecounterproductiveinanother.Personaanalysisisyetanothertoolintheattractiontoolkit,helpingtalentleadersadjusttheirapproachforhigh-demandrolesinspecificgeographies.

Roledemands:Bytheirverynature,somerolesdemandacertainpersonatype.Thoseworkinginproductdevelopmentforaglobalmanufacturingcompanymayneedtotravelextensively—andaGlobe-Trotterisuniquelysuitedtoenjoythatjobrequirement.Bythesametoken,Globe-Trotterswouldbepoorlysuitedtovirtualrolesthatrequireworkerstostaywithinaconfined

geography.

Futureobjectives:Whataboutacompanytryingtopivot,leavingbehindoldwaysofworkingandembracingnewimperatives?Acompanythatwantstosuperchargetheirinnovation

engine,forexample,shouldbefocusedonhiringmoreGround-Breakers—buttheircurrenttrackrecordhindersthemfromdoingso.Oracompanythatwantstoboostitsdiversity,equityandinclusionprogramsshouldexaminewhetherthey’rehiringChange-Makerstosupport

theseefforts.

17

Thefutureofemployerbrandingandtalentattractionisaboutbalancingenterprise-wide

valueswithhyper-personalizedmessagingtoattracthigh-valuecandidates.Thepersona

analysisresearchisanactionabletoolthatshowswhoisattractedtoyourcompanyandhowtoclosethegap—bothwithbrandmessagingandon-the-groundjobcharacteristics—toattractmoreoftheyoungpeopleyourorganizationneedsmost.

14%

12%

Balance-seeker

Comparing

10%8%6%4%2%0%

mixtopreferred

currentpersona

personamix

change-Maker

Ground-Breaker

Currentlyemployedpersonasvsideallyemployedpersonas

UniversumTalentPersonaresearch(showingasamplecompany)

Current

Ideal

Go-Gette