Bryan Adams to speak at launch of new Northern Ireland Employee Insights Survey

A number of factors, including low unemployment, Covid, Brexit and the Brain Drain of local students have led to many organisations in Northern Ireland finding it increasingly difficult to attract, engage and retain the best talent in their field.

A new employer branding event, to be held in the refurbished Rita Duffy Suite in The Merchant Hotel, Belfast on Thursday, April 11, will give never-before-seen insights into the priorities and motivations of Northern Ireland employees and job seekers in relation to factors such as working conditions, company culture, diversity and inclusion and opportunities for progression, and offer up solutions as to how businesses can tackle these challenges.

The bespoke piece of research was commissioned by Belfast-based employer marketing and branding experts, The Formula.

Providing the keynote address at ‘Why is Employer Branding essential in 2024?’ and the launch of the Northern Ireland Employee Insights Survey 2023, will be internationally renowned employer branding expert Bryan Adams.

Bryan is a two-times best-selling author, Harvard Business Review contributor, podcaster and specialist speaker on employer branding and his creative, unconventional and often controversial methodologies are said to regularly change the way people think about employer branding and the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Bryan specialises in the development of EVPs and talent engagement strategies for companies such as Apple, Nike, Peloton and Ford.

The event programme will also include a panel discussion featuring local specialists in best practice talent attraction and retention strategies.

Emma Murray, managing director of The Formula, said: “Finding and keeping the right people is a problem which is not going away for employers. Our recently commissioned survey shows that people in Northern Ireland care more than ever about employment factors other than simply the size of their pay packet.”

“In a crowded recruitment environment, businesses must have a point of difference which helps them stand out from the crowd. Not to mention that investing in a strong employer brand can reduce cost per hire by up to 50% as well as reducing staff turnover by up to 28%.

“We can’t wait to welcome business leaders, marketers and HR professionals to the brand-new Insights event where we’ll be discussing the results of the first-ever Northern Ireland specificresearch on this issue and posing solutions to the challenges faced by organisations in today’s candidate led market.”

Headline speaker Bryan Adams said: “I am so pleased to be speaking in Belfast during my limited time in the UK. I believe people are the only true competitive advantage companies have left. We are living in an identity economy where would-be employees are less concerned about ‘what am I going to do?’ and more interested in ‘who am I going to be?’

“Employers have to work harder to create a sense of belonging amongst their teams and showcase this to the world. I am looking forward to sharing the latest thinking with attendees at The Formula’s upcoming event.”