The consumer products industry faces high turnover due to inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. Talent attraction and retention remain a pressing issue as workers seek competitive wages, work-life balance, and alignment with personal values.
Brandy Cline – Portfolio Lead, Pontoon Solutions
To hire and retain the best employees, the consumer products sector must transform its talent attraction strategies. This transformation cannot be complete without authentic Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) commitments and a people-first approach to candidates.
Future-proofing the success of any business requires well-rounded ESG strategies. According to PwC, 86% of employees prefer to work for companies that share their social and environmental commitments.
Drawing on Pontoon’s experience with consumer products clients, I’d like to focus on the social impact that consumer products can have on local talent communities.
By applying AI-powered tools that specialise in text analysis, Pontoon improves your job descriptions, helping close the gender gap in your hiring strategies. This is particularly important for consumer products companies. While women make 80% of buying decisions for household products, they hold only 13% of C-suite positions in the industry. Additionally, recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that women make up only 36% of the non-durable goods manufacturing workforce.
Pontoon’s expertise in bridging the gender gap, activating working mothers, and retaining experienced female workers ensures that your company delivers on its social promises. Without leveraging women’s professional expertise, consumer products companies are missing out on the chance to innovate their businesses and appeal to their customer base.
Pontoon is also committed to improving the employability of neurodivergent talent and persons with different types and levels of disability. For a leading global food manufacturer operating in Brazil, we were tasked with revamping our client’s DE&I strategy. We conducted a thorough talent mapping exercise, focused on hiring for entry-level positions, and established a close collaboration with Brazilian non-governmental organisations (NGOs). As such, Pontoon was able to drive our client’s hiring targets but also the overall employability of disadvantaged individuals in the region.
At Pontoon, we have substantial experience in creating client-branded job ads. By designing ads that highlight the company’s commitment to DE&I and employee development, consumer product companies can attract candidates who share these values. This alignment in values can, in return, boost talent retention. People who are more engaged with your employer brand are more likely to stay with your company for longer.
Pontoon makes sure that all recruitment channels and communication are optimised for mobile devices. At the same time, we are mindful of digital adapters who are less comfortable with online tools than digital natives. We are also attentive to people whose different needs require assistance through the job application process. That is why our teams mix new and traditional sourcing channels.
How do we do that? Read on to find out.
To strengthen your employer brand, consider streamlining your recruitment processes with mixed sourcing methods that blend new technologies with onsite events and traditional media campaigns. This mixed approach allows you to reach more candidates. At the same time, you will make sure that no social group is excluded due to limited access to or familiarity with online tools and media outlets.
For one of our Consumer Products and Retail clients in North America, Pontoon was tasked with hiring over 450 people to operate four new stores in metropolitan areas. We needed to develop a customised strategy for each location. Thanks to Pontoon’s data and analytics capabilities, we determined workforce demographics and how the competition faired in these markets. Our teams deployed a Customer Relationship Management tool for a curated email campaign. We also launched grassroots campaigns, reaching out to career centres, high schools, universities, community colleges, houses of worship, and even local TV.
Candidate engagement proved crucial in this volatile talent market characterised by high unemployment and government subsidies. By understanding candidate behaviour, Pontoon could create communications that focused on what mattered the most to prospective employees. These included: pay and benefits, growth and development, culture and fun.
Mixing offline and online sourcing channels is an excellent way to show that you care for both digital natives and adapters. While mobile optimisation is important for the success of hiring strategies, not everybody has access to mobile devices. Similarly, not everybody is comfortable with filling out an online application form. In fact, researchers proved that certain tech-powered and gamified application procedures have serious disadvantages. Clearly, some candidates won’t be able to apply for jobs through apps designed for neurotypical, able-bodied persons. By leveraging onsite hiring events, Pontoon empowers digital adapters, neurodivergent persons, mature workers, and people across all social strata to apply for our clients’ roles.
Embracing authentic ESG commitments, crafting compelling job ads, streamlining the recruitment process, enhancing candidate experience and employer branding are key to building an inclusive consumer products workforce. By partnering with experienced talent providers like Pontoon, consumer products companies can thrive in today’s competitive talent landscape and drive sustainable growth and success.
