AXA is encouraging its recruitment teams to become content creators, in an effort to reach young people and attract digital talent to the company.
The Paris-headquartered insurer is looking to change its perception among potential employees, particularly those with emerging from universities with technology, engineering and data skills.
Speaking to M&M Global at NewsCred’s #ThinkContent Summit in London last week, Hannah West, AXA’s global head of employer brand and attraction, said the firm is doing “interesting things” in areas like IT security, online transactions and the Internet of Things, but this was not being recognised by potential applicants.
Rather than visit university campuses and say “we’re great”, West said AXA has plotted a more “disruptive”, content-led approach to developing its employer brand. Recruiters have been encouraged to post blogs on the brands ‘Discover AXA’ website and social media pages, with advice on topics such as giving presentations, working in virtual teams and standing out at careers fairs.
Such an approach also helps to reduce the levels of investment in head-hunters and recruitment companies, added West. “If we can get our employees and recruiters producing more content we can share out on our platforms, it is more likely they will apply for roles,” she said.
‘Great Global Adventure’
It follows the launch of AXA’s ‘Great Global Adventure’ recruitment marketing campaign in 2014. Now into its second year, the insurer ran a competition offering a “dream” year of travel and work experience at AXA’s global offices for one successful entrant.
This year’s winner, Australian student and travel blogger Chelsie Kumar, is in the middle of her trip, posting regular updates to Facebook and Instagram. And the second year has offered a chance to develop messages relevant to the AXA brand, said West.
“In year one, our initial aim was to build employer brand awareness and consideration, to get our name out there and help people to see us in a different light,” she said. “In the second year, there was a real opportunity for our wider corporate marketing brand, so we were much more selective in the stories we shared during the game.”
A main focus, according to West, is informing prospective employees that they can make a meaningful contribution to transforming AXA’s digital marketing and data approach: “For us, it’s about people with the right mind-set for AXA.
“An industry like insurance is quite interesting for those people. Iif they go into a Google or Amazon, everything is quite advanced there, whereas they know that insurance and financial services are still on quite a journey, so they can make a huge impact and transform an industry.”
