People
All SBA people have worked together for many years and provide experience in senior management roles and relationships, employee research, workshop facilitation, coaching, communications and analysis — the key elements of developing a great employer brand. Plus Mergers and Acquisitions where every element of that is needed (ideally before completion).
Clients
I have worked for many great employers in my time among them Chanel, Mercedes-Benz, Hiscox, Invesco Perpetual, Vestey Group, Freshfields and the Israeli Pharmaceutical leader Teva. These in particular demonstrated the hallmarks of determined and visible leadership, clarity of purpose and the ability to inspire loyalty and engagement (including that from their suppliers).
Events
A list of not to be missed dates for your diary
International Human Resources Summit & Exhibition – March 2021
Simon will be speaking at the ‘Future Of Work’ International Human Resources Summit & Exhibition, which this year will take place virtually on 25–28 March 2021. Simon is speaking at 10:50 GMT+3 on Friday, 26 March.
With the awareness that the most important factor which makes a difference in working life during the pandemic period is “human”, we organize Turkey’s largest Human Resources Summit and Exhibition on 25-28 March 2021. We will invite you to this important summit which the world leaders from many countries and Turkey, Human Resources Managers, CEOs, academics, industry professionals and all stakeholders on the subject are also going to participate.
Find out more here. Tickets are available here.
July 8, 2020 | natasha
Simon Barrow’s virtual talk at the Great Workplace Summit, China, 10th July 2020
Given that our relationship with China is such a talking point right now, it is worth highlighting how much we have in common in trying to improve leadership, engagement and the employee experience.
This Friday 10th July I am, virtually, giving one of the talks at the 2020 China Great Workplace Summit to which over 10,000 have booked in, on the topic of ‘Employer Brand Management in a new world’.
You can watch live at 0650 UK time here (Flash is required in your browser): mudu.tv/watch/6602447
Other key note speakers include:
- Dave Ulrich, Professor of Business, University of Michigan. The thought leader on redefining and upgrading HR
- David Zinger, Founder of the Employee Engagement Network based in Winnipeg, Canada
- Mark Allen, Master of Science in Human Resources, Graziado Business School, Los Angeles
My subject, predictably, is ‘Employer Brand Management in a new world’. It is the fifth talk I have given in China and probably the most forthright on the need to change current practice in people management. Writing it, I thought how much these messages for corporates also apply to nation states but doubt if anyone will pick up on this aspect in the chat room discussions.
The full talk will be available online in the near future in video (with Chinese subtitles). It may be possible to get the chat room content, please let me know if you would like a summary of this.
September 17, 2019 | Admin
Simon Barrow’s interactive Q&A at the Talent Brand Alliance conference in London 15-18 October 2019
The Talent Brand Alliance conference in London 15-18 October 2019
A group from Texas – the Talent Brand Alliance – have asked me to speak at a workshop they are organising in London on 17th October and have suggested I do this short video about what I am going to say. It may encourage some of you to come along.
The driver for this event is how to improve the attraction and recruitment of relevant people to an organisation.
That is a vital role but they have asked me to add my thoughts on the broader need for Employer Brand management: Here are four themes
1. The target that really matters is existing employees. It’s everything that makes up their experience – THAT is what creates an Employer Brand.
2. You cannot you spin your way there. Reputation is based on reality and Work is about life itself. your identity, your self esteem, your future.
3. The essence of Employer Brand Management is to bring the best of brand management to people at work – planning, research, innovation, measurement and coherence. The work on attraction is not separate. It is part of overall EB Management.
4. Career development. Given the massive and complex challenges of people motivation and management today this area should be a springboard for bigger roles. I’ll be sharing some ideas.
It’s not just me – there are speakers from Intel, Danone, Unilever, Booking.com, N26, and Link Humans, and attendees from across the Europe and companies including Harrods, GE, Screwfix, Deutsche Telekom, Roche, and Lloyd’s Register.
It’s at the Andaz Hotel on Liverpool St London EC2M 7QN
For tickets go to the Talent Brand website and apply. The organisers are generously giving a 20% discount if you put in the code ‘imwithsimon’.
Hope you can make it.
Simon Barrow
July 4, 2019 | Admin
Simon’s fourth Employer Brand talk in China, Shanghai, 26th July 2019
Our client, Steven Li of LinLead, has done some qualitative research on the understanding in China of what Employer Brand management is and is not, and has asked me to make the keynote at this event on 26th July. If you have a business interest in China and/or Chinese associates who may like to attend, do please forward this blog to them. My themes will include:
- The principles of brand management as a proven business approach and the challenges of applying that thinking to the world of work. Why it is a harder job than that of Product Brand Management (having done both).
- Managing people at work needs this approach more than ever given the many factors that are weakening loyalty and trust.
- Managing the realities of the employment experience. Whose job is that? Employer Brand managers and/or specialists in managing the employee experience.? Either way, it is a critical ingredient of the EB. At work, your people know the truth. They judge you on what you do not what you say.
- Practical insights which will help EB executives in creating the identity that will build the brand providing existing employees believe that it reflects reality.
- The 10 key behaviours which distinguish great Employer Brand people. It is these characteristics which will transform the career prospects of people in this area and change the reputation of people in HR. I shall be quoting Peter Cheese, the CIPD CEO, who expressed some very frank statements on what HR needs to do in the June issue of People Management. He starts with the need for more confidence and courage. In my own experience, most of the main business functions produce future CEOs but HR is not yet a springboard for the top and yet it should be.
Peking University has stated that great employers no longer have the power they once had. That power is now with brilliant talent as individuals. That is a big statement and one which I will be addressing in my talk.
Simon Barrow
September 24, 2018 | natasha
China’s Best Employers Conference 2018
The organisers of China’s Best Employers 2018 have asked Simon to make the keynote speech on changes to the employment market in the past year.
The conference takes place in Chengdu 23-24 November. Last year, Simon spoke at the same conference, to an audience of 800 in Hangzhou in December 2017, and has been asked back for this year’s event.
Within the event this year, China’s Best Employers Organizing Committee will hold: 2018 Chinese Human Capital Management International Forum; The “SU” Grand Ceremony – New Business Talk 2018 and China Best Employer Award 2018 Top100; Human Resources Digital-Lab; help setting up a Digital Employer Brand, and diversify forms of awards – “The Most Intelligent Employers” and “The Most Influencial Individual”.
Read more information here: Best Employer Award 2018 Invitation
September 14, 2018 | Admin
Employee Experience Forum 2018 – 25-27th September
The Employee Experience Forum will be held on the 25th Septemeber (Workshop), 26th – 27th Septemeber (Conference), at the Clayton Hotel Chiswick in London.
It is the only UK based conference of its kind focussing on the end-to-end employee experience — providing employers with key tips and tricks to tackle challenges and learn from over 20 leading case studies on employee experience, and how to:
- Innovate your employee experience to gain a competitive edge.
- Empower your employees and increase productivity.
- Driving better Employees Experiences through a digitally powered new HR organisation, with insights from Stela Barcelos, Unilever’s Global HR Director.
- Create a diverse and inclusive employee experience, which allows individuals to thrive and break away from the “traditional environment”, with insights from the Head of Employee Experience, Royal Mail.
Simon will be the Chairperson of the event and there will be many speakers from leading companies who will present their case studies and participate in various panel discussions.
If you would like to view the full conference agenda to learn more about the event, please download a copy — Employer Experience 2018
To register for the event, you can email enquire@iqpc.co.uk, call +44 (0) 207 036 1300, or visit the website at employeeexperience.iqpc.co.uk.
November 20, 2017 | Admin
China’s Best Employer Awards – 7-8th December 2017
China’s Best Employer Awards 7-8th December 2017 initiated by China’s leading career development platform Zhaopin and Peking University Social Survey Research Center.
Simon is making the keynote speech at this event in Hangzhou – ‘The Employer Brand in the context of the new employer economy and new data’. He will be making the case that new employment options place greater pressure on EB Managers to extend their remit both within their organisations and externally. Regarding new data and the deeper knowledge of employees it provides, that must be seen as something that employees can trust and respect. They must see the benefits for ‘us’ as well as ‘them’.
He will also be presenting the awards to the winners from the 9,700 participating companies representing the votes of 28 million employees. On the theme of his speech, Simon has also written an article for Harvard Business Review Asia.
Employers, both China-based companies and multinational companies with China operations, are eligible for the awards. To visit the awards website, please go to best.zhaopin.com.
February 7, 2017 | Admin
Employer Brand Management Awards 2017
Simon Barrow is a judge for the Employer Brand Management Awards 2017. The awards ceremony will be held in Central London on 25th April 2017.
The awards programme exists as the true benchmark of the employer brand management process. Metrics such as retention and cost per hire go far, but, until now, there has not been an awards programme that compares and contrasts the different aspects of successful employer branding. Nothing that fully rewards excellence and celebrates the campaigns and the organisations that excel in this field.
For information on the ceremony, please visit the EBMA website — employerbrandmanagementawards.com.
January 26, 2017 | Admin
MPF Awards for Management Excellence 2017
Simon will be joining the judging panel for the MPF Awards for Management Excellence 2017.
The winners will be announced at a gala dinner and ceremony on 8 March 2017 at the London Marriott, Grosvenor Square, hosted by Austin Healey, of rugby and Strictly Come Dancing fame.
The shortlist for 15th Annual MPF Awards has been announced, and you can see details here: mpfglobal.com/awards
The Managing Partners’ Forum is a membership organisation dedicated to helping professional firms grow by providing insights to improve performance, increase profitability and prepare for an uncertain future. Find out more about MPF and Membership at mpfglobal.com.
November 28, 2016 | Admin
Communism, Fascism and now Populism: the role of Employer Brand thinking in society – 6th December 2016
Illustration by David Parkin. The Economist, 19th November 2016
Simon Barrow is speaking at Transform magazine’s Employer Brand Management conference in London 6th December.
Given the rise of Populism, how can EB thinking help employers and governments address the millions who feel excluded? It’s a challenge for all of us.
Please see here for more information.
Visit eventbrite.co.uk for tickets and use this 10% discount code when ordering tickets — SB10
September 8, 2016 | Admin
Employer Brand Conference – Sofia, 4th November 2016
Employer Brand Management conference on 4th November in Sofia, at which Simon is running four sessions for the business community in Bulgaria — EB development, understanding and engaging your people, initiating change and winning senior management approval.
Exercises will include an assessment of the brand of Bulgaria now an EC member.
Companies with interests there may like to contact the organiser Georgi S. Georgiev — georgi@tothetop.bg
November 11, 2015 | Admin
Transform Magazine’s Employer Brand Management Conference – 9th December 2015
Real Employer Brand Management — is the hard way the only way?
It is 25 years since Simon created the EB approach aiming to bring the best of brand management to people at work when, after his brand management experience on Knorr and Colgate, he had to face the different challenges of leading a large team.
The EB is now well known (4.47 million Google search results) but he believes it still needs to match the disciplines, measurement and leadership attention of product brand management at its best.
Simon will demonstrate why EB management is a much tougher call and, given current employment issues, will make the case for a significant upgrade. Achieving that will not be easy but the benefits to businesses and their people are considerable — as well as for the career development of those in EB related roles.
For more information about the conference:
Transform Magazine’s Employer Brand Management Conference 2015
September 14, 2015 | Admin
Simon Barrow to join Wizard Academy course – Austin TX, 17-19 November 2015
Simon has been asked to join the Wizard Academy’s ‘Magical Worlds of Communication Workshop’ — the approach which triggered the first of three NY Times best sellers, “Magical Worlds of the Wizard of Ads” by Roy H. Williams. It provides transformational education by taking a look at what creative people do intuitively and teaching others how to do it on purpose. Simon will be there to experience its impact on Employer Brand thinking and looking for the possibilities it would create for the Wizard’s 2016 syllabus.
This unique place of learning has helped improve the performance of thousands of independent business people since its foundation in 2000. A school for the imaginative, courageous and ambitious, the faculty of Wizard Academy studies what gifted people do when they’re feeling inspired so they can reverse engineer their unconscious methods. They show you step by step how to do consciously what gifted people do unconsciously.
August 21, 2015 | Admin
Bogazici University and Ali Aziz of Realta – Istanbul, 12 October 2015
Simon has been asked to address an audience of 450 HR people at Bogazici University in Istanbul 12th October 2015. He will later be facilitating an Employer Brand workshop for clients of SBA’s partner in Turkey- Ali Ayaz of Realta. Bogazici has a student body of 14,500 and follows a curriculum which is competitive with Harvard and other leading US universities. If anyone would like a Turkish associate of theirs to attend, please let me know.
April 10, 2015 | Admin
Corporate Reporting, Human Capital and the Intangible Asset – London conference, 15 May 2015
The investors take on people
What do investment professionals look for in their journey to understand the strength of an organisation as an employer? Obviously the financial performance and prospects are paramount but how can fund managers get closer to the truth about the people driving the business? Are organisations less comfortable at sharing how they measure what makes up their employee experience and their ability to attract and retain outstanding talent?
This session aims to fill this gap by highlighting the key areas in which people at all levels in an organisation are critical to financial performance.
For more information: communicatemagazine.co.uk/humancapital
Simon Barrow, employer brand and M&A consultant — SBA
Henry Dixon, Portfolio Manager — Man Group
Bob Yerbury, non-executive director — Above Wealth
