Employer Content Marketing

That's the gap Roger Cayless and I wanted to fill.As judges across multiple awards, we've had the unique privilege of seeing behind the curtain - not just the polished final work, but the strategy, insights, and decisions that separate winning content from the rest.So we got into the studio a while back for the latest episode of Employer Content Marketing.We're lifting the lid on:🏆 CGI's award-winning D&I campaign - Roger breaks down how they won the video category at multiple awards including Recruitment Marketing Awards and Lens Awards [and nominations at the RADs].🏆 Find Your Force with the RAF - I share insights from our work with Not Going To Uni that's been nominated for the RADs and won at Recruitment Marketing Awards and Lens Awards.And we share our advice based on judging 100s of award entries over our careers.This isn't a "look at our shiny trophies" conversation.It's a practical deep-dive into what actually works, what doesn't, and why most employer brand content looks exactly the same.There are insights here that could change how you approach your next campaign.The first 90-seconds is at the top.And watch or listen to the full episode here.

Looking to create content that gets nominations and award wins? I’d love to chat.

Ever wonder what it takes to create employer brand content that actually wins awards?

Chris and Roger have both been judges at multiple awards and have been involved in more submissions than they can remember over their careers.

And they've had nominations and won some awards recently.

So they got together to lift the lid on what it takes to produce nomination and award worthy work.In this episode, Chris sits down with Roger Cayless from Leap Create to dissect their award-winning DE&I campaign with CGI.And then Roger interviews Chris about award-winning work with Not Going To Uni and the RAF. Along with several nominations, these campaigns featured across multiple awards such as the Recruitment Marketing Awards, the RAD Awards, and the Lens Awards.

What You'll Discover:

✅ How CGI's innovative "internal voices" campaign tackled diversity & inclusion differently

✅ The psychology behind using a Peep Show-style first-person perspective

✅ Why Not Going Uni's RAF podcast series evolved beyond traditional formats

✅ The strategy behind taking conversations from studios to sports venues for a more immersive experience

✅ Key insights from judges on what makes content award-worthy

Featured Campaigns🎯 CGI's D&I Campaign - Using internal monologue to showcase authentic inclusion

🎯 Find Your Force Podcast Series - RAF early careers recruitment content that helps people discover career potential through sport

Awards Mentioned

- Recruitment Marketing Awards

- RADs

- Lens Awards

Key Takeaways for Employer Content Creators

1. Avoid the obvious approach - don't just film people talking about their jobs

2. Build genuine trust with clients to execute bold creative ideas

3. Create "campaignable" concepts that can scale across multiple stories

4. Focus on clarity in your award entries and let passion show through

5. Use real employees, not actors, for authentic storytelling

Connect with the Guests:Roger Cayless - Leap Createhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/rogercayless/

Chris Le'cand-Harwood - Employer Content Marketing

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislch/

Subscribe to the Employer Content Marketing Newsletter for content direct to your inbox: https://www.employercontent.marketing/

"Do you shop at TK Maxx?"

That's the interview question Rory Sutherland says you should be asking every candidate. His RecFest keynote was packed full of contrarian thinking that can change the way TA influences organisations.

The 20% Rule in Nature and Recruitment

Rory shared a splendid bee analogy:

20% of bees completely ignore the waggle dance that tells them exactly where to find pollen. They just "piss off at random" instead.

This seems wasteful until you realise that without these random bees, the hive gets trapped and starves. The compliant bees can't adapt to change, can't grow beyond existing resources, and most importantly – they can't get lucky.

The random bees aren't just gathering (making sure they don't starve). They're hunting (trying to get lucky).

This discovery is crucial to their survival. And is packed full of lessons for organisations wanting to adapt and thrive.

The Asda vs. TK Maxx Framework

Rory then shared a retail analogy that perfectly captures two fundamentally different approaches:

Asda shopping is thin-tailed: You know what you want, get it efficiently, and celebrate the 3.7% saving. Finance people love this – it's predictable, measurable, safe.

TK Maxx shopping is fat-tailed: You go in like a magpie with no specific agenda. You're treasure hunting, not shopping.

Rory's friends who say "I went to TK Maxx but couldn't find what I wanted" fundamentally don't understand fat-tailed behaviour. You don't go to TK Maxx with a shopping list.

Explore vs. Exploit in Recruitment

This maps directly to how we hire:

EXPLOIT (Your 80% - The Asda Approach):

* Thin-tailed, predictable outcomes

* Simple cost-benefit analysis

* One role, one perfect candidate

* Efficiency and minimal "waste"

EXPLORE (Your 20% - The TK Maxx Approach):

* Fat-tailed outcomes where 5% of successes pay for all the rest

* High uncertainty, breakthrough potential

* Hiring for the person, finding the role later

* Most experiments fail, but the wins are massive

Exploit is simple energy accounting. Explore is like the film industry – a few epic results pay for everything else.

The AI Amplification Reality

How you think about recruitment determines how you'll use AI.

Fat-tailed thinking: You'll use AI to amplify brilliance and execute breakthrough ideas faster than ever.

Thin-tailed thinking: You'll just make mediocrity slightly more common and slightly better.

The TK Maxx Test in Practice

So if someone says they went to TK Maxx and couldn't find what they wanted, they're mission-direct Asda shoppers who don't understand explore behaviour.

But if they light up talking about finding Versace sunglasses for £37.25, or how they go in "like a magpie" never knowing what treasure they'll discover – these are your explorers.

The Perception Shift

Rory's final insight: It's much easier to change perception than it is to change reality.

We don't need to revolutionise recruitment. We need to change how we perceive it. Stop seeing explore behaviour as wasteful. Start seeing it as essential for survival.

Most of us have become so good at Asda shopping that we've forgotten how to treasure hunt. We've optimised for the 80% and forgotten about the 20% that prevents us from starving.

**Filmed at RecFest 2025. Full credit to Rory Sutherland for the original keynote.**

I spent a blazing hot day at RecFest 2025 talking to talent acquisition leaders about the one thing keeping them up at night: CHANGE.From Rory Sutherland's brilliant keynote on behavioural science and hiring "weirdos" to game-changing AI tools that are transforming interviews, here's what I discovered about the future of talent acquisition.KEY TAKEAWAYS:• Rory Sutherland's "bee theory" - why 20% of your hires should be explorers• AI note-taking is changing interviews forever• Why you need an AI strategy before your CFO gets one• How to shift from order-taker to strategic advisorTIMESTAMPS:00:00 - RecFest atmosphere and what to expect01:00 - Festival vibes and morning energy02:00 - Rory Sutherland's hiring heresy04:00 - Interview with Neil on dealing with change06:00 - AI strategy conversation07:00 - Evening festival atmosphere09:00 - Final thoughts and wrap-upThis isn't just another conference recap - it's real talk about what's actually changing in our industry and how to get ahead of it.CONNECT WITH ME:• Newsletter: https://www.employercontent.marketing/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislch/#RecFest2025 #TalentAcquisition #AIInHiring #RorySutherland #EmployerBranding #HRTech #Recruitment

Struggling to be productive rather than just busy?

The film industry might just hold the answer to achieving true strategic productivity through creative flow.

I recently chatted with Steven Puri, founder of The Sukha Company, whose unique journey from IBM engineer to Academy Award winner to tech entrepreneur revealed powerful insights about productivity and creativity working together.

The Productivity-Creativity Connection

At its core, productivity isn't about doing more - it's about creating the conditions for meaningful, strategic work. Steven's experience shows that true productivity comes from accessing your creative flow state.

His app helps solve two critical productivity barriers:

* The Cold Start Problem: Eliminating that 30-minute procrastination period before meaningful work begins

* The Distraction Spiral: Preventing interruptions that derail deep work and strategic thinking

Hollywood's Productivity Secrets

The film industry has mastered productivity in creative environments through:

* Intentional Environments - Like Emmerich and Devlin writing Independence Day in a specific villa that unlocked their creative productivity

* The "Other Thing" Principle - Engaging your executive brain with simple tasks frees your mind for breakthrough ideas

* Structured Collaboration - Film's 100-year process of remote, hybrid, and in-person work phases maximises productivity at each stage

Practical Productivity Tips

Apply these film-inspired techniques to your work:

Protect Deep Work Time - Steven's company has a 9 AM to noon no-meeting rule

Create Dedicated Spaces - Associate specific environments with productive, creative work

Limit Focus to Three Priorities - People complete 77% more when they see just three tasks

Embrace Productive Distractions - Strategic breakthrough ideas often come when your mind is partially occupied

As Steven explains: "It's the difference between reaching 3 PM feeling accomplished versus 6 PM asking 'where did the day go?'"

I really enjoyed this chat with Steven.

Watch or listen to the full episode here

Try out The Sukha Company with a 7-day free trial, and discover more productivity insights on the latest episode of Employer Content Marketing.

Struggling to find your creative flow at work? Want to be more strategically productive instead of just busy? In this flow state episode, Chris sits down with Steven Puri, founder of The Sukha Company, who reveals how to unlock your creative potential and work with true intention.Steven has one of the most unique career journeys you'll ever hear - from software engineer at IBM to Academy Award winner for Independence Day visual effects, to Vice President of Production at DreamWorks running action franchises like Die Hard and Wolverine, and then back to tech to revolutionise how we approach creative, strategic work.Steven shares some behind-the-scenes stories from Hollywood about creativity, and reveals the film industry secrets that can transform how we work in our distributed, hybrid world.Discover the secrets to finding your creative flow, being intentionally productive, and bringing strategic thinking to your daily work. Steven shares reveal universal principles for creative, strategic productivity.Key Topics for Creative Flow & Strategic Productivity:• The neuroscience behind creative breakthroughs and intentional focus• Why giving someone two projects instead of one unlocks better strategic thinking• How to create intentional spaces for deep work and creative flow states• Solving the "cold start problem" to begin each day with creative intention• Building systems to avoid the 6 PM "where did my day go?" feeling• Real stories from Hollywood sets and what they teach us about strategic, creative workTimestamps:00:00 - The power of asking the right questions.01:00 - Steven's unique journey from IBM to Hollywood05:00 - What film taught about distributed work12:00 - The art of listening to your team16:00 - The "other thing" principle of creativity25:00 - Building The Sukha Company35:00 - Practical tips for achieving flow statesConnect with Steven:- Try The Sukha Company: [7-day free trial available] https://www.thesukha.co/- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-puri/Connect with Chris:- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislch/- Subscribe for more employer branding and workplace creativity insights https://www.employercontent.marketing/

Join me as I take you behind the scenes of EB Con, one of Europe's largest employer branding conferences.

I share insights from my talk on employer content creation and feature conversations with other speakers on topics such as AI, employee advocacy, and strategy activation.

Learn how companies are evolving their employer branding approaches to attract and retain talent, the importance of employee advocacy, and even some grounded advice on integrating AI into your workflow.

There are also discussions on wellbeing, corporate strategy, and the balance between high production and zero-budget content.

It's a packed day filled with knowledge sharing, practical tips, and a glimpse into the future of employer branding.

Stick around till the end for my reflections and a look forward to enjoying some local cuisine!

Being the The EB Space's first Employer Branding Unconference was great!EB Uncut promised to be a different kind of conference for the EB community. And it lived up to it for sure.As part of my coverage of the conference, I did some Vox Pops with some of the panelists and attendees.We talk about a load of things:✅ Purpose✅ Resilience✅ Giving employees a voice through AI✅ The underrated role of onboarding in employer branding✅ To EVP or Not to EVPSubscribe to my newsletter for more content direct to your inbox:https://www.employercontent.marketing/

I’m a big fan of creating an environment where creativity finds you.And it’s almost always somewhere that’s not my desk in my office.Because a blank screen on your computer is not where your best ideas come from.So I find different places to work inside and outside of my office.And one of the big ones for me is events.Because even when you’re away from your desk your mind is working in the background. In the unconscious.I did that recently at an event for content creators.And it verified and supported what I know. And gave me new ideas.Great for the mind. Great for my business.So next time you get a chance to go to an event, book time out in your calendar and go.

I’ll be doing more posts about how to find your creative flow, so keep an eye out for the next one!

I attended The Podcast Show London 2025 - my third time - to discover the latest trends in content creation.

I returned with some valuable tips to help you create engaging employer content for your target audience.

Check out the video above.

The landscape has transformed since my first visit in 2022, with YouTubers and social media creators now flooding into the podcast space.

In 2022, discussions centred primarily on how broadcasters, media companies, and brands could use podcasts (mainly audio) to expand their reach.

By 2023, several YouTubers appeared on the agenda, discussing how they'd embraced podcasting - while creating something beyond traditional podcasts in the process.

Now in 2025, the event might as well be called The Podcast & Creator Show.

Video dominates both the exhibition stands and stages, with YouTubers, social media agencies, and production companies demonstrating how video has become the new standard in podcasting.

I loved hearing from prominent creators and had conversations with BBC and the team behind Steven Bartlett's famous Diary of a CEO.

Their techniques really resonate with me, and you can apply them to enhance your employer content creation.