In March of this year, the Government released a report on cyber security skills in the UK labour market where it was revealed that 50% of all private sector businesses identify a basic technical cyber security shortage, and 31% of cyber sector firms experienced a soft skills gap within the same timeframe.
Unfortunately, this gap may become more acute as technology evolves thus meaning that businesses need to focus on upskilling staff, raising awareness of the career opportunities within cyber security and recruiting new prospects. This can be done through an engaging external comms strategy that communicates a business’ values, culture, and story.
Promoting company initiatives
Through promoting internal company initiatives cyber security brands can turn their employee value proposition into engaging pieces of content. Leveraging this content effectively will help the business differentiate within a market that some may perceive to be opaque and remain competitive within a crowded candidate market.
Company initiatives can involve both internal and external projects, such as employee wellness, CSR, community outreach or nonprofit fundraising campaigns. As employees are now challenging businesses and asking what they do to help people and the planet, promoting company initiatives is an effective way to show candidates that your business cares about more than just the bottom line.
Recently, Immersive Labs launched an initiative that will grant the British Army with access to their platform and allow staff officers, digital deliverers, and technical specialists to acquire skills in human cyber capability development. This garnered the attention of Business Live who ran an article on the partnership thus increasing the awareness of Immersive Labs and their skills platform.
Communicating company culture
Businesses that highlight and promote their company culture often find it easier to attract new candidates and increase employee retention. By communicating company culture effectively, you will attract candidates that align with your companies values and connect with your mission. This in turn increases brand awareness, fosters a positive reputation and in particularly successful cases candidates will see you as an aspirational business to work for.
A great way to promote culture is through employee experience stories and encouraging C-Suite leaders to share company updates and ‘behind the scenes’ content across social channels. Your workforce is the backbone of your business and can influence candidates’ perception of you as an employer, which is a great way to provide candidates with a transparent insight into work life.
Businesses who make it a priority to promote company culture often use social channels such as LinkedIn or the media to announce award wins which generate external validation and support the claim that you are a good business to work for. Last month, recruitment firm Tempo profiled the top 50 London Startups to work for which was the perfect opportunity for start-ups looking to attract new talent and increase awareness.
Educating the public
A common misconception that many have is that cyber security is only about having technical skills. However, there are many jobs within the cybersecurity that do not require a background in technology such as jobs in cyber policy, compliance and governance, HR, communications, and marketing. Many of these jobs require soft skills that are not always associated with roles in tech. It is important to create content that educates those who are unfamiliar on the range of roles that one could have to ensure that candidates are not being lost.
Education can come in the form of thought leadership content. By establishing your business as an expert in the industry and providing readers with a range of content relating to employment within cybersec, businesses can deliver information that makes the industry seem more accessible. This can be done through securing articles and media interviews or through publishing white papers that relate to the industry and company culture. Ensuring that you are working with an agency with the right contacts to maximise any investment in content is critical and will make sure that your efforts have the desired impact.
Censornet, a leading cloud security provider use their LinkedIn as a channel for promoting their thought leadership blogs. Just yesterday they posted a link to a blog on the link between AI and Cyber Security.
If you’d be interested in discussing how a PR campaign could help support your recruitment goals, get in touch with our award-winning team today.
