To combat unfilled jobs, let's communicate about the "image of the profession."
“It’s enough to make you lose your Latin!” “It’s crazy!” These are the reactions people might have when they hear about studies announcing that there are more than a hundred thousand job vacancies.
Beatrice Siadou-Martin, University of Lorraine; Fanny Poujol, University of Montpellier and Franck Gavoille, ESSCA School of Management
David McEachan/Pexels
How can we explain that these jobs are not being filled, even though unemployment is at a historically high level? (around 10%) is observed?
For everyone, this situation appears “absurd but recurring”And yet, this observation is made every year for many professions: healthcare professions, accounting professions, engineering professions, sales professions, etc.
The Tendance Emploi Compétence (TEC) observatory has made two observations. On the one hand, one-third of recruitment projects will encounter difficulties that could lead to the failure of the process, leaving jobs vacant. On the other hand, employers explain this situation by the shortage of candidates, or the unsuitability of profiles or working conditions.
To explain this apparent paradox, several academic studies have examined this issue and provided some interesting insights. This has led to the emergence of the concept of “employer brand”.
Beyond the "employer brand," a lack of representation of the profession...
The "employer brand" is a key issue for companies seeking to attract and retain talent. It enables a company to promote and communicate the work experience it can offer its current and potential employees. In this way, it positions itself as an employer of choice.
And clearly, the efforts made by French companies are being rewarded. In the latest Universum ranking of favorite companies among future graduates of prestigious universities, French companies are making progress.
But is this enough? Current economic news highlights the difficulties faced by the PSA Group which, despite its popularity and the positive image of its commercial brands (Peugeot and Citroën) among the French, is encountering difficulties in recruiting temporary workers for its factory in Sochaux. Thus, being a renowned employer does not seem to be enough to attract candidates; it is therefore necessary to go beyond the employer brand alone.
Perhaps some reflection on the profession itself can provide some answers. Franck Gavoille, Professor Human Resources Management, proposes to define the image of the profession as:
“A comprehensive representation of a profession in an individual's mind. It corresponds to all mental representations [...] formed as a result of an individual's exposure to various stimuli [...]. Individuals refer to this representation when determining how to behave in relation to a profession.”
In other words, individuals form their ideas about different professions based on all the information they receive about them.
Without going into excessive detail about the different aspects of a profession, we can quickly list them. These include contributions ("what does the job require of me?": balancing work and private life, risks taken, stress, etc.); rewards ("what can the job offer me?": remuneration, professional fulfillment, career development, etc.); responsibilities generated by the job; and its relational dimension ("what types of human contact does this job require or allow?").
From “career image” to career choice...
The sales profession is often cited as a jobs in high demandThere is significant and constant demand in this field (approximately 100,000 recruitment projects per year in recent years), and prospective studies confirm this trend.
According to the report "What jobs will there be in 2022?", France Stratégie and Dares estimate that there will be 587,000 vacancies in France between 2012 and 2022 for all sales professions combined.
In this context, it seems interesting to study the image that students enrolled in sales-related programs have of the profession. Our academic study, conducted among 88 Master's 2 students, provides us with three important insights.
First, when asked the question "What does a sales representative mean to you?", students spontaneously mention remuneration, responsibilities, and the interpersonal aspect of the job. Contacts and human relationships seem to be central to their perception of and choice of profession.
Surprisingly, students do not mention the contributions expected to practice this profession. This raises questions about when these contributions are formed (do they arise only after one or more concrete experiences?) as well as the tools and mechanisms used to communicate about the professions. Analysis of the professional press also suggests that this dimension is less present in the discourse.
Communication about sales professions should therefore be improved, because the better known the profession is, the more favorably it is viewed. This is also a lever for action to combat negative stereotypes. Questioning the profession (of salesperson) as well as that of the company can be a way to better understand them.
This could make it possible to offer positions and applications that better reflect the reality of the job and its environment. And perhaps this could help fill some of the unfilled positions that are also the result of mismatched profiles.
Beatrice Siadou-Martin, University Professor of Management Sciences, University of Lorraine; Fanny Poujol, Associate Professor – HDR, University of Montpellier and Franck Gavoille, Professor of Human Resource Management, ESSCA School of Management
The original version of this article was published on The Conversation.