Dive Brief:

• Fashion retailer H&M announced its launch of a new campaign aimed at "attracting the best in retail talent." The Place of Possible initiative is a branding campaign that H&M said will attract job seekers searching for a place to start their careers.
• The campaign will feature H&M employees from all around the U.S., reinforcing the company's "we are one team" core value and promoting the community among H&M employees. H&M said in a statement that people play the biggest role in the company's success, as they have allowed it to grow its U.S. brand and ecommerce business.
• H&M's branding campaign comes alongside the store's new benefits offerings, which it announced in November. The updates include a weekly schedule commitment that guarantees part-time workers up to 12 minimum hours from March through December and a mobile scheduling app that allows workers more ease and flexibility in selecting and swapping work shifts.

Dive Insight:

Retailers that focus on building and promoting a brand as an employer can compete more successfully for talent, experts previously told HR Dive. And a brand that emphasizes the company's culture as team-based and inclusive could appeal to workers — younger ones especially, many of whom are more likely to work in retail and place greater value on diversity-related initiatives.

H&M joins Walmart and what appears to be a growing list of other retailers who are using apps to allow workers more flexibility and choice in managing their work schedules. A company's predictive scheduling may appeal to applicants, as well as serve as a means of avoiding scheduling conflicts. Predictive scheduling laws that have cropped up are viewed by some in the business community as overly regulatory — a stance the National Federation of Independent Business holds. As employers in areas without laws mandating they use the scheduling system debate over implementing it, they will need to weigh the technology and branding benefits of predictive scheduling against any compliance burdens.