Employer Branding: An Introduction
Although the term ‘Employer Branding’ first came into existence in the 1900s, it is still a relatively new concept in organizational management. An Industry Leader or HR professionals may be familiar with or understand the concept but may not know the advantages or what to do with it apart from sharing some posts through their social media.
According to PWC survey, 2017, 75% of CEOs say that availability of key skills is a major concern affecting their organization’s growth prospects. Attracting the right talent has become difficult in today’s competitive landscape. Organizations are struggling to differentiate themselves in the job marketplace and yet unable to control their cost per hire. Therefore the need for Employer Branding.
To understand this concept better let’s break this up into – Employer Brand and Strategy, then amalgamate the two.
What makes a good employer brand?
An employer brand simply is the perception that your current, past and potential employees have in their minds about the employment experience at your company. Whether you have heard about it or not the point to note is that each organization already has an Employer brand which is how your current and potential employees perceive you as an employer. A strong employer brand has the strength to attract and retain top talent. But it isn’t built overnight. Building a strong employer brand needs investment and commitment.
Employer brand is like a relationship. The process starts with finding the right partner and then working towards building a long-term relationship. It needs to be thoughtful and honest. Find out what your employees (current and prospective) need and be honest about your commitment. For your employer brand to be effective there must be a cultural fit between the aspirations of the employees and those of your company. This offer is what would help you build your Employee Value Proposition (EVP), an offering that’s unique to you and will help you differentiate from other identical looking organizations in the market and emerge as a credible brand.
Having an effective employer brand strategy
Strategy in this context is the plan of action that you intend to use to achieve a specified long-term objective. So we sum up Employer Brand Strategy as the plan of action that your company intends to follow in order to effectively and efficiently develop, implement and sustain a strong employer brand. An excellent Employer Brand Strategy will help you synchronize the expectations and overall career wellness of your potential and current employees with the goals of your organization. The end result is a happy team of employees that read from the same script as the employer. Satisfied and happy employees are your best brand ambassadors. Getting this vital first-step right is a giant leap in the right direction. The next step for your company is to showcase this great achievement to the talent pool in the right way.
Communication is central to employer brand strategy
Just defining your Employer Value Proposition is not enough. It must be effectively communicated to your talent pool as well.
In today’s digital age, information is widely accessible and uncontrollable. Organizations need to be very careful about their actions and be transparent in their communications. People assess their future employers by visiting platforms such as Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Facebook or even Instagram to understand everything from their interviewing style to remuneration to their internal culture.
The resulting perception decides an employer’s ability to attract and retain top talent.
- Assess your employee experience at various touchpoints right from your career website to your YouTube channel, to the interaction with your recruiters, to onboarding and even exit. Understand their pain points and provide a solution.
- Utilize a variety of channels and media to engage your audience
- Transform your job description – Give details of not just the role but insights into company’s culture, CSR, values, training, and development, ways you grow your employees into future thought leaders, opportunities, etc.
- Leverage your own employees as brand ambassadors, showcasing their stories and experiences through various media
Why invest in employer branding?
Attract:
- 75% of employees research about a company before applying for a job
- 69% of job seekers would not accept a job from an organization with a bad reputation
- Hire loss can be reduced by 43% by having a good brand
Engage and Retain:
- 92% would consider leaving their current jobs for a company with a better reputation
- 83% of employees would leave a job for a company with a better reputation
People buy from people they trust. Employer branding is not simply the responsibility of the HR function. It should be recognized as a business strategy to support long-term growth, improving quality of hire, employee productivity, and retention, as well as build upon the overall company brand resulting in greater returns for the company.
