Employer Branding

Brett Minchington defines Employer branding as the image of the organization as a great place to work in the minds of current employees and key stakeholders in the external market (active and passive candidates, clients, customers and other key stakeholders). Employer branding is about capturing the essence of a company in a way that engages employees and stakeholders. It expresses an organizations "value proposition" the entirety of the organizations culture, systems, attitudes, and employee relationship.

Employer !randing" #ore $rin%iples

Insight &o%us 'ifferentiation !enefits #ontinuity #onsisten%y

#ore $rin%iples
Insight
(ow do employees %urrently per%ei)e the employer brand* 'o people ha)e a strong sense of the organization+s purpose and )alues* ,hat beha)iours are felt to be most %hara%teristi% of the employees* ,hat %urrently dri)es peoples %ommitment and what demoralizes people* ,hy do people %hose to -oin the organization and why do they lea)e* ,hat would be the reply of employees to the .uestion/ ,hat kind of organization do you work for*

#ore $rin%iples
&o%us
$ro)ide a fo%al point to the employees relation with the organization. 0his %ould be either what the organization does or what it plans to do. 0his %ould also be how the organization does it i.e. the )alues1 style1 %ulture and personality of the organization. It is important to identify the %urrent fo%al point and if need be1 make a new fo%al point. In either %ase1 it is important to make the fo%al point %rystal %lear to all employees.

#ore $rin%iples
'ifferentiation
,hat is it that makes the organization different from its nearest %ompetitor* ,hat is it that makes the organization better than its %ompetitors* 0hese two points are always the key points at the %ore of any employer branding exer%ise.

!enefits
If you are going to make %hanges1 %ommuni%ate whats in it for the employees. !enefits %ould be many like money1 greater se%urity1 greater share in su%%ess1 %ompetiti)e strength or wider %areer opportunities. 'ont assume that employees will read between the lines.

#ore $rin%iples
#ontinuity
2nderstand that %hange is not easy for anyone. $eople will be more re%epti)e to %hange if they %an see where it has %ome from and not -ust where it is going. 3s far as possible1 stress on %ontinuity to the present situation.

#onsisten%y
0his is going to be the most %riti%al fa%tor in building a brand that sustains itself o)er the long run. 0here has to be a %onsisten%y in between what the management is saying and the %hanges experien%ed by employees within the organization.

Employer !rand 4anagement

External Reputation Internal Communication Recruitment & Induction Team Management

ocal Picture' practice

Senior eadership

Performance Appraisal

Employer !rand $roposition

&alues and CSR earning & %e!elopment

yc il oP ' er ut c i Pg iB

Internal Measurement Systems

Re$ard & Recognition Ser!ice Support "or#ing En!ironment

The employer (rand mix

5our%e/ $i!

3 0ypi%al Employer !randing $ro-e%t

%isco!ery

Analysis) Interpretation & Creation

Implementation & Communication

Measurement Maintenance & *ptimi+ation

'is%o)ery 5tage
"hat happens here
3t this stage youll get a firm fix on how your brand is per%ei)ed by your top management1 other employees and your external talent markets). 6oull get a sense of how big a task the new brand fa%es. 6ou need to de)elop relationships with other 'is%o)ery dis%iplines1 and prepare your business %ase. 6oull almost %ertainly ha)e some of the resear%h data you need already. 'ont forget to measure the %urrent performan%e.

Typical actions
5enior management workshop Internal and external fo%us group Employee sur)ey #andidate -ourney audit !uilding rapport with marketing7$87%ommuni%ations teams Ensuring top le)el buy in 5ele%t external partners 3pply baseline metri%s

3nalysis1Interpretation 9 #reation 5tage

"hat happens here
0his is the %riti%al stage between input and output. 6ou " or1 more probably1 your external partner in the pro-e%t " will be %reating your brands :stem analysis1 %ells or its uni.ue :';3 and starting to build it from there. 6oull start to get a %lear pi%ture of interpretation what your organization stands for1 offers and re.uires as an employer " its distin%ti)e )alue proposition.

Typical actions
'efine brand attributes 'efine o)erall employment )alue proposition 3sso%iate spe%ifi% beha)iours with ea%h attribute :&lex attributes for ea%h talent market segment <)erall %reati)e brief initial %reati)e expression of brand

Implementation 9 #ommuni%ation 5tage

"hat happens here
0his will be the stage that will show%ase the brand to all key stake holders " internal and external. !efore you rush to apply the brand to your next big re%ruitment push1 make sure that you %an deli)er what the brand promises. Ensure that the )alue proposition is one your %urrent employees %an re%ognize and belie)e in1 and that the %andidates and will experien%e full alignment between what they expe%t and what they experien%e.

Typical actions
3pply brand to/ = indu%tion program material = briefing for re%ruitment %onsultan%ies = inter)iew7assessment pro%ess = talent attra%ting programs 9 materials1 in%luding website >aun%h brand internally #ondu%t a%ti)ities 7 workshops to reinfor%e brand 5tart li)ing the brand

4easurement1 4aintenan%e 9 <ptimization 5tage

"hat happens here
?ualitati)e resear%h1 both external and internal1 will reassure you that the new brand is per%ei)ed the way youd intended. !y now1 the brand is starting to make its presen%e felt in day to day 4easurement1 internal %ommuni%ations1 and in your :people maintenan%e pra%ti%es. &or the first time youll be able to and demonstrate impro)ements on your original baseline measures1 and it will be %lear to all that optimization the brand is deli)ering real )alue.

Typical actions
$robe internal response to new brand $robe external per%eption 4easure impro)ements in re%ruitment and retention metri%s #omplete appli%ation of brand to %andidate -ourney 4easure uptake of :li)ing the brand 8e)iew and <ptimize the !rand experien%e

Benefits of Employer Branding

The ma,or (enefits of employer (randing include'= = = = = = = = = = = = = In%reased produ%ti)ity 9 profitability In%reased employee retention (ighly ranked for Employer 3ttra%ti)eness In%reased le)el of staff engagement >ower re%ruitment %osts 4inimized loss of talented employees Employees re%ommending organization as a preferred pla%e to work 4aintenan%e of %ore %ompeten%ies Employees %ommitted to organizational goals 5horter re%ruitment time Ensured long term %ompetiti)eness Impro)ed employee relations 'e%reased time from hire to produ%ti)ity

Employer (rand management doesn.t replace anything you.re doing $ell already/ It ,ust (rings it all together to greater effect/

5ome points about Employer !randing

>ike all brands1 employer brands are essentially marketing %on%epts and %onstru%ts. 0he tools and methodologies of employer brand de)elopment are substantially the same as those for %onsumer or %orporate brand de)elopment. Employer brands are at least as mu%h about retention and engagement as they are about re%ruitment. ;e)er trust anyone who tries to wrap employer brands in a %loak of mysti.ue or -argon. 0heyre not -ust for the big1 glamorous 4;#s with their own high profile %onsumer brands. 0heyre for e)ery lo%al authority1 %harity1 54E1 go)ernment department1 a%ademi% organization that needs to re%ruit1 retain and engage good people. 0he basi% differen%e between talent attra%tion the old way and the brand based way is the introdu%tion of resear%h. Employer brands %an support %orporate brands1 and )i%e )ersa. E)ery employer brand is an in)estment that should and must demonstrate a return %omparable to other forms of business in)estment. 0o pro)e a brands effe%ti)eness and demonstrate its 8<I1 you need to a%%urately measure your %urrent performan%e in re%ruitment and retention. 0he highest 8<I e)er re%orded by an employer brand was @ABC.

5ome points about Employer !randing

5tarting a brand de)elopment pro-e%t doesnt %ommit you to %ompleting it/ you %an walk away at any stage1 and e)ery stage will yield its own )alue. 'e)eloping an employer brand pro)es that (8 %an handle big1 strategi% pro-e%ts and issues. 0he shortest realisti% time to de)elop a brand is six to eight weeks/ in reality1 you should allow a lot longer. Its )alue will last and grow for as many years1 and probably longer. 0he biggest %ost element of an employer brand pro-e%t will be resear%h. 6ou already ha)e an employer brand1 be%ause your organization has a reputation as an employer. It may not be the brand you want or deser)e1 but its there -ust the same. <ne of the first employer brands " and one that still en-oys a strong1 well defined reputation " is #i)il 5er)i%e &ast 5tream. $robably the first %ommer%ial organization to take the issue of employer brand seriously was !ritish 3irways way ba%k in the late DAEBs. 6ou %ant de)elop a brand on your own " you need to in)ol)e marketing1 $81 your internal %ommuni%ations team. 6our re%ruitment website is one of the most potent expressions of your brand1 enabling potential appli%ants (and your own people) to see your )alues in a%tion and experien%e the reality of working for your organization. 0he publi% se%tor has done as mu%h to embra%e the %on%ept of employer brands as the %ommer%ial se%tor.

5ome points about Employer !randing

<ne of the keys to a su%%essful brand is to ensure that expe%tation is fully aligned with the reality of working for your organization. !efore youre tempted to laun%h your brand externally1 make sure its fully %ommuni%ated1 understood and embedded internally. 8esear%h for the brand may show up weaknesses in your produ%t " the basi% features of working for your organization. !rands breed engagement " the dis%retionary time and effort that people put into their -obs1 and that %ustomers or ser)i%e users noti%e. Engagement " and the finan%ial )alue of engagement " %an be a%%urately measured. 3 brand toolkit will gi)e re%ruiters and line managers the flexibility they need1 and the brand %onsisten%y you want. ,ithout %ompromising %onsisten%y1 a brand %an be tailored to %reate the greatest resonan%e with a number of different audien%es and talent market se%tors. 6our employer brand %an gi)e new fo%us and %onsisten%y to your ongoing employee %ommuni%ations. If employer brands are a big (8 issue today1 theyll be e)en bigger tomorrow. Employer brand de)elopment is attra%ting managers from %lassi% marketing ba%kgrounds to mo)e into (8.

Employer Branding Case Studies

(#li%k on the i%ons below to )iew ea%h %ase)

Employer Branding - Again

(ow a business builds and pa%kages its identity1 from its origins and )alues1 what it promises to deli)er to emotionally %onne%t employees so that they in turn deli)er what the business promised to %ustomers. 'efinition/ >iby 5artain and 4ark 5%humann1 !rand from the Inside