Employer Branding 101: Begin with the Fundamentals

In my previous blog on?employer branding, I discussed organizational readiness. In this post, I cover how organizations and leaders who have a stake in the game can appreciate the nuances and do more and better. ?

Especially, if you are in a Shared Services or a Global Business Services environment, employer branding must be either a key priority or a catchphrase within the firm or something everyone has a point of view on. Organizations often have dedicated resources to manage the function or invite the HR department or recruitment marketing team to own the engagement.?

However, the interventions fall short, and the outcomes do more damage than good for the reputation. Organizations without an established employer brand or with a poor reputation pay significantly higher pay for attracting candidates than those firms who are well known.?

Globally, the hiring needs are growing, pressure from business is mounting and budgets are shrinking.?

• ?Employer branding, one of the approaches to attracting and retaining talent in organizations continues to be top of mind.??
• 75% of talent leaders cited it as a priority in 2022 - although the results aren’t in line with the effort made.?
• ?Only 37% of Poles are happy in their jobs according to a study by the Employer Branding Insititute.?
• ?Also, according to Universum, most talent leaders (7 in 10) from the world’s most admired companies agree they are unable to cope with the challenge of hiring.??
• What’s worse, based on a study by Mercer, just 2 in 5 employees believe their own employers have a compelling Employee Value Proposition?

To appreciate the value of employer branding, organizations and leaders need to get their fundamentals in order.?

Employer branding is a sum of all the benefits (including experiences) that organizations promise to current, and prospective candidates and alumni, hoping to create a positive impression about the corporate brand, differentiate the firm and build a lasting and healthy relationship with stakeholders. It has links to internal communications, employee advocacy, and staff engagement.?

Unfortunately, organizations focus on the transactional aspect (the job offer, team, and role) and monetary engagement (the salary and benefits), assuming that it will be enough to attract and retain talent. They don’t focus as much on the third, yet the most crucial, aspect – the psychological factor which emphasizes the culture, safety, and diversity that makes the workplace welcoming and enriching.?

When it comes to engaging audiences, a lot is done to communicate externally, missing the most valuable audience – current employees. The assumption is made that staff will know (or are expected to know) what the brand stands for, why it is unique and what the role of staff is in fostering engaging interactions with the external world.?

Not taking control of the external narrative can become a huge challenge for organizations that want to build and sustain a strong employer brand. For example, every day people are talking about your brand on social media and other networks. Not being aware or having a sense of the prevailing sentiments can be a barrier to engaging fluently on issues and risks. In one firm, a disgruntled ex-staffer posted a derogatory remark about the company and its management. The organization was stuck due to its internal politicking and lack of leadership and wasn’t able to think of anything but a legal measure to tackle the situation. Instead of having the courage to listen and reach out and quell the concern, they let it simmer creating doubts and fake news to spread widely causing significant damage to the already maligned reputation of the brand.?

Defaulting to ‘recognition’ tags and awards to substantiate the ‘cool’ workplace that the organization wants to portray can only last till the fa?ade is blown off. Being an employer of choice isn’t a slogan to post on website pages because people can see through gimmickry. Gaining the trust of your staff, and directing their energies toward positive engagements can result in enhancing the employer's brand.?

In essence, appreciating the employer brand is a complex exercise. It needs a strategic approach and conscious attempts to listen, engage and drive engagement with stakeholders. It needs to be lived through?actions and demonstrated by managers and leaders.??

If you haven’t yet taken the?FREE Employer Branding Readiness Assessment to gauge where your organization stands, do so now!?

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