Importance of Employer Branding in Hiring

In a world of a highly competitive job market, every organization looks to hire and retain the best people in their workforce to ensure that their business is perceived as an attractive place to work at. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a nightmare for many of us on one end, but on the other, it has highlighted the importance of employer branding during the crisis. In the recruitment landscape, employer branding has become vital to onboard the right talent in the workforce who would fulfill the company's values, vision, and mission.??

To help us better understand the importance of employer branding in scouting the right talents, we had an exciting live panel discussion on our LinkedIn Page with two innovative entrepreneurs who shared their entrepreneurial journey and their take on the impact of employer branding on recruitment. This article highlights some of their views on employer branding to build a vibrant workforce. Read more.

Himanshu Arora is the Co-founder of Social Panga & The Yellow Shutter. Himanshu is a seasoned digital marketing professional with 16+ years of experience as a leading digital consultant and digital marketing trainer. Himanshu has worked with some well-recognized brands like RIL, Metro Cash & Carry, Volvo, Hyatt, Canon, LinkedIn, Google, Facebook, Tata Motors, and BIAL.

Yogesh Shinde is the Founder of Bamboo India. Turned into an agricultural entrepreneur six years ago, Yogesh has engaged 4,000 farmers from the villages of Velhe in Maharashtra to develop Bamboo India's flagship product, Bamboo toothbrush. Yogesh was formerly an Associate Vice President at Barclays, Pune, with 14 years of experience in the IT Sector. He has previously worked with Allscripts, Tech Mahindra & Indus Software companies.

1. Could you explain how you started your journey as an entrepreneur?

Speaker: Yogesh

We started our journey 6 years ago when startup culture or funding wasn't as popular. I approached various banks for loans to start my company. But, I faced rejection in most places, and my idea was even made fun of, saying, "Bamboo couldn't be used as an alternative to plastic."

I have about 14 years of experience in the IT world, and I had an opportunity to work with good companies like British Telecom, T Mobile, and Vodafone. After spending more than 5 years in Germany and Europe, I got the exposure I wanted. I decided to use that exposure to do something for my own country. So, I came back to India and have not regretted it.

Initially, I took a break year to think of what could be done. I had 3 objectives in mind; the first was to start my own company, the second was to work with the Indian farmers, and the third was to contribute to reducing any type of pollution to do good for society.

When I came across the various ways Bamboo could be used, my journey toward providing alternate products to reduce the use of plastic started. We started with 100 Bamboo brushes per day, and now we produce 55,000 brushes per day. We saved more than 40.1 kg of plastic waste and have involved more than 4000 farmers across India.?

Speaker: Himanshu

The company I'm running now is Social Panga, which started about seven and a half years back. But the first company that I started was back in 2003 when I was still in college, and at that time, there was no concept of startups or funding.

I was always fascinated by the Internet, and hence, I made a content website that I later sold in 2007. Then I got into a mad rush of wanting to change the education system of India, and that's how my second company was born, which was in the ed-tech space. It also got some bit of funding. But I was always interested in doing social & digital marketing, which is how Social Panga was born. Social Panga helps different brands to establish themselves in terms of digital/online marketing standpoint.?

I always wanted to start something of my own, and also shows like Shark Tank had a significant impact on me back in the day. So that's how my journey concerning entrepreneurship started when there was no concept of startups or funding.

2. What do you mainly look for in potential employees, given that you are more into manufacturing?

Speaker: Yogesh

I have hired people for IT before, and now I am hiring for a different type of industry, but I commonly look for the candidate's approach, attitude, and compatibility. Anyone can learn the technical part of the job given the right guidance but being the person who is open to criticism is more important. The right candidate will flourish and deliver expected results if you nurture them. So I always believe the approach and attitude should be right. The candidate should be a team player and not feel like they are a match-winner. This is what I'm always looking for. As a team, we should be building together, filling each other's gaps and missing areas.

3. What is Employer Branding according to you, and how important is it to attract talent?

Speaker: Himanshu

The fact that we are speaking about employer branding shows how important it is. There's been a massive paradigm shift in India in recent times. It is an employee's market versus an employer's market.

There are multiple opportunities for people to choose from because of the new roles opening up. Assuming a person is currently working in an organization and gets a unique opportunity to work somewhere else, the jobseeker will choose the one that is more appealing to them and which is closer to their personality. Without working there, they can determine whether a company's personality fits their own by analyzing the significant initiatives or communications that the company has done to highlight how they treat their employees. How you brand your Human Resources offline or online is Employer Branding. So to make sure that you find the right kind of talent that goes well with your organization, portraying your organization’s personality and culture is essential. Similar personalities attract similar people. Hence, It's important to talk about that culture and personality to attract the right audience.

4. Do you think having a great work culture not only helps in retaining existing talent but also helps in attracting new talent?

Speaker: Himanshu

A company is nothing without a culture. It's a 0-1 game for me. If a company doesn't have a culture, it's not a conducive workplace. Culture isn't about having a beanbag office, having a drink on a Friday, or having a cool fancy office.?

Culture is what you all believe in as an organization, and everybody is aligned to that vision. Culture is where all the employees think in a unified direction and are aligned with a single vision. The means through which they achieve it may be different and very person-driven.

For instance, Mr. Yogesh believes in reducing plastic consumption by introducing eco-friendly products. So, everybody in his organization should believe in the same thing. That's the first step to building that culture.?

Another example would be if your culture is empathy, then any things you do must reflect it. How you treat your office boy should be no different from how you treat your director or CEO.

I would like to conclude by quoting dialogue from the movie Rocket Singh, which I strongly believe in "Business is not run by numbers, Business is run by People."

5. Employee Value Proposition is an integral part of Employer Branding; how do you implement it??

Speaker: Himanshu

Things happen magically if any employee's growth aligns with the organization's growth. If it's not, you as an employer need to figure out why it is not working out. You have to tweak some things and make sure it works out between you and the employee, and how you package it is called Employee Value Proposition. I believe that if somebody wants to go from A to B in a personal career, can an organization be a catalyst? If yes, then both of them are going to grow. If not, they need to figure out something else.

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