Employer branding reflects an organization’s strategy to intentionally create a specific perception of employment at the company. It is the projection of a certain image as an employer.

Employment branding is important for companies that desire a competitive edge in recruitment and employee retention. Employment branding helps to define corporate culture, cultivate company values and strategically deliver an organization’s message. There are many reasons for employment branding and few, if any, reasons against it, so employers are justifiably interested in developing employment branding strategies.

While there are many ways to develop them, effective employment branding strategies will require some variation of the following steps:

• First, get a good grasp of the company’s vision, mission and objectives. This is necessary to synchronize the branding strategy with the company’s vision and mission. You must have a desired destination before you can know what steps to take toward it. You must know what race you’re in before you set a pace.
• Next, conduct surveys . Survey current (and exiting) staff to discover or affirm the company’s real values. It is important to know what the real values are, so that if the company needs to work on amending its identity, it can. Survey applicants—those who got the job as well as those who did not—to find out their impressions of the company as an employer and the employment process. Survey the executives to determine what the desired or intended image is as an employer.
• Then conduct a gap analysis. Compare the real company—based on the results of the surveys—with what is desired. Clearly and succinctly define what reasonable steps need to be made to equalize the actual perception with the desired perception.
• Compare the company brand with the employment brand. Make sure they are in harmony. If one detracts from the other, reconsider the desired perception of the employment brand.
• When you’re satisfied with what the employment brand should be, look specifically at training and development efforts to train, coach, counsel, mentor, teach and even discipline employees to “fit the program.” In other words, training and development can be used to mold employees.
• Consider incentive pay plans also, in an effort to help further adjust behaviors to fit the brand.
• Do not neglect to look at the work environment—the physical building and atmosphere as well as the policies in place and the measure to which they are enforced. The work environment is a significant contributor to employment branding, but it can easily be overlooked.

Implementation

Be sure to reward the good. Positively reinforce behaviors that advance the brand and take proper measures to mitigate and even eliminate those behaviors that are inconsistent with the company’s goals, mission, objectives, vision and desired culture. Constantly remind employees of the brand and who they are in light of it.

Finally, execute the strategy and follow up. Use metrics to determine the effectiveness of the strategy and take occasional surveys to measure the pulse of the employees that create and perpetuate your brand.

 
Please Note: This material is provided as general information and is not a substitute for legal or other professional advice. Contact the Knowledge Center for more information.
 

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