Employer Branding | The rules

 

Well, we know what brand is, right? The name, the colour, the design, the mark, the symbol that altogether or separately (if strong enough) portray the key features of the offering of a company, an organisation, a seller for the benefit of making the goods/services more attractive, distinct and competitive | 

 

We know what hides the term employer, it is simply the one who opens up work placements for people, it might be a single person that is just setting up own business, an organisation that hires employees or a corporation that employs individuals but also allows forming groups that would protect the rights of their hires in cases of speaking or representing majority of employees in front of the employer him/herself |

In simpler terms, an employer is the one who pays by the hour and a salary to people who perform specific kinds of assignments on behalf of the employer | 

 

Combining the two above, the brand, and the employer, let me introduce this modern workplace chimera called employer branding | 

 

This is nothing more and nothing less than communication and promotion of employer’s value for the appreciation and retention of the current and potential employees | 

 

An employer brand is an intangible. However, many tangible practices and behaviours contribute to it |  Edward E. Lawler

 

Employer branding can be perceived as the internal and external reputation that is associated with a company itself, the products/services it sells, leaderships teams as well as other management members and lower level of seniority employees | 

Reputation relates to emotions, intellect and instincts – it can be the voice, the touch, the smell and the taste that stand for the brand associated with an employer | 

 

In today’s ever-challenging and extremely competitive world, a positive reputation of a brand in the eyes of consumers, as well as other stakeholders and competitors, is the core prerequisite of potential for long-term success | 

 

5 rules of employer branding

1 | good storytelling – it is about creating the perception of your brand in the marketplace – the clear and bold pronunciation of the employer’s value preposition EVP {mission / values / culture of an organisation } – this encourages the long-term potential reputation success that leads to engagement amongst current and future employees

2 | focus on the essence of the company, the uniqueness, the positioning – this draws the attention to concentrate on the precise and well-defined definition of employer’s benefits

3 | emphasis on differentiation factors associated with cultural diversity – this encourages positioning of a business on an excellent place to work level

4 | focus on the long-term value proposition that would convince employees to support and stay with a company longer while concentrating on heightening own skills and capabilities to make themselves work-place attractive – this suppports employees’ retention while decreasing the costs associated with taking new people onboard, according to recent research on average companies who do not invest in good employer branding / reputation are in danger to lose nearly 4,000£in danger to lose nearly 4,000£ 

5 | regular auditing of a brand your company stands for or aiming to become – this process is rather lengthy as it assesses the product/service offering of a company and its position in the marketplace mainly via research that can take forms of {internal + external}  interviews, surveys, social and online searches as well as an original reputational audit© {get in touch for more info here} to gain more objective viewpoints over the current placement of a brand in the marketplace | 

 

Consistency of brand reputation is the heart of building a culture that is both attractive for employees and speaks quality for an employer as a brand |   Dr A A Drzewiecka

 

Some other activities that have been successfully practised by various businesses in their employer branding undertakings include:

• Recruitment marketing
• Engagement building amongst current employees
• Constant review of the employer’s offering
• Writing clear, interesting and attention-drawing job specifications
• Being active amongst social media
• Investing in CSR to create an atmosphere of ethical environment that is desirable to work for
• Writing a good quality, engaging blog on corporate affairs
• Encourage employees to interact online / offline | 

 

For a customised offering on auditing your employer branding and helping to create a strategy for the future, get in touch { an invitean invite } |