SHARING OUR KNOWLEDGE:
Creating an employment brand
Branding has become an integral element in our daily lives. From deciding which brand of soft drink to purchase, to which restaurant to visit or sports shoes to buy, branding plays an influential role in our decision making. With the power of branding so persuasive, it is no surprise it also plays a role in which company we choose to work for.
When an engineer considers future employers, a certain firm instantaneously comes to mind. When a teacher looks for work, certain schools set the standard. When an accountant seeks a move, certain firms are approached before others. This is the power of employment branding and is a major differentiator in the recruitment marketplace.
But it's clearly not about the "logo". Our survey demonstrates that what most of us perceive as important, i.e. the "look and feel" is not what we should be primarily focused on. Rather, the message needs to be more complete - the culture, values and environment are of much greater interest to potential employees.
Perhaps even more significantly, it is also about more subtle marketing. What other employees, trusted friends and associates SAY about a company is far more powerful than what appears in the ad. This is why it is so critical that the experience for employees is right in the first place - which has a double positive in that it increases retention as well as creating the right mindset for them to promote the company to others.
This subtle marketing has far reaching effects - those organisations who have reduced or severed their relationships with recruitment firms have found to their detriment that they no longer have those firms acting as their "ambassadors" - influencing strong candidates to consider careers with those employers.
As skills shortages continue to test candidate sourcing and attraction strategies, and competition for the best possible staff remains high, the issue of employment branding continues to gain attention. We recently asked over 500 employers for their view on employment branding. 70 per cent viewed employment branding as important; 34 per cent of those said it was critical to their talent plans while 36 per cent said it was something they'd like to get to soon. 30 per cent of employers surveyed said employment branding was not on their agenda. Based on these results, we decided to investigate employment branding further.
614 Australian and 260 New Zealand employees completed an extensive survey to determine what attracts candidates to a potential employer. We also determined what maintains their high opinions of a company during the recruitment process and how to retain this opinion once a candidate is employed. Our aim was to provide a value-added service to our clients to help them determine how they can best stand out from the crowd.
WHAT IS AN EMPLOYMENT BRAND?
BENEFITS OF AN EMPLOYMENT BRAND
POPULAR BRANDS
EMPLOYMENT BRANDING AND RECRUITMENT
CREATING YOUR EMPLOYMENT BRAND
A WORD OF WARNING
