Strategy

Why is employer branding vital for corporations?

Article originally published in Finland's, "The Opinion Leader" - this is an updated version.

Why is employer branding vital for corporations?

Employer branding is vital for corporations for a number of reasons.  The increasing global shortage of talent driven by the ageing population, increased mobility of workers (especially generation Y’s (born between 1980 and 2000), migration, declining fertility rates, technological advances and an increase in culture diversity in organisations are some of the reasons when employer branding is now high on the leadership agenda.

Your employer brand can be defined as “the image of your organization as a ‘great place to work’ in the minds of current employees and key stakeholders in the external market (active and passive candidates, clients, customers and other key stakeholders).”

The art and science of employer branding is about ensuring that your people brand aligns with your consumer brand. In terms of brand management an aspirational goal for an organisation should be that the marketing messages are reflected by the actions of all of the people at all levels of the business at all times in order to deliver the employer brand promise.

Is this employer brand management of the future? Building your employer brand virtual community

Originally published in ERE's Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership Vol 4 Issue 7 July/August 2009

The economic downturn, advances in technology and an explosion of online communities is changing the way companies build competitive advantage through human capital

Today's workplace can best be described as in transition to a ‘global knowledge economy’, which requires the rules and practices that determined success in the industrial economy need rewriting in an interconnected, globalized economy where knowledge resources such as know-how and expertise are as critical as other economic resources.

In the employer branding industry (which consists of players including employers, employees, agencies, thought leaders, academics, students and the media), the battles that matter aren't between products and services but between business models. Compounding this is the trend towards a virtual business model which provides companies with the benefits of leveraging best practice from all regions of the world whilst saving on consulting fees in the process. Knowledge when locked into a community, systems and processes has higher inherent value than when it can ‘walk out of the door’ in people's heads.  The virtual community model provides a sustainable proposition at a time when average employee tenure is decreasing and the concept of a ‘job for life’ has disappeared.

6 Steps to an Employer Brand Strategy

Originally published on www.ere.net

Having a clearly defined strategy is the most important factor in achieving employer branding objectives.

That’s the takeaway from the Employer Brand Institute’s Global Research Study of more than 2,000 companies.

Engaging the CEO and senior management in the benefits of employer branding also ranks highly. Surprisingly, conducting internal and external market research ranked the lowest in importance, suggesting companies are rushing into employer branding without a clear direction of where they are heading.

The results of the global study should be a concern for CEOs where money invested in employer branding initiatives may be misdirected and/or misaligned with the business strategy. Most companies are in the early stages of developing an employer brand strategy that builds competitive advantage (globally only 16% have a clearly defined strategy), so the survey results provide some important guidance for leaders to ensure their investments are focused on priority areas.

What shape will your employer brand be in when it’s all over?

Originally published in In-Business Magazine, Australia

International Employer Brand Strategist and Chairman/CEO of Employer Brand International, Brett Minchington offers readers some insight and tips on how to manage your employer brand during the economic downturn.

What shape will your employer brand be in when it’s all over?