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Effective employer branding and successful recruiting
15th April 2009
Everyone understands the importance of brand in a competitive marketplace...
Whether an organisation sells products or services, a generally held set of beliefs about the properties and qualities of the deliverable is encompassed in the concept of ‘brand’.
UK organisations across both public and private sectors spend millions every year developing, improving and maintaining their brand. So if these organisations are so focused upon what their customers think about their products and services, why do many of them spend so little, in terms of time as much as money, on their employer brand?
For many companies, existing and potential employees are also current or future customers. In the public sector this is even more pointed – we all are customers.
An individual who has decided that they want to work for any business has made that decision based on a range of information, assumptions and beliefs about the organisational identity. These may be largely based upon their knowledge of a service brand and their experiences from engagement with that service. This connection between the potential employee and an organisation is the beginning of a psychological contract.
For many organisations marketing performs the function of driving this message home, but in recruitment there is a false assumption that a candidate response and application must mean a good opinion of the organisation is established, after all, who wants to work for a ‘bad company’? Therefore the employer brand is healthy… right?
In the current economic climate such false assumptions are often extended. Unsurprisingly a common view held is that increased numbers of people looking for work means candidates will come to you, by choice, to be selected as you require – no need to continue with previously planned candidate attraction then?
The truth is that the need to effectively and accurately position and communicate your organisation’s employer brand is just as important now in these lean times, if not more so.
As we emerge into a new economic environment, the fight to retain and attract new talent will be increased. Businesses will be need to be transparent in what they deliver as we will all have a heightened investment and awareness of the employer brand.
The time to act is now, whether you are actively recruiting or not. A reduction in recruitment activity should not herald the end to a focus on employer brand.
Your employer brand should begin with your existing workforce – an effective, stable and motivated workforce, who understand, develop and deliver the beliefs, actions and services that serve to maintain and strengthen your employer brand.
The engagement, motivation and retention of existing staff must become the central focus of the brand strategy, not only to chart a course through the stormy waters of a recession, but to ensure the organisation is right-sized, focussed and ready to take best advantage of the inevitable economic upturn.
The experience an applicant receives from the moment they are engaged at point of attraction to the experience they receive during their job application process will either diminish or strengthen their beliefs about you. As an organisation looking to hire the best talent, you want to ensure that the recruitment process strengthens the psychological contract and convinces the best candidates that they have made the correct decision in deciding to work for your organisation.
Good reputations never occur by chance or accident, rather through innovation, focus and application. Similarly a hard won, good reputation will not remain if it is not maintained.
Organisations that act now to engage with their existing and future employees, developing and maintaining their employer brand, will be best placed to retain and attract the best talent both now and in the future.
Phill Brown – Service Director - Recruitment
Jamie Bailey – Head of Recruitment Communications
NorthgateArinso works with organisations to analyse their current employer brand status and develops the strategies for action to improve it for both the existing talent retention, and future talent attraction through your recruitment processes, for further information please call 0800 0350545.
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