employer branding article - mervyn

7/23/2019 Employer Branding Article - Mervyn

1/4

46 October| 2013 NHRDNetwork Journal

About the Author

Mervyn is the Managing Director and one of the founder

members of People Business (PB) across Asia and Africa. Over

a 30 years career, he has worked with Unilever, AT&T and

Mercer Consulting. Mervyn received his postgraduate degree

from XLRI, and an under-graduate degree in Statistics from

the Loyola College in Madras. He has been certi ed at the

training center of AT&T in Dublin, Ohio. He has also been a

speaker at several forums across Asia, Europe and the United States of America.

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYER BRAND

MERVYN RAPHAEL

Research in the employer branding spacehave looked at multiple inuencingfactors that are bringing new thoughtsto employer branding as a concept, thefocus of branding efforts in terms oftarget segmentation, communication

plan, managing the employee experience,creating impact across geographies orbusinesses that the organization haspresence in and a shift in effort from alargely recruitment driven to an overarching binding force that inuences howinternal and external stakeholders perceivethe organization experience to be. Thistrend is also inuenced by changes in theeconomic scenario.

Fewer job opportunities and a constrainedinternal job market has led organizationsto take a strong research based approachtoward employer branding. This is led bya belief that organizations should have astrong internal focus towards employerbranding, where the denition of employeevalue proposition builds the psychologicalcontact of its employees and aligns theemployee experience to a better engaged

workforce. Leaders in HR and Business aremore aligned to the thought that gettingthe employee value proposition along the

strengths of the company and addressingthe gaps in terms of employee experiencewill create more credible communicationto the outside world and in turn over theperiod create a more sustainable employerbrand. Research has shown that benets

of a strong employer brand is tangible interms of less cost of hiring, employeeswilling to join at less cost, and overallretention through managing the employeelife cycle through sustainable HR practices(App, Merk, and Buttgen (2012)).

This article builds on the research in theeld and synthesizes 5 key elements of asustainable employer brand. Research and

case studies of People Business in this areaidenties the following aspects as criticalelements of a sustainable employer brand.

1. Aligning the employer brand withcustomer brand:

Customer brand symbolizes the productsor services that the organization isoffering in the market. It is closelylinked to the organizational purpose

and embodies the beliefs, trust and thevalue that the organization provides.Organization needs to attract and


2/4

October| 2013 NHRDNetwork Journal 47

retain employees who can deliver thecustomer value proposition. This mightbe on the technology, quality of service,innovation, product performance, etc.Organizations need to ensure they

have practices and processes that helpemployees to deliver and they areexcited of doing it over a period. AsMosley (2007) points out, organizationsare predominantly involved in customerservices and there is a shift fromproducts to services or there is a mixof products and services in what theyoffer to customers. This means thereis a high degree of direct involvement

of customers with the employees. Forexample, a mobile operator will have alarge customer service team to resolvecustomer queries. The experience thatcustomers will get should be alignedto the promise that is offered by thecustomer brand. From an employerbranding experience, this links thegive and take of the psychologicalcontract. For example, if a quick service

restaurant invests in hiring people whodo not have much formal educationand training them to be employable,this promise that the organizationis fulfilling should be reflected byemployees providing a great customerservice in the restaurant. At the sametime the leadership behaviors, values,and culture that builds the employeeexperience should be aligned to motivate

them to deliver great performance andbe engaged. Successful organizationsthat help their employees to delivercustomer brand will denitely have ahuge competitive advantage.

2. Experience driven employer branding

The evolution of employer brandingas a concept started with recruitmentrelated branding. The focus was on

messaging that made the organizationattractive to prospective employees.The key change that is visible in

the employer branding space nowis that organizations are puttingefforts to ensure that the externalbranding reects the strengths theyhave inside and efforts are made to

bridge the gaps in the communicationto experience. As Moroko and Uncles(2008) mentions, the key is that theexternal communication should be inline with the internal experience. Forexample, if the organization promisesgreat learning on the job as a valueproposition to campus recruits andthey nd that they are put in mundanejobs that are repetitive the promise the

very basis of psychological contract islost and the efforts to attract and retainpeople in future might be at risk. Thetouch points that the organizationhas from leadership encounters, HRpractices, internal communication,should live the employer brand. Forexample, if an organization believesin respect for people and the leadersuse foul language on the floor or

disrespects his/her team memberpublicly, the very essence of the brandis lost. At a high level of maturity ofan employer brand, the branding isvery much aligned to the values in theorganization.

3. Target Segment aligned branding

It is critical that the employer brand isaligned to the employer segments that

we are addressing. There are manysegments that the branding efforts maytarget, for example, campus recruits,experienced employees, employees ofdifferent geographies. Organizationsare now moving to have a unifiedemployer brand across segmentswith focused communication andbrand activation specic to the targetgroups. Mosley, Richardson, and

Rottweiler (2013), in the research jointlyconducted by People in Business andCRF Institute found that majority of


3/4

48 October| 2013 NHRDNetwork Journal

the organizations are putting effortsfor audience segmentation and alignedbranding. The research also found thatthe intensity of the value propositionis amplified in delivery by some

organizations for their high potential/high performance employees. Thismakes an interesting strategy as thekey employees feel the impact of thevalue proposition more strongly.The underlying aspect here is thatorganizations can manage their uniedemployer brand effectively and sustainit across target segments by amplifyingcertain aspects of the value proposition.

This segmentation is also based onthe cost considerations of attractingand retaining the talent (Moroko andUncles, 2009). Organizations that needto build a sustainable brand need to putin practices, that touch the employeeright from contemplating to consideremployment to even after them quittingthe rm.

4. Business and employee involvement

Research and our experience ofconducting employer branding effortsin various organizations show that clearbusiness case for branding, businessleaders championing the cause alongwith HR, and involvement of variousinternal target segments as criticalsuccess factors. Research by Mosley etal (2013) nds that biggest derailment

factor of employer brand projects isineffective stakeholder engagement.The factors that should be kept in mindat the starting of an employer brandingeffort is to clearly dene the businesscase, have business leaders activelyengaged, ensure that line managersand employees at different levels areinvolved, and overall the business caseis translated into measurable outcomes

that the organization can communicateover a period of time. Organizationsshould be aware that any branding

effort is a strategic effort and should bedriven with sponsorship from the top.

5. Branding communication

The key of building a successful and

sustainable employer brand is also to bepopular with both internal and externalstakeholders. The messages that conveythe employee value proposition shouldreach the current and prospectiveemployees and influencers. Forexample, the employer brand shouldbe visible to influencers like media,PR Agencies, universities, recruitmentconsultants, etc. The role of internal

communication is also increasingly highin terms of ensuring that employees arealigned. Mosley et al (2013) found thatorganizations are increasingly usingsocial media and intranet as mediumsof communicating EVPs. It is alsointeresting that stories that corroborate/ are proof points to the EVPs areused as effective mechanisms. Theemployee engagement survey and its

results are also used as data sources tocorroborate whether the organizationis living the brand. For example in amajor ITrm, videos of employees wereshared on intranet on how they weregiven opportunities as promised by theEVP. Similarly, the company website,especially the career pages is reworkedto depict the employer brand. While,communication without reality can

lead to disaster, a strong brand withoutcommunication may not lead to results.

It is important that internal andexternal stakeholders believe in thecommunication. A recent research byCLC (2011) found that prospectiveemployees believe the communicationchannels in a range from 21% to 81%depending on the channel deployed.The most credible are current employees

and friends. The worst are job ads,and online forums. This also bringsstrength to the point that a successful


4/4

October| 2013 NHRDNetwork Journal 49

and sustainable brand can be built onlythrough creating a credible experienceand communication with the current setof employees.

As Mandal and Krishnan (2013) mentions,based on research and case studies ofPeople in Business, there are strongbenets of employer branding. It helpsemployees to strongly identify with theunique proposition provided throughboth tangible and intangible benefits,consistent articulation and communicationof employer value proposition, createsan opportunity for gap identification

and clarity on areas of improvement,helps in better attraction and retentionof employees, and reduces the cost ofemployee engagement. The importantaspect here is that organizations should

look at employer branding as a strategicHR initiative with a strong focus onaligned communication and an integratorof HR process from entry to exit. It is astrong differentiator of positioning theemployer uniquely against competitorsand also a strong base towards enablingorganizations in their journey of becominga top employer.

References:

App, S, Merk, K, and Buttgen, M. (2012). Employer Branding: Sustainable HRM as a Competitive Advantage in the Market for High-

Quality Employees, Management Revue, 23(3), 262-278.

CLC (2011), Turning Employees into Advocates, Force of Ideas, Corporate Executive Board.

Mandal, A., and Krishnan, S.K (2013). Creating a compelling employee value proposition, Human Capital, August, 38-42.

Moroko, L., and Uncles, D.M. (2009). Employer Branding and Market Segmentation, Journal of Brand Management, 17, 181 196.

Mosley, R.W. (2007). Customer experience, organisational culture and the employer brand, Brand Management,15 (2), 123134

Moroko, L., and Uncles, D.M (2008). Characteristics of Successful Employer Brands, Journal of Brand Management,16, 160 175.

employer branding article - mervyn

Documents