Understanding Employer Branding
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Every company
has a brand, a reputation that sets them apart from its competitors. This can
include thoughts about their products, services, leaders, team members, history,
and more. However, companies also have a secondary brand relating to the
primary brand about how they are viewed as an employer. This is called employer
brand and is in the hearts and minds of former, current, and future employees
(Lybrand, 2018).
As such,
employer branding refers to how a company manages and influences its reputation
as an employer among employees and job seekers. It encompasses everything they
do to position their company as a desired employer. While branding, in general,
is targeted toward customers, employer branding specifically targets a company's
workforce and prospective employees. It is viewed as a strategy to retain
high-performing employees and attract top-ranking talent. Although it is
intangible, it is an asset that is worth constant cultivation (Daley, 2022).
Importance of
Employer Branding
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Employer
branding is not simply a marketing strategy – it is an organization's
competitive advantage in the war for talent (Personio, 2023). Research shows
that a strong employer brand has a direct impact on talent acquisition and
retention. Companies with better reputations and brands get up to twice as many
applications and have more satisfied employees compared to companies with
negative employer brands (Lybrand, 2018).
A good
employer brand can also help companies cut down on recruitment costs, as potential
candidates will most likely find them and apply for their company positions. It
can also help improve employee engagement and performance. Employees working
with a strong brand are generally more enthusiastic and motivated, increasing
overall productivity and growth (Cubukcu, 2018).
A positive
employer brand can turn current employees into brand ambassadors. More than 50%
of job seekers rely on employee reviews. As such, when current employees share
positive reviews and experiences with others, it will help support the company's
recruitment strategies (Barcelos, 2019)
Challenges of
Employer Branding
Some of the challenges faced by organizations when planning and implementing an employer branding strategy include the following:
- Limited resources – As HR departments generally do not have big budgets
except those that cover employees' compensation and benefits, they are left with
only limited resources to invest in employer branding (Martic, 2022).
- Lack of employee engagement – One of the main challenges of employer branding is the
lack of employee engagement in employer branding and recruitment marketing
strategies. To avoid this, organizations should take measures to improve
employee motivation and make them company advocates. They can do this by
keeping employees informed of the company's operations and happenings. A recent
study has found that a majority (80%) of U.S. employees wish to be kept up to
speed with the company news and happenings, but as much as a quarter of them
feel like they are not kept in the loop (Martic, 2022).
- Remote work and distributed workforce – With the emergence of remote and hybrid working,
the process of employer branding is also getting more complex. As organizations
now hire employees from all over the world, they have to adjust their employer
branding strategies, investigate new employer branding and job marketing
channels, familiarize themselves with cultural differences, and implement fully
remote selection and onboarding processes (Martic, 2022).
Conclusion
When it comes
to hiring great talent, the majority of talent acquisition managers agree that
employer branding is key. It helps increase the quality of hires, reduce hiring
costs and time, and can even lead to greater satisfaction and engagement among
current employees. That said, employer branding requires maintenance, upkeep,
and continued attention. Regardless, now more than ever, many organizations are
focusing on employer branding to attract and retain top talent.
References
Adiwardoyo, K., 2020. The
importance of employer branding. [Online]
Available at: https://blog.klob.id/2020/07/31/the-importance-of-employer-branding/
[Accessed 16 April 2023].
Barcelos, K., 2019. 7 reasons why
employer branding is important. [Online]
Available at: https://www.plum.io/blog/7-reasons-why-employer-branding-is-important
[Accessed 16 April 2023].
Cubuksu, C., 2018. Why employer
branding is so important. [Online]
Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/why-employer-branding-is-so-important/310546#:~:text=Employer%20branding%20will%20help%20you,and%20even%20reduce%20marketing%20costs.&text=Having%20a%20reputable%20employer%20brand,marketing%20costs%2C%20and%20im
[Accessed 16 April 2023].
Daley, S., 2022. Employer
branding. [Online]
Available at: https://builtin.com/employer-branding
[Accessed 16 April 2023].
Hochgatterer, J. & Ehrenstorfer,
B., 2021. Employer branding - a human resource strategy for companies in a
turbulent environment based on the example of Northern Austria. [Online]
Available at: https://researchleap.com/employer-branding-a-human-resource-strategy-for-companies-in-a-turbulent-environment-based-on-the-example-of-northern-austria/
[Accessed 16 April 2023].
Lybrand, S. A., 2018. What is
employer branding and how can it grow your business?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-acquisition/employer-branding
[Accessed 16 April 2023].
Martic, K., 2022. Employer
branding: definition, importance, challenges, and best practices. [Online]
Available at: https://haiilo.com/blog/employer-branding/#:~:text=Lack%20of%20employee%20engagement,must%20first%20be%20well%20informed.
[Accessed 16 April 2023].
Personio, 2023. The ultimate guide
to employer branding. [Online]
Available at: https://www.personio.com/hr-lexicon/employer-branding-2/
[Accessed 16 April 2023].
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Very good article
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteThis is a nice article , also important topic .
ReplyDeleteThank you
Deletewhile thanking you for sharing this content, Organizations will face more challenges when planning and implementing an employer branding strategy - limited resources, lack of employee engagement, remote work, and distributed workforce but to address these issues, organizations should take necessary procedures to improve and rebuild employee motivation and satisfaction and make them more work-oriented. Remote work and distributed workforce also make problems in the process of employer branding. But Employer branding is essential for hiring top talent but requires ongoing care and maintenance to have better performance.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Employer branding is indeed an important aspect of recruitment.
DeleteWell said about importance of employer branding.also the image you selected (adiwardoyo,2023) it makes readers clear understand
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteInteresting topic.. certainly a brand does define how the employee views the brand and their willingness to associate themselves with it...
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Thank you
DeleteActually, after reading your blog post and understanding the concept of employer branding, I realized why organizations spend huge amounts of money and time on branding. There are numerous advantages to branding, such as making it easier to find candidates and lowering recruitment costs, among others.
ReplyDeleteOfcourse, branding plays a major role in attracting the right talent. Thank you for reading my post.
DeleteThis is very true and i explerienced this. My earlier working place had to advertise many job posts to get 1 or 2 employe. The brand name of the employer is very important for joining and to maintain the employees in the organization. You post was an excellent example for all of us to understand. You have written in a language all can easily understand. Well done and nicely presented. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Satheesh. It is true, employer branding is very important for an organization to hire great talent.
DeleteWell Explained, An employer branding strategy allows to control and positively change the dialogue surrounding company to ensure higher talent acquisition and retention. Employer branding is how market the company to job seekers and what employees say about the company as a workplace.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteWell explained, the Importance of employee branding could be easily understood through the figure (adiwardoyo,2023) which gives the reasons as well as the % that influence.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, several friends have joined companies that have good employer brands while they had a better offer from other companies.
Working in a branding company adds further value to the CV and the possibility to be headhunted.
True. Thank you for reading my blog.
DeleteEmployer branding leads to employee retention as well. "A strong employer brand can reduce an organization's turnover by 28%, reduce the cost to hire by 50%, and yield 50% more qualified applicants"(LinkedIn,2020).
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Thank you for reading my blog
Deletesince I'm also having the same concerns on worker retention & recruitments what are the alternative options to crack the budget limitation to ensure the achievement of employer branding . ?
ReplyDeleteThe simplest way is to maintain good relations with the existing employees. When you maintain good ties with them, they can be brand ambassadors to your company and promote your brand as an employer. It also requires no cost.
DeleteHi Raihana, Appreciating the efforts you have made to enlghten us on this important topic.All the facts and explenations are very understandable.Good luck !
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteWell explained. Good content. Thank you for sharing with us.
ReplyDelete