The Case For Employer Branding
Why now, more than ever, you need a strong employer brand
Although the concept of employer branding has been around for decades, many companies have yet to realize the importance of having a strong employer brand. This can be a costly mistake, especially when there's a shortage of talent in the job market.
According to Mark Hornung, senior vice president, Bernard Hodes Group, the importance of employer branding is becoming increasingly significant. This stems as much from the looming worker shortage as it does from the realization that value is created not by companies, but by the talented people who populate them.
To keep your top talent and attract others just like them, you have to figure out what your company stands for. Then, you have to aggressively promote and maintain this image.
We caught up with Mark and asked him to give us the lowdown on employer branding.
Q. When was the concept of employer branding conceived and how has it evolved?
A. Employer branding has been around as long as there have been employers and workers. The concept gained recognition as a separate discipline in the mid-90s. The talent wars of the dot-com era, coupled with the looming demographic shift caused by the retirement of the baby boomers, meant employers had to start thinking seriously about how they would attract the best people.
Over the past decade, employer branding has matured rapidly. The practice uses the same research and analysis techniques honed over the decades by consumer and corporate brand experts. Obviously, that research is skewed toward attitudes about employers and work.
Q. So, just how important is employer branding becoming?
A. Employer branding campaigns are being created by most of the major employers in North America and Europe. According to a 2001 The Conference Board study, two-thirds of corporate communications directors were planning to increase their budgets for employer brand development.
The importance of employer branding is becoming paramount because of the looming worker shortage and the realization that value is created not by companies, but by the talented people who populate them. The number of workers aged 35-44 is steadily declining and will continue to do so for the next decade or more. The percentage of workers remaining who have the skills required by the Information Age (i.e., programming, networks, etc.) is also declining. So, employers are scrambling to ensure they attract the best of the shrinking talent pool.
Q. In your experience, what companies have been forerunners in this area?
A. Some noteworthy examples include American Express, Cisco Systems, Amgen, Starbucks and Intel. All of these companies have received recognition on the list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America. They all share the common trait of treating their employees better than their peers in their industries, and all invest heavily in employee training and development.
Q. How is employer branding related to the changing values of employees?
A. The two are inextricably linked. Employees have become cynical about employment because of the layoffs that occurred during the recent recession. They no longer see any reward in being loyal to their employer; rather, they look for what the employer can offer them in terms of career development or skills enhancement--both of which make the employee more marketable on the labor scene.
More fundamentally, the baby boomers, Gen X and the Millennials (aka Gen Y) are the first generations to grow up with the mass media. These generations are a very brand-oriented cohort of consumers. They make their decisions based on brands--in other words, the relationship the potential employee or consumer has with an organization. If the brand is unknown or negatively perceived, it will be much more difficult for that company to attract employees or customers. A global study conducted by Millward Brown in 2001 confirmed this, showing a distinct correlation between positive perceptions of organizations and their desirability as employers.
Perhaps most remarkably, research at both the University of California Los Angeles and Baylor University medical schools have shown that during the last 50 years the human brain has re-wired itself to recognize brand names differently than common nouns or proper names. This research made headlines in the neurological world because it proved our species is still evolving at a fairly rapid pace. The study was equally noteworthy in the branding world because it proved how important brand names are in building and maintaining market share.
Q. What trends have you noticed in the area of employer branding?
A. More employers are conducting research to determine how they are perceived outside the company. More money is being allocated specifically to enhance the employer brand. One U.S.-based aerospace company's primary strategic directive is to attract the talent it needs to complete the contracts it has in hand.
Q. What steps do you recommend employers take to implement their employer brand?
A. At Hodes, we recommend a 360 approach. This comprehensive approach includes four stages: assess, strategize, implement and measure.
The Hodes 360
Assess
Find out how your organization is perceived by existing, former and potential employees. Conduct focus groups, exit interviews, and attitude and awareness surveys to gain objective insight. Don't trust your intuition or "gut feeling".
Strategize
Take what you learn from your research and determine where you are today, and where you want to be a year and five years from now, in terms of how you are perceived as an employer. Map out specific steps that will take you from here to there.
Implement
Set policies and establish procedures that will allow your employees to deliver your brand to your customers (whomever they may be). If your brand promise is "courtesy", make sure your employees are always smiling and polite, internally and externally. If your brand promise is "flawless execution", make sure your processes are not only designed to do just that, but that there is also the flexibility and autonomy for your employees to take independent, informed action to correct a problem (rather than having to go ask their supervisor).
Measure
Periodically conduct your research again to measure whether attitudes have changed. Establish metrics up front that will quantify whether or not your efforts are working and then constantly measure yourself against them.
Q. What role does Hodes play in this initiative?
A. Virtually every service Hodes offers its customers has the creation of a strong employer brand at its core. Whether a client needs to hire 50 nurses in Milwaukee or 150 auditors in Atlanta, they need to make a strong case for joining their organization to an audience with very unique likes and dislikes.
At Hodes, we utilize a 360-degree methodology (as discussed in the previous question) to map out the deliverable needed (a strong employer brand) to address that unique audience's preferences. We develop strong employer brand propositions for our clients by conducting both primary and secondary research. We then wrap creative marketing efforts (print campaigns, career websites, e-mail campaigns, you name it) around this brand proposition and test it some more. If it sticks to the intended audience, we roll it out across all recruitment marketing efforts, including PR. Through ongoing research surveys, we can benchmark findings and continue to measure the success of our tactics and their impact on the hiring bottom line.
Q. Based on your experience, can you give me an example of a success story?
A. One example that springs to mind is Southwest Airlines (SWA). This company has not had a layoff or lost money since 9/11, while all of the major U.S. airlines have been bleeding money. SWA is very clear that the passenger is NOT #1, the employee is. SWA management figured out long ago if you treat your employees well, they, in turn, will treat your customers well.
Q. What are the consequences for companies that don't have a strong employer brand?
A. Companies with a poor or undefined employer brand do not perform as well financially, have a more difficult time recruiting and retaining staff, and do not score high in consumer perception surveys.
Q. You've told us the importance of a strong employer brand. Obviously, Hodes has one. Can you describe it?
A. At Hodes, our expertise lies in securing perhaps the most diverse and valuable commodity on earth--people. We help our clients develop whatever is needed--their Web presence, their presence on the job fair circuit, even their entire recruiting process--to bring the very best people to their company and keep them there.
Our mission statement captures our employer brand proposition:
Whether you're a client, or employee, our mission is to make the most of your talent.
For clients, it's about giving them the tools, support and guidance to help them realize their fullest professional potential. For our employees, it's about doing the very same thing.
Our feeling is when our people succeed, so do our clients. The goals of our people are to realize the goals of our clients. We're a company that relies on teamwork, employee development and customer service.
Mark Hornung returned to Bernard Hodes Group in 2003 as senior vice president. During his first stint at Hodes, he worked his way up from copywriter to national creative director, and was instrumental in the development and launch of CareerMosaic, the first online employment site. Called the "father of employer branding", Mark works with clients such as Merck & Co., The Clorox Company, Serono and Group Health Cooperative. Mark has a degree in Philosophy from John Carroll University. He is also an accomplished writer, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, and co-author of the book Opportunities in Microelectronics Careers.
This interview is based on questions Mark Hornung answered for Faye Mallett from the Galt Global Review. To read, Ms. Mallett's version of the interview, please visit: http://www.galtglobalreview.com/business/interview_branding.html
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