Employer Brand Management

All organisations strive for sustained competitive advantage in order to attain economic profit and to survive in an increasingly global and competitive marketplace. Human resources (HR) are crucial for competitive advantage, and they often represent the main investment in knowledge intensive firms. In large and open competing markets, brand and corporate reputation are crucial for attracting the best employees. There is a constant war over talent in several industries. The importance of brand and reputation is well known in the product market, and has recently become salient as well in the labour market including the recruitment process. Many organisations have long had their employer brand - the composite attributes and values offering enriching employment experiences that appeal to employees. A good brand is distinctive and diverse. It differentiates an organisation among competitors, stakeholders, labour markets and in the mind’s eye of future talent. It can be a crucial recruitment/attraction/retention tool - and a lever for better business performance. The attractiveness of an organisation is related to the manner in which particular characteristics of the job and the organisation are perceived. The importance of attracting high quality employees to organisations renders the development of a sound recruitment communication strategy essential. Finding the desired employees is not easy, as many organisations are seeking the same skills in their employees. The Employer Brand (EB) concept is based on the conviction that an employer can be seen as a brand Similar to customer brands, employer brands offer employees a variety of functional, economic and psychological advantages. In order to establish an employer brand, an organisation must build ‘an image in the minds of the potential labour market that the company, above all others, is a great place to work ’. Thus, employer brand management becomes important.

The below mentioned points should be studied to manage employer brand of any organisation:

1. The Employee Value Proposition (EVP) should be clearly-stated, competitive, appealing - and fully representative of the entire organisation’s people.
2. The organisation should be generally regarded as an employer of choice. The principles and practices should be justified.
3. The employer brand profile should be clearly communicated amongst the talent markets, service providers, networks and recruitment agencies.
4. The organisation must evaluate whatever it has done over the last two years to evaluate the brand promise and direction, along with its business benefits.
5. The organisation must measure retention, motivation and engagement levels - and relate the findings to the employer brand.
6. The brand, or EVP, should be compared with those of competitors, peers and sector leaders.

EB can therefore be seen as a part of the process of building a corporate identity: communicating and co-creating the organisation ’ s character in such a way that every current or potential employee feels a part of the organisation, shares and acts towards its core values and becomes an ambassador for the organisation. Organisations should therefore communicate their corporate identities to their personnel in order to develop, preserve and anchor them.

Ms. Karnica Tanwar

Assistant Professor

Dept. of Management Studies