It is a brand crazy world. The consumerist Indians too have woken up to brands and are in a state of frenzy. Thanks to increased purchasing power and deep penetration of media, consumption patterns in rural households – where the real India breathes – too have changed significantly in recent years. With more than 500 million people below the age of 25, it offers unlimited and untapped opportunities for Indian and foreign MNCs. And, for consumers and fresh talent, this means an era of abundance.
The competition is fierce and is only going to be more challenging ahead. Those vying for a place are leaving no stone unturned, and the ones already established are now discovering and projecting themselves as a great ‘internal brand’. This finds base in the increased consumers’ association with the brand value, which is born out of more than just radio and television advertisements.
With every consumer being an employee and every employee being a consumer, this awareness towards having a great internal brand is not new. However, 2013 is the year to discuss how employer branding has shaped up and come of age, answering ‘what is in it for me to work here?’
For human resources professionals, employer branding is the real protagonist today. It is a powerful amalgamation of psychology and science. Since its coinage in the 1990s, it has proved to be a solid fulcrum that ensures survival, increased revenues and provides a competitive edge by attracting, engaging and retaining talent. Employer brand encompasses both tangible and intangible meaning. It talks about an employee’s experience and perception of a company. With changing socio-economic factors, an employee’s life has evolved for the better. The shift from a secure government service to a high-paying private firm’s job, the choice has today settled at the employment experience. An existing or potential employee’s quest for ‘what is it that is going to keep me here every day?’ has to be responded well. Human resources managers today spend more time than ever with the marketing counterparts to chalk out an employer branding strategy. They have been focusing their energy and efforts towards enhancing their employer brand and creating a meaningful perception – as vigorously as for their product brand. Like a brand gets its real value through loyal consumers, a strong employer brand results in loyal and proud employees.
Organisations such as Google and Apple have been investing a lot in their internal brand. Leading their product segments, they also top the lists of great places to work. The fact that they have not yet stopped investing in their employer brand speaks volumes that dollars spent on advertising alone cannot result in a strong brand. Google does not pay the highest salaries, but people are queuing to join it. The brand’s mention on an intern’s resume can give the greatest possible start to his or her career. Google has successfully established what differentiates it from other employers. A bronze replica of a skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex, at the entrance of its headquarters in Silicon Valley is a reminder that the leading software giant needs to keep evolving.
Brands help people judge a business. Just like its products, a brand often reflects what one would experience on the inside. Nike’s tag line ‘Just do it!’ and Apple’s ‘Think Different’ (now discontinued) created ripples in the advertising world. Though inadvertently, they strongly projected to the outside world, including potential employees, the feel of inside atmosphere and what drives people there. This practice has only become stronger as organisations are erasing the line between providing the ‘feel good’ experience to their customers and employees alike. HCL’s Vineet Nayar goes a step ahead in his book Employees First, Customers Second.
Employer brand defines an organisation’s positioning in the marketplace. It is a communication channel to both the inside and the outside world that constantly feeds the aspirations to be a part of the company. Once successful, the organisation creates its own brand evangelists who proudly endorse the firm, are emotionally attached, and promote it everywhere possible. Social media here has been a great medium of exchange – giving a voice and lending an ear to both happy and disgruntled employees. Thus, employer branding is also a reputation building exercise, as Oracle’s founder and CEO Larry Ellison says, “your brand is what people say about you when you have left the room.’
Employer brand is also a psychological contract between the employer and the employee. In order to strike an emotional chord with employees, the employer needs to approach the people emotionally.
Former CHRO of Yahoo! Inc and Southwest Airlines, Libby Sartain, in her book Brand From the Inside: Eight Essentials to Emotionally Connect Your Employees to Your Business – co-authored with Mark Schumann – says if the brand does not live on the inside, it cannot thrive on the outside. Emphasising on the ways leaders can build an emotional connect with employees who will, in turn, deliver to the customers, they call employer branding ‘the secret sauce’ which when properly prepared, can create “real results”.
Colin Mitchell in Selling the Brand Inside, says: “Unfortunately, in most companies, internal marketing is done poorly, if at all. While executives recognise the need to keep people informed about the company’s strategy and direction, few understand the need to convince employees of the brand’s power — they take it as a given.” Mitchell further states that internal communicators, typically HR managers, lack the marketing skills to communicate successfully. “Information is doled out to employees in the form of memos, newsletters, and so forth, but it is not designed to convince them of the uniqueness of the company’s brand. The marketing department might get involved once in a while to tell employees about a new ad campaign or branding effort. But the intent usually is to tell people what the company is doing, not to sell them on the ideas.”
Creating an employer brand strategy does not always mean huge budgets. Besides building an emotional connect, there are aspects unique to an organisation that create a value-based firm, turning a brand into legacy. There are various differentiating factors too when it comes to creating an employer brand. What works for one organisation would not necessarily favour the other company with different culture and goals. Thoroughbred organisations understand it well and localise their strategies while working towards it. They listen to the employee’s need, respond to it and then follow it up.
Fair and transparent performance management system, training and development, rewards and recognition, leadership, customer orientation, and motivating work culture and environment ensure employee satisfaction at the workplace.
Exit interviews and special surveys for recent hires are powerful tools to gain an insight. Once one has the data at hand, one can clearly assess the brand’s meaning for employees. Like customer’s behaviour is relevant to the marketing team, these exercises help HR understand the employees’ behaviour. HR manager here must act as an employee brand manager, treating people as a brand.
NASSCOM recently revealed the findings of its annual survey on ‘Exciting Emerging Companies to work for’. The list included top 15 best mid-sized IT and BPO organisations to work for. HeroITES, a part of USD-3.1 billion Hero Group, gained the top slot followed by Corbus, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Soin International LLC. These were companies with the “perfect platform” for nurturing specialised talent and cross-functional skills. According to NASSCOM, the survey assessed the companies based on the extent to which they are preferred by job seekers, the non-hierarchical work environment, innovation culture and commitment to employee empowerment within the organisation. The survey also considered factors such as employee training taken up by organisations for their current and future roles.
There are many firms in India which have created similar platforms where employees can be open and direct to the top management. At times, the leader can be a great binding factor for the existing employees. Surveys have it that it is the faulty immediate leadership and not always compensation that leads to erosion of your talent base. Thus, leadership can be a deciding factor to an employee’s willingness to stick or move on.
The modern corporate world is increasingly moving towards values and social good. With diminishing boundaries between professional and personal time, the stress is on value-based employment. Also, organisations moving into corporate social responsibility (CSR) stands testimony to the fact that profits alone cannot guarantee a strong brand. Companies are integrating CSR into their corporate strategy and involving employees’ participation for a noble cause. They can leverage this platform by engaging employees in developing CSR strategies, having CSR committees and councils. This enables brand ambassadors to think, act and tell the world that they are associated with a great and meaningful workplace.
A well-planned employer brand strategy is based on long-term objectives and has clarity in terms of whom to attract and retain. Employer branding is no doubt a potent tool in attracting and engaging the talent in today’s knowledge economy – faced with talent shortage and high competition. Done right, it can generate great value for the organisation. However, in the bid, organisations must never create unrealistic expectations or make false promises. The unmet promises can lead to lower job satisfaction, lower performance, lower organisational commitment and high absenteeism. Overselling the company may also lead to the new as well as existing loyal employees contemplate leaving the organisation.
Unlike product branding, employer branding is more complex as it impacts both internal and external audience.
