By
Jody Rogers, PHR, Human Resource Administrator, SFM (Minnesota State Fund)
Employment branding is considered the hottest trend for 2007. While recruiting and staffing experts will tell you that employment branding is not a new concept, it has become the rage given the demographic shifts and tight labor market.
Strong employment brands can create a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining good people. Often it can make the difference between hiring and keeping those people or watching them go to a competitor.
Employment branding: What is it?
Whether you are aware of it or not, every organization has an employment brand. The challenge is to define your brand so it attracts and retains the types of people essential to your organization’s success.
Employment branding is the perception that current and prospective employees have of your organization as a place to work. Your employment brand is the essence of your organization. It conveys your culture: organizational values, vision, business expertise, and employee and customer relationships.
SFM recently completed its employment-branding project. Here are a few things to consider when developing your employment brand strategy:
Conduct market research. Review exit interview data from your former employees, talk with people who applied and interviewed at your organization, survey your recruiting resources, analyze your competition and don’t forget to speak with your customers. The data you obtain from this research will help shape your employment brand over your competitors.
Conduct employee focus groups. Input from your employees is a necessary step to understand what they believe is unique about your organization. Find out why they chose your organization as a place to work. This is also a great opportunity for you to find out what your organization can do better to attract and retain your employees. Involving your employees in this process effectuates buy-in and synergy needed to achieve success with your brand strategy.
Identify your external talent market. Consider where you recruit talent. Determine the effectiveness of each recruitment resource, and ask why these job seekers chose your organization.
Consider creating various profiles by segments of your employee population. For instance, what attracts a nurse case manager or an actuary to apply may be quite different than what attracts a documents technician or customer service representative to apply.
Many job seekers today are searching for new, rewarding experiences, mentoring and growth opportunities, performance-based recognition, community involvement experiences, and, simply put, having a life first and career second. This step will assist in drawing the target candidate population you want to bring to your organization.
Partner with your management, marketing and communications team. If your organization has a corporate brand, ensure that the employment brand you are creating aligns with your corporate brand initiatives. Involve your management and marketing teams in this process.
Once you’ve identified your employment brand, the next phase is to work with your communications team to create your marketing and advertising strategy.
Defining your employment brand is an investment in your organization’s long-term recruitment strategy. It is a pledge to people that conveys your unique culture. To succeed in delivering your employment brand, your organization should live and breathe the same employment experience.
Author Jody Rogers can be reached at jodyr@sfmic.com or (952) 838-4206.
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