Employer brand, it’s all about your internal and external reputation
Derived from the notion of employer branding, the term "employer brand" emerged in France in the early 1990s. In 2005, Brett Minchington[1] summarised the concept in one sentence: "the image of your organisation as a great place to work".
Employer branding, the winning trio
Employer branding combines three fundamental aspects:
- Firstly, the employer identity: the real DNA of the company, these are the elements that form the basis of its identity, its culture. It includes aspects as varied as its mission, its activities, its organisation, its values, its working environment and its staff.
- Secondly, the employer image (internal) refers to the perception that current and former employees have of the company.
- Finally, the employer reputation (external) is the image or opinion that the public has of the organisation. This includes customers, suppliers, but also future employees.
As these three elements are closely linked, the company must pay particular attention to each of them to improve its employer brand!
Why do you need to take care of your employer brand?
The challenge is twofold because every company has both an internal and external image.
With regard to the view employees have of their employer’s image, it is a question of stimulating theircommitment and motivation to increase individual and collective performance. The aim is also to retain talent by making the company more attractive than others in the eyes of employees. Careful attention to working conditions, management style and recognition for work done all contribute to improving the employer image. Let’s not forget that employees are the first ambassadors of the employer brand!
As far as the employer’s reputation is concerned, the attractiveness of the company is also a major issue. First of all, it is a question of standing out from other organisations in order to attract talent. Indeed, when faced with two similar positions, with roughly the same tasks and equivalent remuneration, candidates will tend to choose the company with the best reputation. Secondly, a major issue concerns the success of recruitment. The company must ensure that its reputation among candidates is in line with reality, in order to avoid disappointment and therefore premature departures. To this end, the recruiter can assess the candidate’s perception by asking questions such as “What do you know about our company” and “Why do you want to join us?
A few explanations
- Be consistent and in tune with reality. To avoid surprises and disappointments, your employer brand should reflect the reality of your organisation. Bear in mind that a major discrepancy could ultimately harm your company.
- Involve all your employees. Everyone experiences the reality of your organisation on a daily basis. It is therefore important to ask their opinion when identifying the company’s strengths, as well as areas for improvement.
- Your employer brand is not static. It needs to evolve with your company, with changes in society, etc. to be as close to reality as possible.
Ultimately, to improve their employer brand and attract talent, companies need to develop real human resources marketing.
Expert in Human Capital Management @ MindForest
[1] http://www.employerbrandinternational.com/#!brett-minchington/cqb4
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