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Employer Branding
July 2008 | Volume 6 Issue 7
In order to attract top candidates from today’s shrinking talent pool, organizations need to stand out from the crowd. In this issue of CW Bulletin, our experts show how applying branding strategies to your organization’s recruitment and retention efforts can motivate current employees and attract new ones.
Natasha Nicholson
Executive Editor
Amanda Aiello
Associate Editor |
Features
MEASUREMENT
by D. Mark Hornung
Volatile economic conditions make labor markets uncertain, so many companies are tempted to reduce or eliminate investments in their employer brands. After all, people are fearful of losing their jobs, so why spend capital trying to attract and retain them when dread of unemployment will do the same thing for free?
Simplistic reasoning such as this overlooks the fact that organizations with strong employer brands get better performance out of their workforces.
COMMUNICATING THE EMPLOYER BRAND
by Brett Minchington
Since it first appeared in the early 1990s, the concept of employer branding has been the domain of the human resources department. Today, best practices in employer branding involves the input of the internal marketing and communication departments as well. These functions can support HR in the complex process of developing an employer brand that can be a competitive advantage in today’s market, where talent and skills are increasingly in demand.
BRANDING FROM WITHIN
by R. Alan Crozier
There has recently been an increased interest in, and focus on, the employer brand. That’s not a bad thing, but much of that effort is solely aimed at attracting employees. In this sense, the employer brand is concerned with promotion rather than “product.” The product in this context is the employment experience—and that’s the core of the employer brand.
MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES
by Stefan Grafe
Development of the employer brand is often handled by numerous departments and people. The result is an employer branding landscape that is dominated by uninspiring buzzwords: work-life balance, opportunities, engagement, trust, empowerment and innovation culture. Spin is everywhere, leading to brands that lack differentiation or inspirational value, both of which should be at the heart, if not be the heart, of any brand development.
Columns
Bring Your Numbers to Life: Using visual data
by Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz
Since communicators are usually word people, it’s sometimes a stretch for us to think visually. Moreover, many of us are downright uncomfortable with numbers. Yet business communicators are often called on to explain their company’s financial information or its plans to outsource, downsize, expand, relocate, merge or acquire, and words may not be enough.
Business Development in a Web 2.0 World
by Daria Steigman
It’s a Web 2.0 world, and every savvy businessperson knows that it is critical to keep abreast of the trends and understand how they could, and often will, affect how you do business. Whether you work for Genentech or Goldman Sachs, you’d better know how your employees are talking to each other and to your customers—and what the conversation is all about.
Finding the Positive in the “R” Word
by Naseem Javed
The current and unavoidable recession in the U.S., which is now slowly affecting Canada and Mexico and spreading toward Europe, Asia and the farthest corners of the world, is nothing to be either afraid of or surprised about. It is just one of those cycles that appear every decade or so. While some organizations land soft, others land hard, and this cycle may be gearing up to be the hardest yet. Still, there are some very positive things to be found in that “R” word.
- “Branding Our Future,” SCF Arizona
- “Heritage Brand Campaign,” The Co-operators
- “Healthy Pfizer Puerto Rico,” Pfizer with Mercer Human Resource Consulting
Communication in the News
Related Resources provides additional articles and resources for understanding this month’s topic of employer branding. You can also find some of these links alongside each corresponding feature article for quick reference. Links include:
- “Employment Branding Begins Within,” by Bill Freeman
- “Employment Branding: The only long-term recruiting strategy,” by John Sullivan
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