People
Issue No. 5 - April/June 2002
More than Pretty Pictures
by Sally Day
Employees, like consumers, are attracted to strong brands. Less expensive, generic cola may taste like Coke, but consumers identify with Coke, giving the better-known brand a dominant market share and an almost undying customer loyalty.
Likewise, it is more attractive for an employee to work at Company A with a stronger employer brand than to seek employment at a Brand X Company that is undifferentiated from several other similar companies. And the same element of customer loyalty that sells more Coke translates into longer tenures, higher productivity and increased retention.
But in identifying and defining your employer brand, there are more subtle forces at work requiring a longer-term approach: Your employer brand affects whether the right candidates apply to your company in the first place, whether they will take an offer when you extend it and whether they will stay at your company once they are hired. The identification and use of a successful employer brand can have an enormous impact on your entire company’s overall profitability, vision and future direction.
Companies with strong employer brands will realise a huge competitive advantage when competing for top talent. Companies without strong employer brands will be forced to lure candidates with higher salaries and added benefits.
What is an employer brand?
Your company’s employer brand is not a print advertising or banner campaign. It is not the design of your website or job-fair booth. It is not the TV commercials that sell your company's services—and it is definitely not your logo. These are all executions of what you believe your brand should be, and they are only the tip of the iceberg.
Put simply, an employer brand is a perception. It exists in the minds of employees and potential employees, and it encompasses all the thoughts, feelings, perceptions and ideas that a job candidate associates with your company as a potential place to work. This...
