Without a strong and distinct employer brand, companies struggle to attract new talent and retain its top employees.

Amid fierce competition for quality employees, companies today must look closely at their plans and priority lists and check whether they have in place a sought-after and reliable employer brand. Remember, you are competing with a multitude of companies to win the hearts of qualified prospective employees. Employment branding is quality-driven rather than of quantity. Yes, there can be a huge amount of resumes or applicants in the funnel, but you only want the one who fits the job.

So, how do you make sure that your brand is strong, effective, unique and preferred?
Ensure that the messages communicated by your channels are consistent with the image you want to project. If you are a professional learning and development partner, reflect that stature in your corporate collaterals – brochures, flyers, website and even your internally-concocted events. This is crucial since information that people can get about you, be it from the search engines or media, will influence what they know and think of you as a company and whether they want to work for or with. Even on corporate blogs, it is always a boon rather than a bane to always be in control. Prospects may be enthralled by flowery recruitment ads that boast of big bucks and the overrated being a “dynamic company to work with”, but employees become easily frustrated with broken promises.

So stick to what you have promised. Always focus on the benefits – what would be in store for them once they sign the contract. Be a real dynamic employer.
Before you affect changes in your outside world, you must deal with matters internally first. Once new employees come in, get them to undergo an orientation programme introducing the mission-vision, culture and values of the organisation. Once they are settled, take them to activities or programmes that will immerse them to the whole organisational culture or environment. Make sure that they understand the brand that you are putting up.

Get that living and breathing in the whole corporate environment and practice. Sit down with your internal communications department and discuss other programmes that will immerse the employees in the brand. Employees will then become your ambassadors to their customers. You never know what words they might impart to their friends when your company is in the limelight of their discussions. Keep the internal communication system running.

Good internal crisis management is essential when inevitable adversities happen at the workplace such as an exodus of staff in one go. You can never hide the fact that many people in your organisation are moving on. So be transparent in what you tell the staff left behind. Refrain from bad mouthing your ex-employees as this will damage your reputation and good will. People come and go, that’s a fact. Instead, think of innovative ways to keep the other employees. How about a one to one discussion or forum with the employees? Find out what they think of the current situation. Know what they want and move on from there.

Another way is to forge partnerships with third party organisations – educational institutions, government and ministries, international counterparts, media and even your competitors. It pays to be on good terms with everyone, because you will never know the next time you are talking to your supplier, he might be asking about your current openings. Discuss this further with your public relations team.

Enhancing the employment brand is a long-term organisational effort. A successful trade name will reach greater heights and act as a very effective advertisement that can lure prospective quality employees. Create your niche in the market and let people peek in your window of wonderful possibilities.

Angeline V Teo
Founder and principal consultant
d’Oz International
www.d-oz.com