Singapore – Investing heavily in employer branding now will allow companies to pay less in the long run, say senior HR practitioners of Flextronics and Caterpillar Asia.

By placing a greater value in the right corporate culture instead of increasing the wage package to attract talent, companies can focus on implementing the best practices for their organisations.

With the right corporate branding strategy, Richard Wong, VP of human resources Asia for Flextronics Asia, said companies can reduce the new cost per hire, the recruit cycle time and the attrition rate to below industry average. “Other companies fail to replicate similar best practices with success because they lack the ethos, the spirit – the desire to make the culture work.”

Don DaSaro, leadership development and learning manager for Caterpillar Asia, agrees that poor branding plays a huge part in getting the right talent. He cited the previous low percentages of women working in the organisation as a driver for the construction and mining equipment manufacturer to review their corporate culture. DaSaro said, “Currently, 46% of the management is now women.”

While installing HR as the strategic partner can help improve the company's culture, Wong said it also depends on the CEO's mindset. “He must believe in the potential of the business, the company and the people.”

To have a successful attraction and retention strategy, it is important to instill the right perception of the company in current and future employees. Wong said companies must ask themselves how they can make people want to work for them and no one else.

Both senior HR practitioners agree employers have to understand what the talent is looking for and find out the areas of opportunity that can be offered to them. Wong remarked that creating a work environment that allows talent to flex their potential is also a must.

The panel discussion was held last week during Hay Group’s unveiling of the best practices of Fortune 500 companies.