a brief description of each.
Beyond the Book
In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet for tips on making the case for employer branding, developing your employer value proposition, and more. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type Employer Branding For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
We structured this book so you could use it in a couple different ways. To get the most out of it, read it from cover to cover, so you don’t miss out on any valuable information and insight. You may also use it as an employer branding desk reference; when you’re dealing with a particular issue related to employer branding, simply look up the topic in the Table of Contents or the Index and flip to the designated page to find the information and guidance you need.
If you’re not sure where to start, you can’t go wrong with Chapter 3, which is about conducting an employer brand health check. Even if you’re not actively engaged in creating and promoting an employer brand, you already have one; your employer brand is your reputation as an employer – the collective perception of everyone inside and outside your organization. You don’t know how well or poorly you’re doing from the perspective of those who really matter until you collect and analyze relevant data, both quantitative and qualitative.
If you don’t have an employer brand, or you have one but need to refresh or improve it, head to Part 2, where you find out how to define your employer proposition, build your employer brand framework, generate engaging content, and develop and implement your brand strategy. The chapters in Part 3 provide additional guidance on how to promote your employer brand through the proper channels – including websites, social media, recruitment advertising, and college campuses.
No matter where you start, this book will help you build a strong employer brand. You simply need to decide where you are in the process and take it from there. Happy branding!
Part 1
Getting Started with Employer Branding
IN THIS PART …
Discover what employer branding is all about and how it can benefit your organization in attracting, engaging, and retaining the right people.
Identify the four steps to developing and executing an effective employer brand strategy.
Clarify your organization’s strategic objectives, identify the talent required to achieve those objectives, and gain the support of your organization’s leadership team.
Evaluate your existing employer brand to determine how well it’s currently perceived and whether it’s delivering the kind of talent your organization needs to succeed.
Chapter 1
Building a Strong Employer Brand
IN THIS CHAPTER
❯❯ Wrapping your brain around the concept of employer branding
❯❯ Planning and executing your employer brand strategy
❯❯ Exploring and assessing various marketing channels
❯❯ Delivering a distinctively great employment experience
❯❯ Gauging and improving on your employer branding success
Employers used to assume they were in the driver’s seat. Advertised vacancies would attract a plentiful selection of candidates. Employers would select the best, and the best would gratefully accept their offers of employment. Times have changed. Established companies can no longer assume that the right kind of talent will beat a path to their door. The new economy requires significantly more people qualified in science, technology, engineering, and math than our education systems are producing. The most innovative and entrepreneurial are increasingly choosing to join or found startup businesses rather than join established companies. And the declining birthrate in many countries means fewer young people are replenishing the workforce as baby boomers retire. Given these trends, it’s no surprise that competition for talent is now more intense than it has ever been.
Although times have changed, many companies haven’t. They continue to recruit the same way they did 20 years ago – posting openings and screening out unqualified candidates. Although this process of elimination has worked reasonably well in the past, more progressive companies are realizing there are more efficient and effective ways to attract and retain talent. They’ve begun to harness the power of employer branding, applying the same kind of rigor and creativity that companies have long applied to winning and keeping customers.
Throughout this book, we provide detailed guidance on how to begin to build the kind of workplace and employer brand that attracts, engages, and retains the world’s top talent. In this chapter, we deliver the big-picture view, so you have a conceptual framework of employer branding and an overall understanding of what it involves.
What Is Employer Branding?
Employer branding is the process of creating a distinctively great place to work and then promoting it to the talent whose knowledge and skills are needed by the organization to meet its business goals and objectives. Like consumer branding, employer branding involves less push and more pull – developing the kind of positive reputation that will help attract talented individuals when and where they’re needed.
In this section, we highlight the benefits of this approach and step you through the process/cycle of employer branding, so you have some idea of what you’re about to get yourself into.
Some companies are reluctant to invest in employer branding, because the costs may seem steep in relation to the immediate returns. After all, to build a strong employer brand, you need to spend money on research and creative development and add to the workloads of already busy departments, including recruitment, human resources (HR), and marketing. Before you commit time, money, and other resources to employer branding, you and others in your organization naturally want to know “What’s in it for us?”
To spark the passion and drive needed to build and maintain a distinctively great employer brand, you need to answer that question for yourself and for everyone else in your organization, especially for those in leadership positions. Everyone involved needs to be aware of what’s at stake and the positive impact a strong employer brand can have on the success of the organization and everyone who’s a part of it.
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