EMPLOYER BRANDING

EMPLOYER BRANDING 

organizations are using branding as a strategic tool to attract consumers and employees.  As Kotler and Lee, (2008) stated, branding is the process of developing an intended brand identity.  The employer branding is a relatively new strategy of HRM to attract and recruit prospective employees while engaging the existing employees to the firm. The concept was first introduced by Ambler and Barrow (1996), and they defined  “employer brand” as “the package of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the employing company".. According to the CIPD (2008) employer branding can be defined as  ‘’a set of attributes and qualities – often intangible – that makes an organization idiosyncratic, promises a precise kind of employment experience, and appeals to those people who will thrive and perform to their best in its culture.’’

Employer brand is a mechanism to position the firm as an employer. As shown in figure1 , employer branding communicates the organizational culture and identity,  and it leads to high degree of loyalty and productivity within company. (Backhaus and Tikoo, 2004)

Employer brand recognizes an organization in the marketplace and makes it unique. the aim of employer branding is to become "Employer of choice" where it helps to create a strong psychological contract between employer and workers (Evans, 2012). moreover it gives everyone a clear picture on what we are, and what to expect. It infuses the company’s recruitment process and the interaction between individuals in the organization. Another empirical study of 113 companies across industry has acknowledged that in companies with developed employer brand, employees are more actively engaged in decision-making and management process. the study found that the average turnover rate of the organizations with employer brand is 10%, while overall turnover average is as high as 16%. (Kucherov & Zavyalova, 2012). According to the Conference Board report on employer branding (Conference Board, 2001) organizations have found that effective employer branding leads to competitive advantage, helps employees internalize firm values and helps in employee retention. 

Example: Google has long shown their commitment to company culture, whether through their much-vaunted 20% time or their plans to track 4,000 Googlers for the next 100 years in order to understand work-life balance. And their Google Careers page takes the same exhaustive approach, speaking directly to nearly every imaginable job candidate.

Through aligning employer branding with corporate strategy, an organization can be benefited internally and externally  as shown above in figure 2 and figure 3. (Irena and Matuska, 2013) Employer branding is a powerful tool for organizations to attract talents. 

REFERENCES

Ambler, T. and Barrow, S. (1996). The Employer Brand. Journal of Brand Management, 4(3), pp.185-206.

Backhaus, K. and Tikoo, S. (2004). Conceptualizing and Researching Employer Branding. Career Development International, 9(5), pp.501-504.

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). (2008). Annual Survey Report 2008 -Recruitment, Retention And Turnover. [online] Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/BE3C57BF-91FF-4AD0-9656-FAC27E5398AA/0/recruitment onturnover2008.pdf [Accessed 8 May 2018].

Irena, F. and Matuska, E. (2013). Employee Branding as a Human Resource Management Strategy. Human Resources Management & Ergonomics, [online] 7(2). Available at: https://frcatel.fri.uniza.sk/hrme/files/2013/2013_2_03.pdf [Accessed 9 May 2018].

Kotler, P. and Lee, N. (2008). Social Marketing: Improving Quality of Life. 3rd ed. Sage.

Kucherov, D. and Zavyalova, E. (2012). HRD practices and talent management n the companies with the employer brand. European Journal of Training and Development, 36, pp.86-104.

Evans, S. (2012). Impact of Employer Branding on Employee Attraction and Retention. European Journal of Business and Management, [online] 4(18). Available at: http://pakacademicsearch.com/pdf-files/ech/517/164-173%20Vol%204,%20No%2018%20(2012).pdf [Accessed 9 May 2018].