Employer branding campaigns are being
created by most of the major employers in North America and Europe.
According to a 2001 The Conference Board study, two-thirds of corporate
communications directors were planning to increase their budgets
for employer brand development.
A solid process based approach
Versant is one of the pioneers of Employer Branding in the United
States. They provide consulting services to companies who seek
to create an Employer Brand. Their consulting provides a combination
of creative development and tactical executions.
Both Versant and Bernard Hodes have developed similar processes
to help companies create a strong, effective Employer Brand. Both
processes consist of four distinct steps: Assess, Construct or Strategize,
Implement and Measure.
These steps ensure that a company creates an Employer Brand suitable
for their market and image, that this brand is implemented to yield
maximum effectiveness and that its success can be quantified. Creating
a compelling Employer Brand is a process of gradual, continual change
rather than a quick execution of “policy.” Each step
forms the foundation for the next, and the continuous nature of the
process ensures that the Employer Brand remains relevant over time.
“I would say less than 10 % of US organizations currently
have a true Employer Brand program in place,” states Nancy
Woltzen, Account Group Director for Versant. Among these, she claims,
Marriott, Harley-Davidson, Northwestern Mutual and Johnson Controls
are the current leaders in implementing a successful employer brand
in the US.
American Express, Cisco Systems, Amgen, Starbucks, and Intel, all
of which have received recognition on The List of 100 Best Companies
to Work for in America are leaders in Employer Branding as well. “They
all share the common trait of treating their employees better than
their peers in their industries, and all invest heavily in employee
training and development,” states Hornung.
Companies who don’t invest in developing an effective Employer
Brand will, in the long run, be less financially successful than
those who are. States Woltzen, “They will not be able to recruit
or retain the high-performing employees they will need to run a successful
business.”
It is to their own peril that employers ignore the changing needs
of the labour market. Employees have become cynical about employment
because of the layoffs of the recent recession. They no longer see
any reward in being loyal to their employer, looking instead to what
the employer can offer them in terms of career development or skills
enhancement.
Getting engaged
A 2002 Gallup survey reported that less than a quarter of American
workers are fully “engaged” in their work, costing
the US economy $300bn (and £50bn in the UK) per year. Gallup
surveys in Great Britain, France and Singapore revealed similar
findings in 2003.
The surveys revealed that more than 80% of British workers lack
any real commitment to their jobs, with a quarter of those being "actively
disengaged," or truly disaffected with their workplaces. Gallup
estimates that actively disengaged workers cost the British economy
between £37.2 billion ($64.8 billion U.S.) and £38.9
billion ($66.1 billion U.S.) per year due to low employee retention,
high absentee levels, and low productivity.
Gallup survey results in 2003 also showed that only 12% of French
workers are engaged in their work, with approximately 2.5 times
as many workers (31%) being actively disengaged, or disconnected
from their jobs.
In Singapore’s workforce, the percentage of actively disengaged
employees is on the rise. At 17%, this figure is up five percentage
points from 2002. Gallup estimates that the lower productivity
of actively disengaged workers penalizes Singapore’s economic
performance, costing between $4.9 and $6.7 billion annually.
These disturbing findings reveal how, worldwide, companies are
failing to deliver many of the things that employee’s value
most. How can employer branding begin to remedy and attract a disengaged
workforce?
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