How often have you heard someone say, "I would really love to work for XYZ company?" And by contrast, how often do your hear your customers say, "I always buy XYZ product"? Why the difference?
Most companies producing consumer products for our highly competitive market seek to understand what their customers want and to find their point of difference. They want loyal customers who love and trust their brand. Yet organisations seldom put the same effort into defining their employer brand?
When competing for talent, companies need to think of their new recruits as potential customers. To attract the right people you need to determine who you are and what you are offering, and then understand how others perceive you. You need to find out what kind of people thrive in your company, who is competing for the people you want, what kinds of attributes really matter to those people, and what are the best ways of attracting and keeping them.
A potential employee will assess the feel of your organisation as well as the particular job. They will want to know what you are like to work for - fun, team-focused, innovative? It is those intangible, emotional attributes of an organisation that often make the difference between "Yes" and "No".
Your messages in the recruitment market should be distinctive. Putting your effort into the recruitment channels that work best for your target candidates will reap benefits. Choose external providers whose values and approach align with yours. Most importantly, make sure the experiences new employees have are consistent with their expectations.
Not being able to hire the people you want threatens financial performance and longer-term growth. Developing your employer brand will give you clarity about who you want and where to find them, clear and consistent messages to communicate internally and externally, a recruitment process to bring in people you want, and a culture that retains the right people for you. This is not an overnight task, but the outcomes will be worth the effort.
To learn more about Employment Branding, contact Robyn Webb, Human Capital Solutions at Pohlen Kean.