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Bring the employer brand alive
By Kat Jiang and Jessie Gong |
August 18, 2010, Wednesday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
Many organizations are struggling to retain their talent during this post-recession era, as they seek to expand their businesses but find that their talented employees are quickly and easily moving to higher paying jobs elsewhere. One of the solutions for this issue may be to have a strong employer brand, which works to make a company more appealing for both current and prospective employees.
Patricia van der Linden, the Asia Pacific Director of CRF Institute responsible for China's Top Employers project, explains how a strong employer brand is formed from an organization's unique traits and management structure.
Q: What is the top priority on your agenda for this year's work?
A: For me, what is most interesting is what we do to help organizations to strengthen their employer brand, define their uniqueness and help to bring it alive.
Q: How to help the employers define their unique brands?
A: Having a very strong employer brand and live up to the promises you make will drive people to feel attracted, engaged and let them stay within the company. The employer brand consists of several things. The employer brand has to be differentiating, that is, distinguished from other brands; it has to be compelling; and it has to be real.
The organizations who join our project will first complete the yearly updated Top Employers HR Survey built around questions on their HR strategy and policy covering the 5 dimensions. We show them what their differentiators are compared to their peers so they can translate it into their employer brand. This will finally enable these organizations to distinguish themselves through their superior HR policies and practices.
Q: Through which way China's Top Employers helps to "bring it alive?"
To bring it alive the organizations have to meet the minimum set criteria to be certified as China's Top Employers. This independent certification will further strengthen their employer brand. Together with companies' star rating and the companies' interviews you will get a clear and objective image what the Top Employer stand for. Top Employers China organizes several events and publishes books, websites, films and several editions in the media to promote every Top Employers distinctive HR Policies and practices. These are the HR policies which drive people to feel attracted, engaged and let them stay within the company.
Q: Is there any special tool or service for job seekers?
A: The internet is a very, very important one. We help employers to become an Employer of Choice and encourage job seekers to search for their Employer of Choice. For this we designed the Top Employers Matching tool which is currently running on China HR. It matches both company and job seeker based on their identity and requirements. Particularly in China's millions of students pushing to get paid and often don't care what company they work for. By simply shifting the bar matching your requirements– you get a selection of the companies that would be your Employers of Choice.
Q: Do you find it easy to invite companies to join your program?
A: Yes, but not all, not all companies and organizations yet value their employer brand. China's Top Employers all have in common that they are really taking care of their brand, giving it a real strong place within the organization and fully implement it in their company strategy.
They all made the right steps towards building their employer branding; decide what are their principles and values, what distinguishes them, what is their internal culture, align it and bring it alive – externalize it. Design your marketing strategies, develop communication materials, use channels – to finally bring it alive.
Q: Do you encourage a long relationship between the employer and employees?
A: Yes. As long as they are both of course satisfied and both agree that they want to work together.
It's hard for employers if the talents they invest in terms of training, talent management and career development after two or three years leave the company before they really contributed to the companies' success. Especially for specific industries where you need specialized skills or need to built long-lasting external and internal relations. Employers want, at least, to have them stay three more years.
By having a strong employer brand and live up to the promises you make, people will be more engaged and will be less attracted by for example a better pay elsewhere. You will have to invest in those people and share the companies' values, mission, culture, it's uniqueness. A strong employer identity, a strong employer brand will enable you to built engaging relationship with your people, and further grow your business success.
Q: Could you give some advice to new graduates?
A: They should first find out what they are looking for in an employer and willing to really research the company they have initial interest in. One of the short cuts is to look at the websites of the company very thoroughly. What is the company about? What kind of culture do they sent across? Is it the culture you are looking for? What kind of career developments can they offer? The choice should not be based only on the salary. Otherwise there will be no long relationship. And I think for both parties, to enjoy your work, to feel appreciated, to feel recognized, it's great.
Patricia van der Linden, the Asia Pacific Director of CRF Institute responsible for China's Top Employers project, explains how a strong employer brand is formed from an organization's unique traits and management structure.
Q: What is the top priority on your agenda for this year's work?
A: For me, what is most interesting is what we do to help organizations to strengthen their employer brand, define their uniqueness and help to bring it alive.
Q: How to help the employers define their unique brands?
A: Having a very strong employer brand and live up to the promises you make will drive people to feel attracted, engaged and let them stay within the company. The employer brand consists of several things. The employer brand has to be differentiating, that is, distinguished from other brands; it has to be compelling; and it has to be real.
The organizations who join our project will first complete the yearly updated Top Employers HR Survey built around questions on their HR strategy and policy covering the 5 dimensions. We show them what their differentiators are compared to their peers so they can translate it into their employer brand. This will finally enable these organizations to distinguish themselves through their superior HR policies and practices.
Q: Through which way China's Top Employers helps to "bring it alive?"
To bring it alive the organizations have to meet the minimum set criteria to be certified as China's Top Employers. This independent certification will further strengthen their employer brand. Together with companies' star rating and the companies' interviews you will get a clear and objective image what the Top Employer stand for. Top Employers China organizes several events and publishes books, websites, films and several editions in the media to promote every Top Employers distinctive HR Policies and practices. These are the HR policies which drive people to feel attracted, engaged and let them stay within the company.
Q: Is there any special tool or service for job seekers?
A: The internet is a very, very important one. We help employers to become an Employer of Choice and encourage job seekers to search for their Employer of Choice. For this we designed the Top Employers Matching tool which is currently running on China HR. It matches both company and job seeker based on their identity and requirements. Particularly in China's millions of students pushing to get paid and often don't care what company they work for. By simply shifting the bar matching your requirements– you get a selection of the companies that would be your Employers of Choice.
Q: Do you find it easy to invite companies to join your program?
A: Yes, but not all, not all companies and organizations yet value their employer brand. China's Top Employers all have in common that they are really taking care of their brand, giving it a real strong place within the organization and fully implement it in their company strategy.
They all made the right steps towards building their employer branding; decide what are their principles and values, what distinguishes them, what is their internal culture, align it and bring it alive – externalize it. Design your marketing strategies, develop communication materials, use channels – to finally bring it alive.
Q: Do you encourage a long relationship between the employer and employees?
A: Yes. As long as they are both of course satisfied and both agree that they want to work together.
It's hard for employers if the talents they invest in terms of training, talent management and career development after two or three years leave the company before they really contributed to the companies' success. Especially for specific industries where you need specialized skills or need to built long-lasting external and internal relations. Employers want, at least, to have them stay three more years.
By having a strong employer brand and live up to the promises you make, people will be more engaged and will be less attracted by for example a better pay elsewhere. You will have to invest in those people and share the companies' values, mission, culture, it's uniqueness. A strong employer identity, a strong employer brand will enable you to built engaging relationship with your people, and further grow your business success.
Q: Could you give some advice to new graduates?
A: They should first find out what they are looking for in an employer and willing to really research the company they have initial interest in. One of the short cuts is to look at the websites of the company very thoroughly. What is the company about? What kind of culture do they sent across? Is it the culture you are looking for? What kind of career developments can they offer? The choice should not be based only on the salary. Otherwise there will be no long relationship. And I think for both parties, to enjoy your work, to feel appreciated, to feel recognized, it's great.
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